Docker Images

vmsan can build a root filesystem from any Docker or OCI image, letting you use familiar container images as the base for your microVMs.

Create a VM from a Docker image

Use the --from-image flag:

vmsan create --from-image node:22-alpine

This pulls the image, extracts its filesystem layers, and converts them into an ext4 rootfs for Firecracker.

Use any OCI image

Any image reference supported by Docker works:

# Official images
vmsan create --from-image python:3.13-slim

# Custom registry images
vmsan create --from-image ghcr.io/myorg/myapp:latest

Combine with other flags

Docker images work with all other create flags:

vmsan create \
  --from-image node:22-alpine \
  --memory 512 \
  --cpus 2 \
  --publish-port 3000 \
  --network-policy custom \
  --allowed-domain "*.npmjs.org"