Generate Evdev

v1.0.2

Easily setup a virtual Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) switch for Libvirt/QEMU Virtual Machines (VMs).

Download

View this repository on Codeberg or GitHub.

Table of Contents

• 1. Why?
• 2. Related Projects
• 3. Documentation
• 4. Download
• 5. Usage
• 6. Filenames and pathnames modified
• 7. Contact
• 8. References

Contents

1. Why?

Switch device inputs between Host and VM(s) or Guest(s). Requires devices to remain connected to be seen by Guests (similar to the limitations within the PS/2 cable standard, unlike USB).

2. Related Projects

To view other relevant projects, visit Codeberg or GitHub.

3. Documentation

• What is VFIO?^[2]
• VFIO Discussion and Support^[3]
• Hardware-Passthrough Guide^[1]

4. Download

• Download the Latest Release: Codeberg or GitHub.

• Download the .zip file:

  1. Viewing from the top of the repository's (current) webpage, click the drop-down icon:
     • ··· on Codeberg.
     • <> Code on GitHub.
  2. Click Download ZIP and save.
  3. Open the .zip file, then extract its contents.

• Clone the repository:

  1. Open a Command Line Interface (CLI) or Terminal.
     • Open a console emulator (for Debian systems: Konsole).
     • Linux only: Open an existing console: press CTRL + ALT + F2, F3, F4, F5, or F6.
       • To return to the desktop, press CTRL + ALT + F7.
       • F1 is reserved for debug output of the Linux kernel.
       • F7 is reserved for video output of the desktop environment.
       • F8 and above are unused.
  2. Change your directory to your home folder or anywhere safe:
     • cd ~
  3. Clone the repository:
     • git clone https://www.codeberg.org/portellam/generate-evdev
     • git clone https://www.github.com/portellam/generate-evdev

5. Usage

5.1. Verify Installer is Executable

1. Open the CLI (see Download).

2. Go to the directory of where the cloned/extracted repository folder is: cd name_of_parent_folder/generate-evdev/

3. Make the installer script file executable: chmod +x installer.bash

   • Do not make any other script files executable. The installer will perform this action.
   • Do not make any non-script file executable. This is not necessary and potentially dangerous.

5.2. installer.bash

• From within the project folder, execute: sudo bash installer.bash

  -h, --help       Print this help and exit.
  -U, --update     Update qemu.conf source file before install or uninstall.
  -i, --install    Install generate-evdev to system.
  -u, --uninstall  Uninstall generate-evdev from system.

5.3. generate-evdev

• From any folder, execute: sudo bash generate-evdev
  • The CLI's shell (bash) should recognize that the script file is located in /usr/local/bin.

-h, --help                Print this help and exit.
    --dump-xml            Dump QEMU commandline (XML) output to file.
    --hugepages           Include Hugepages as device for Libvirt/QEMU.
    --output-event-paths  Output Event device paths only.
    --output-input-paths  Output Input device paths only.
    --restart-service     Restart Libvirtd system service after setup.
    --set-user            Sets user ownership of Libvirt Input devices to current user. Default is root.
    --undo-changes        Undo changes; restore file backups.

5.4. How to use with an online/running Guest machine

Press L-CTRL + R-CTRL to switch between Host and Guest.

6. Filenames and pathnames modified

6.1. System configuration files

• /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf

6.2. Paths for project binaries and files

• /usr/local/bin/generate-evdev
• /usr/local/etc/generate-evdev.d/

7. Contact

Do you need help? Please visit the Issues page.

8. References

1.

  PCI passthrough via OVMF. ArchWiki. Accessed June 14, 2024.

    ^{https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PCI_passthrough_via_OVMF.}

2.

  r/VFIO. Accessed June 14, 2024.

    ^{https://www.reddit.com/r/VFIO/.}

3.

  VFIO - ‘Virtual Function I/O’ - The Linux Kernel Documentation. The linux kernel. Accessed June 14, 2024.

    ^{https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/driver-api/vfio.html.}

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