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Create a Workload

A Workload is a VM or App running on one Device. This guide covers VM options. For a first VM, follow the Quickstart. For Docker Compose apps, see Apps.

From the dashboard

Section titled “From the dashboard”
  1. Open the Home console (http://<dashboard-device>:7777).
  2. Click Create VM.
  3. Pick a template, Windows, or a custom image from the gallery.
  4. Name the VM, pick the Device, size, and disk options in the 3-step Create VM dialog (Gallery → Configure → Disk).
  5. Click Create and follow progress in Workloads.

Windows and Linux guest profiles support arm64 and x86_64. Use an image matching the selected Device. Available acceleration and TPM support depend on the Device’s platform; Windows Devices do not provide TPM emulation. If Windows 11 setup says the PC must support Secure Boot, see Troubleshooting.

Images

Section titled “Images”
  • Catalog downloads follow this Device’s architecture. You can still download the other arch when you will deploy it on a matching Device.
  • A missing Library copy on the target Device is a placement warning, not a silent skip.
  • Optional: set a custom Library directory in Settings.
  • Settings → Library and Images show used and free space on the volume containing the image folder. This can be separate from the volume holding VM disks.

Disks

Section titled “Disks”
  • New disks use the Device’s default VM disk directory (Device page).
  • On Linux, Create Disk can attach a host block device as raw. Mounts, swaps, and devices the host already uses stay blocked. The Device’s barkvisor user needs the disk group (barkvisor.service.d/disk.conf). macOS has no block-device option.

GPU and PCI (Linux)

Section titled “GPU and PCI (Linux)”
  • GPU list labels NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD. Several cards of the same vendor stay listed separately.
  • GPU attachment requires IOMMU, vfio-pci, and KVM. The UI explains what is missing if the Device is not ready. See GPU passthrough.
  • Workload detail also has a PCI picker for other VFIO devices. The boot disk and the last remaining uplink stay excluded. The picker is hidden on macOS.

Create App

Section titled “Create App”

Docker apps are a separate path: Workloads → Create App. See Apps.

After create

Section titled “After create”

Open the VM in Workloads to start, stop, or connect to it. Its data stays on the selected Device. If that Device becomes unreachable, workloads on other Devices keep running.

Section titled “Related”