Implement `limactl clone` #3673

AkihiroSuda · 2025-07-01T08:43:29Z

limactl clone OLDINST NEWINST clones an instance.

Not to be confused with limactl copy SRC DST (copy files).

jandubois

Sorry, don't have time to do a full review right now, so just one comment.

Also, if you think clone is too similar to copy, then maybe we can use duplicate (with short alias dup). But I think clone is fine too.

pkg/store/filenames/filenames.go

AkihiroSuda · 2025-07-03T02:54:58Z

Also, if you think clone is too similar to copy, then maybe we can use duplicate (with short alias dup). But I think clone is fine too.

"clone" corresponds to the lingo used by VMware, VirtualBox, etc.

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds a new limactl clone command to duplicate existing Lima instances by copying most files while skipping or nullifying instance-specific artifacts.

Introduces file‐filtering lists (SkipOnClone, NullifyOnClone, TmpFileSuffixes) and wires them into both the stop and clone implementations
Updates Darwin VM logic to regenerate an empty or missing VzIdentifier
Adds the Cobra command, flags and end‐to‐end test cases for limactl clone

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
pkg/vz/vm_darwin.go	Regenerate empty or missing VzIdentifier on clone
pkg/store/filenames/filenames.go	Define skip/nullify lists and tmp suffixes for cloning
pkg/instance/stop.go	Reuse `TmpFileSuffixes` when cleaning up stopped instances
pkg/instance/clone.go	Core clone logic: directory walk, file skip, nullify and copy
hack/test-templates.sh	Enable and implement a basic clone test in CI templates
cmd/limactl/main.go	Wire `newCloneCommand` into the root Cobra app
cmd/limactl/copy.go	Clarify help text to distinguish copy vs. clone commands
cmd/limactl/clone.go	New Cobra command, argument handling and post‐clone editing logic
cmd/limactl/editflags/editflags.go	Adjust `RegisterEdit` signature to accept a comment prefix
cmd/limactl/edit.go	Update call site for new `RegisterEdit` signature

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

cmd/limactl/copy.go:30

[nitpick] Consider using backticks for code references in help text (e.g. limactl clone) to match existing formatting conventions.

Not to be confused with 'limactl clone'.

pkg/vz/vm_darwin.go

pkg/instance/clone.go

pkg/store/filenames/filenames.go

cmd/limactl/clone.go

jandubois

Thanks! I have some feedback, but maybe you find it nit-picky. I think even though it isn't critical, it should be addressed.

cmd/limactl/clone.go

jandubois · 2025-07-08T01:05:20Z

cmd/limactl/clone.go

There is one issue that is surprising, but not specific to clone; it applies e.g. to edit too:

If I use l clone --yes foo bar I would expect the command to take the default action (which right now means to start the instance).

So it would work better if the default was to not start the instance, even when you ask, but you would have to explicitly enter y and ↩.

But I guess this is a separate discussion outside the scope of this PR.

But limactl (edit|clone) --tty=false should not do an extra operation?
Probably --yes shouldn't be just an alias of --tty=false?
Should be discussed in a separate issue.

Should be discussed in a separate issue.

👍

pkg/vz/vm_darwin.go

jandubois

Thanks, LGTM

`limactl clone OLDINST NEWINST` clones an instance. Not to be confused with `limactl copy SRC DST` (copy files). Fix issue 3658 Signed-off-by: Akihiro Suda <[email protected]>

AkihiroSuda · 2025-07-08T07:45:15Z

Rebased

This MR contains the following updates: | Package | Update | Change | |---|---|---| | [lima-vm/lima](https://github.com/lima-vm/lima) | minor | `v1.1.1` -> `v1.2.1` | MR created with the help of [el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot](https://gitlab.com/el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot). **Proposed changes to behavior should be submitted there as MRs.** --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>lima-vm/lima (lima-vm/lima)</summary> ### [`v1.2.1`](https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/releases/tag/v1.2.1) [Compare Source](lima-vm/lima@v1.2.0...v1.2.1) #### Changes - Cherry-picks from `master` to `release/1.2` ([#3750](lima-vm/lima#3750)) - portfwd: create separate gRPC streams for each UDP client ([#3724](lima-vm/lima#3724), thanks to [@stek29](https://github.com/stek29)) - qemuimgutil: fix "Failed to get "write" lock" error ([#3742](lima-vm/lima#3742), thanks to [@pavelanni](https://github.com/pavelanni)) - Embed templates edited from the user interface ([#3745](lima-vm/lima#3745), thanks to [@afbjorklund](https://github.com/afbjorklund)) #### Usage ```console $ limactl create $ limactl start ... INFO[0029] READY. Run `lima` to open the shell. $ lima uname Linux ``` *** The binaries were built automatically on GitHub Actions. The build log is available for 90 days: https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/actions/runs/16405168554 The sha256sum of the SHA256SUMS file itself is `fda636e062d8f75a689071b308a94dc902111620f7122746fc0d172959d7d26a` . *** Release manager: [@AkihiroSuda](https://github.com/AkihiroSuda) ### [`v1.2.0`](https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/releases/tag/v1.2.0) [Compare Source](lima-vm/lima@v1.1.1...v1.2.0) #### Changes - `limactl` CLI: - Add `limactl network (list|create|delete)` commands ([#3677](lima-vm/lima#3677)) - Add `limactl clone OLDINST NEWINST` command. Not to be confused with `limactl copy`, which copies files. ([#3673](lima-vm/lima#3673)) - Add `limactl edit --mount-none` flag ([#3647](lima-vm/lima#3647)) - Port forwarding: - Improve stability ([#3684](lima-vm/lima#3684). [#3708](lima-vm/lima#3708), thanks to [@balajiv113](https://github.com/balajiv113)) - De-deprecate `LIMA_SSH_PORT_FORWARDER` that was once deprecated in v1.1 ([#3709](lima-vm/lima#3709)) - nerdctl: - Update from v2.1.2 to [v2.1.3](https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/releases/tag/v2.1.3) ([#3701](lima-vm/lima#3701)) - Templates: - `default`: update from Ubuntu 24.10 to 25.04 ([#3643](lima-vm/lima#3643)) - `fedora`: update from Fedora 41 to 42 ([#3643](lima-vm/lima#3643)) - `almalinux-10`: new template ([#3602](lima-vm/lima#3602), thanks to [@refi64](https://github.com/refi64)) - `rocky-10`: new template ([#3642](lima-vm/lima#3642)) - `experimental/debian-testing`: new template ([#3645](lima-vm/lima#3645)) - `experimental/ubuntu-next`: new template ([#3645](lima-vm/lima#3645)) - Makefile: - Kconfig: deprecate ([#3706](lima-vm/lima#3706)) > \[!NOTE] > On Intel Mac, macOS 15.5 or later is needed to boot the default Ubuntu 25.04 template. > > Workarounds for macOS <= 15.4 : > > - Option 1: Use QEMU > > ``` > limactl create --vm-type=qemu > ``` > > - Option2: Use Ubuntu 24.04 template > > ``` > limactl create --name=default template://ubuntu-24.04 > ``` Full changes: https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/milestone/61?closed=1 Thanks to [@AkinoKaede](https://github.com/AkinoKaede) [@Horiodino](https://github.com/Horiodino) [@afbjorklund](https://github.com/afbjorklund) [@alexandear](https://github.com/alexandear) [@arixmkii](https://github.com/arixmkii) [@balajiv113](https://github.com/balajiv113) [@fruzitent](https://github.com/fruzitent) [@jandubois](https://github.com/jandubois) [@kachick](https://github.com/kachick) [@mazzz1y](https://github.com/mazzz1y) [@nirs](https://github.com/nirs) [@refi64](https://github.com/refi64) [@songponssw](https://github.com/songponssw) [@thomasjm](https://github.com/thomasjm) [@unsuman](https://github.com/unsuman) #### Usage ```console $ limactl create $ limactl start ... INFO[0029] READY. Run `lima` to open the shell. $ lima uname Linux ``` *** The binaries were built automatically on GitHub Actions. The build log is available for 90 days: https://github.com/lima-vm/lima/actions/runs/16187325385 The sha256sum of the SHA256SUMS file itself is `f4d57cdd637022ead291af680c0c88a8d07fd35fd6a779b7c6348e2c9a2ec2cc` . *** Release manager: [@AkihiroSuda](https://github.com/AkihiroSuda) </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: Branch creation - At any time (no schedule defined), Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined). 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever MR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this MR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this MR, check this box --- This MR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).

AkihiroSuda added this to the v1.1.2 milestone Jul 1, 2025

AkihiroSuda mentioned this pull request Jul 1, 2025

v1.2.0 planning (formerly planned as v1.1.2) #3644

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AkihiroSuda force-pushed the limactl-clone branch 2 times, most recently from b209d0d to addc8f2 Compare July 1, 2025 11:00

jandubois reviewed Jul 2, 2025

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AkihiroSuda force-pushed the limactl-clone branch 4 times, most recently from 1e6504f to 2f4aeda Compare July 3, 2025 03:18

jandubois requested a review from Copilot July 3, 2025 03:22

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 3, 2025

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alexandear reviewed Jul 3, 2025

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AkihiroSuda requested review from jandubois and alexandear July 8, 2025 00:32

jandubois previously approved these changes Jul 8, 2025

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AkihiroSuda dismissed jandubois’s stale review via 5301479 July 8, 2025 07:16

AkihiroSuda force-pushed the limactl-clone branch from 2f4aeda to 5301479 Compare July 8, 2025 07:16

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Implement limactl clone

2f7c401

`limactl clone OLDINST NEWINST` clones an instance. Not to be confused with `limactl copy SRC DST` (copy files). Fix issue 3658 Signed-off-by: Akihiro Suda <[email protected]>

AkihiroSuda dismissed jandubois’s stale review via 2f7c401 July 8, 2025 07:45

AkihiroSuda force-pushed the limactl-clone branch from 5301479 to 2f7c401 Compare July 8, 2025 07:45

alexandear approved these changes Jul 8, 2025

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AkihiroSuda merged commit 5622089 into lima-vm:master Jul 8, 2025
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Implement `limactl clone` #3673

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Implement `limactl clone` #3673

Implement `limactl clone` #3673