How do I rename KVM-powered virtual machine from foo to bar using virsh command line option on Linux?

There are two ways to rename a domain/VM. Let us see how to change the name of a domain or vm under KVM.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Method 1 – Rename KVM VM with virsh

The syntax is:
# virsh domrename {domain} {new-name}
To rename VM from foo to bar, type:
# virsh shutdown foo
Domain foo is being shutdown
Now rename a VM, run:
# virsh domrename foo bar
Domain successfully renamed
Start a VM/domain, enter:
# virsh start bar
Domain bar started

Method 2 – Rename KVM domain with virsh

First get domain information in XML and save it to a new file:
# virsh dumpxml foo > bar.xml
Edit the XML file and change the name between the <name></name>
# vi bar.xml
Update it as follows from foo to bar:

<name>bar</name>

Shutdown the foo domain/vm:
# virsh shutdown foo
Domain foo is being shutdown
You need to undefine the old VM name:
# virsh undefine foo
Domain foo has been undefined
Finally, import the edited XML file to define the VM bar:
# virsh define bar.xml
Domain bar defined from bar.xml
Start the domain bar, enter:
# virsh start bar
Domain bar started