File Operations

vmsan lets you transfer files to and from running VMs without SSH.

Upload files

Copy one or more local files into a running VM:

# Upload a single file to /root (default destination)
vmsan upload <vm-id> ./local-file.txt

# Upload multiple files
vmsan upload <vm-id> ./app.js ./package.json

# Upload to a specific directory
vmsan upload <vm-id> ./app.js ./config.json -d /app

Files are sent to the in-VM agent over HTTP. The -d/--dest flag sets the destination directory inside the VM (defaults to /root).

Download a file

Copy a file from a running VM to your local machine:

# Download to current directory (uses remote filename)
vmsan download <vm-id> /app/output.log

# Download to a specific local path
vmsan download <vm-id> /app/output.log -d ./logs/

The -d/--dest flag sets the local destination path. If omitted, the file is saved to the current directory using the remote file's basename.

Use cases

• Deploy application code into a sandboxed VM
• Extract logs or build artifacts from a running VM
• Stage configuration files before starting a service