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Console and logs

Reach a VM's serial console interactively, or stream its serial output non-interactively, through the otherix vm CLI. Both reach the agent owning the VM and require the VM to be running.

Interactive console

otherix vm console web-1

vm console attaches you to the VM's serial console over a WebSocket that the control plane bridges to the QEMU serial socket on the owning node. The CLI issues a single-use console token, dials the stream, and flips your terminal into raw mode for the duration:

connected to web-1 (serial console). Press Ctrl+] to detach.

The Ubuntu cloud image boots through to a login prompt; press Enter to wake it.

Detaching

Press Ctrl+] (0x1D, telnet-style) to bring up a local prompt:

close console? (y/N):

Answer y to detach; any other key resumes the session. The CLI never forwards Ctrl+] to the guest - to send that byte literally you need a different tool (the same trade-off virsh console makes).

Constraints and errors

  • Serial only. Only the serial protocol is implemented; vnc / spice are reserved for future iterations.
  • VM must be running. Against a stopped VM the dial fails with vm_not_running - start it first.
  • Single active console. The agent enforces one console session per VM. A second attach returns console_in_use; close the other session (Ctrl+] in that terminal) and retry.
  • Interactive terminal required. vm console refuses to run when stdin is not a TTY.

Other dial errors are surfaced in operator language: protocol_not_available, unauthenticated (token expired or already consumed - just retry), permission_denied, vm_not_found, and agent_unreachable (the CP could not reach the owning node's agent).

Streaming logs

otherix vm logs web-1

vm logs streams the VM's serial console output to stdout (kubectl-style). By default the full retained history is shown, then the command exits.

Flag Default Notes
--tail -1 Trailing history lines. -1 = all, 0 = none.
--follow / -f false Keep streaming live bytes after the initial history flushes. 
otherix vm logs web-1 --tail=100
otherix vm logs web-1 --follow
otherix vm logs web-1 --tail=50 --follow

With --follow, press Ctrl+C to stop streaming - the cancelled context is treated as a clean exit, not an error.

Unlike vm console, vm logs does not contend for the single console-session slot: you can tail logs while another operator (or you) holds an interactive console on the same VM.

Both survive live migration

Neither session breaks when the VM moves to another node. A vm logs --follow stream and an interactive vm console both follow the VM across a live migration - the control plane transparently reconnects the stream (and re-mints the console token) to the new owning agent at cutover. You keep watching logs, or keep typing at the console, through the move and after the VM lands on the other node. See Live migration.

See also