How to use the command 'qm guest passwd' (with examples)

This article provides examples of using the command ‘qm guest passwd’ in QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine Manager.

Use case 1: Set a password for a specific user in a virtual machine interactively

Code:

qm guest passwd vm_id username

Motivation: The motivation for using this use case is to set a password for a specific user in a virtual machine when the exact password is known.

Explanation:

• ‘qm guest passwd’: This is the command to set the password for a specific user in a virtual machine.
• ‘vm_id’: This is the ID of the virtual machine for which the password needs to be set.
• ‘username’: This is the username for which the password needs to be set.

Example output:

Enter new guest password for user 'username': 
Confirm password: 
Password changed successfully for user 'username' in virtual machine 'vm_id'.

Use case 2: Set an already hashed password for a specific user in a virtual machine interactively

Code:

qm guest passwd vm_id username --crypted 1

Motivation: The motivation for using this use case is to set an already hashed password for a specific user in a virtual machine.

Explanation:

• ‘qm guest passwd’: This is the command to set the password for a specific user in a virtual machine.
• ‘vm_id’: This is the ID of the virtual machine for which the password needs to be set.
• ‘username’: This is the username for which the password needs to be set.
• ‘–crypted 1’: This argument indicates that the password provided is already hashed.

Example output:

Enter hashed guest password for user 'username': 
Password changed successfully for user 'username' in virtual machine 'vm_id'.

Conclusion:

The ‘qm guest passwd’ command is useful for setting passwords for specific users in virtual machines managed by QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine Manager. It provides the flexibility to set passwords interactively or with already hashed passwords.