aenigma-boxes

Aenigma Vagrant Boxes

Ready-to-run virtual images for Aenigma, built for both VirtualBox and libvirt/QEMU.

Step 1: Install Vagrant

Download and install Vagrant from the official page for your operating system: https://developer.hashicorp.com/vagrant/downloads

Step 2: Install a virtualization provider

You only need one of the following, depending on your operating system and preference.

Option A: VirtualBox (easiest — works on Windows, macOS, and Linux)

Go to: https://www.oracle.com/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html
Download the installer for your operating system.
Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions (default options are fine).

Option B: QEMU/libvirt (Linux only)

If you’re on Ubuntu or Debian, open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y qemu-system-x86 libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients bridge-utils virt-manager libvirt-dev

Use qemu-system-arm instead of qemu-system-x86 if you’re on an ARM64 machine (e.g. Apple Silicon running Linux). On newer Debian/Ubuntu releases, the older qemu-kvm package name no longer works directly — it now points to one of these architecture-specific packages, so you need to pick the right one yourself.

libvirt-dev is required to install the vagrant-libvirt plugin below — without it, the plugin install fails with a missing-library error. On Fedora/RHEL-based distros the equivalent package is called libvirt-devel instead.

This also installs virt-manager, a graphical tool for managing your VMs (start/stop/pause, view the VM’s screen, check resource usage) if you’d rather not use the terminal after setup. You can open it any time by running virt-manager or finding “Virtual Machine Manager” in your applications menu.

Then add yourself to the libvirt group so you don’t need sudo for every command, and apply it:

sudo usermod -aG libvirt $(whoami)
newgrp libvirt

If you’re not on Ubuntu/Debian (e.g. Fedora, Arch), install the equivalent packages using your distro’s package manager (dnf, pacman, etc.) — search “install libvirt qemu-kvm <your distro>” if unsure.

Finally, install the Vagrant plugin that lets Vagrant talk to libvirt (Vagrant doesn’t support it out of the box like it does VirtualBox):

vagrant plugin install vagrant-libvirt

Step 3: Get the box running

You have two options — pick whichever is easier for you.

Option A: Clone the repository (simplest)

Download the repository using this link

or, using git:

git clone https://github.com/m3sserschmitt/aenigma-boxes.git
cd aenigma-boxes
vagrant up

The repository already includes a ready-made Vagrantfile, so this is all you need to do.

Option B: Create your own project folder

Create a new empty folder anywhere on your computer.

Inside it, create a file named exactly Vagrantfile (no file extension) with this content:

   Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
     config.vm.box     = "m3sserschmitt/aenigma5"
     config.vm.box_url = "https://boxes.aenigma.ro/metadata.json"
     config.vm.define  "aenigma5"

     config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
       vb.name   = "aenigma5"
       vb.memory = 2048
       vb.cpus   = 2
     end

     config.vm.provider "libvirt" do |lv|
       lv.default_prefix = ""
       lv.memory = 2048
       lv.cpus   = 2
     end

     config.vm.synced_folder ".", "/vagrant", disabled: true
   end

vb.name / lv.default_prefix + config.vm.define control the name shown in VirtualBox Manager or virt-manager — without these, the VM name defaults to something like your project folder name plus “default”, which isn’t very descriptive.

Open a terminal in that folder and run:
```
 vagrant up
```

Either way, Vagrant will automatically detect whichever provider you installed (VirtualBox or libvirt) and download the matching image the first time you run it — this may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection.

Connecting to the VM

Once vagrant up finishes, you can log into the VM’s command line with:

vagrant ssh

This drops you into a shell running inside the VM, as if you’d SSH’d into a remote server. From there you can run commands, inspect files, start services, etc. — everything happens inside the isolated VM, not on your actual computer.

To leave the VM’s shell and return to your own terminal, either run exit or press Ctrl+D. This does not stop the VM — it keeps running in the background so you can vagrant ssh back in any time.

A few other commands you’ll likely want:

vagrant halt      # shut the VM down (keeps it on disk for later)
vagrant up        # start it again
vagrant destroy   # delete the VM entirely (removes its disk too)

Run these from the same folder as the Vagrantfile — Vagrant uses that folder to know which VM you’re referring to.

Updating to a newer version later

vagrant box update

Troubleshooting tips

If you installed both VirtualBox and libvirt, you can force which one to use:
```
vagrant up --provider=virtualbox
# or
vagrant up --provider=libvirt
```
On Linux, if vagrant up complains about permissions with libvirt, make sure you ran newgrp libvirt (or log out and back in) after the usermod step above.
virt-manager fails to connect to qemu:///system the first time you open it — this usually happens because your user’s libvirt group membership (from the usermod step) hasn’t been picked up by your desktop session yet, even if it worked in a terminal via newgrp. Logging out and back in (or rebooting) refreshes your full session’s group membership and typically resolves it. If it persists after that, try:
- Confirming the libvirtd service is actually running: sudo systemctl status libvirtd
- Manually adding the connection in virt-manager via File → Add Connection…, selecting QEMU/KVM, and leaving “Connect to remote host” unchecked
- Double-checking your user is really in the group: groups $(whoami) should list libvirt

License

This repository is licensed under the MIT License. Feel free to copy, modify and distribute it - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contact

You can report errors or suggest improvements at contact@aenigma.ro

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