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Hello Arch Linux Community,
I'm encountering a persistent issue with my KVM/QEMU setup on Arch Linux, where I am unable to configure my virtual machine to use either QXL or Virtio video models, or the Spice display server. Each attempt results in a "configuration not supported" error. I'm trying to enable copy/paste functionality between my host and guest, for which Spice and the QEMU guest agent are typically required.
System Information (Host)
OS: Arch Linux (fully updated)
Kernel: Linux mwe-laptop 6.15.9-arch1-1 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sat, 02 Aug 2025 01:20:06 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux
CPU: AMD (AMD-V enabled and working for KVM)
GPU: 03:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Lucienne (rev c1)
Kernel driver in use: amdgpu
Kernel modules: amdgpu
Installed Virtualization Packages (from pacman -Qs qemu, pacman -Q libvirt, pacman -Q virt-manager):
libvirt 1:11.6.0-1
qemu-base 10.0.3-1
qemu-common 10.0.3-1
qemu-img 10.0.3-1
qemu-system-x86 10.0.3-1
qemu-system-x86-firmware 10.0.3-1
qemu-ui-gtk 10.0.3-1
qemu-ui-opengl 10.0.3-1
vde2 2.3.3-8
virt-manager 5.0.0-1
Also confirmed spice-gtk and spice-protocol are installed and up to date.
edk2-ovmf is installed.
Virtual Machine (Guest) Information
Guest OS: Lubuntu 25.04
Network Configuration: Using "default" virtual network (NAT). Internet connectivity inside the VM works.
QEMU Guest Agent: qemu-guest-agent and spice-vdagent are installed and active within the Lubuntu guest.
Channel Device: Channel (qemu-ga) is added to the VM hardware, configured as org.qemu.guest_agent.0 with Type: unix and Target: virtio.
Problem Description & Steps Taken
I'm trying to enable enhanced graphics and copy/paste functionality. The issues arise when attempting to change the video model or display type in virt-manager:
1. Attempted Video Model Change (from VGA to QXL/Virtio):
When trying to change the video model from VGA to QXL , the following error occurs upon applying:
Erro ao modificar a configuração da VM: configuração não suportada: domain configuration does not support video model 'qxl'
(English: "Error modifying VM configuration: unsupported configuration: domain configuration does not support video model 'qxl'")
The same error occurs when trying to change the video model to Virtio.
2. Attempted Display Type Change (from VNC to Spice):
When trying to change the display type from Server VNC to Server Spice , the following error occurs upon applying:
Erro ao modificar a configuração da VM: configuração não suportada: gráficos spice não são suportados com este QEMU
(English: "Error modifying VM configuration: unsupported configuration: spice graphics are not supported with this QEMU")
I did not enable "OpenGL" when trying to configure Spice.
Troubleshooting Steps Already Performed
I have taken the following steps, mostly following advice from online resources and a knowledgeable AI assistant:
Confirmed AMD-V virtualization is enabled and working (KVM loads).
Ensured no other VMs (like VirtualBox) are running to avoid conflicts.
Performed multiple pacman -Scc to clear cache.
Reinstalled/Ensured essential virtualization packages are present:
sudo pacman -S qemu libvirt spice-gtk spice-protocol virt-manager qemu-ui-gtk qemu-ui-opengl qemu-system-x86 edk2-ovmf
Notably, qemu-hw-spice was not found in repositories, which I understand might have been consolidated into other qemu packages.
Restarted libvirtd.service multiple times (sudo systemctl restart libvirtd.service). Logs show "Found left-over process 868 (dnsmasq)" warnings, but libvirtd is active and running.
Rebooted the entire Arch Linux host system after each significant package installation/reinstallation step.
Confirmed qemu-guest-agent and spice-vdagent are installed and running inside the Lubuntu guest.
Confirmed the Channel (qemu-ga) is correctly configured in virt-manager.
Starting the VM via virsh (virsh -c qemu:///system start Lubuntu25.04) works without explicit errors in the terminal.
Request for Assistance
Given that the errors explicitly state "not supported with this QEMU" for both video models and Spice graphics, and that qemu-hw-spice isn't found, I suspect there might be a missing component or a specific configuration detail unique to Arch Linux's QEMU packaging, or perhaps a conflict I'm unaware of. Any insights or suggestions from the community would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and help!
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I have an important update regarding the issue.
Good News: QXL/Virtio Video and Spice Display are now working!
Based on the suggestion to investigate "pacman -Ss qemu", I found and installed the following specific QEMU hardware display and Spice-related packages that were missing:
sudo pacman -S --needed qemu-hw-display-qxl \
qemu-hw-display-virtio-gpu \
qemu-hw-display-virtio-gpu-pci \
qemu-ui-spice-app \
qemu-ui-spice-core \
qemu-audio-spice \
qemu-chardev-spice
After installing these packages, restarting libvirtd.service, and rebooting the host system, I was successfully able to:
Change the video model to QXL and Virtio in virt-manager without any "unsupported" errors.
Change the display type to Spice server in virt-manager without any "unsupported" errors.
The VM's graphics are now noticeably smoother and faster, confirming that Spice is active and providing acceleration.
This confirms that the explicit installation of these granular qemu-hw-display-* and qemu-ui-spice-* packages (which seemed to replace the old qemu-hw-spice) was the solution to the initial "not supported" errors. The output of "pacman -Ss qemu" was indeed very helpful in clarifying what packages are available.
Persistent Problem: Copy/Paste Not Working (Lubuntu Guest)
While the display is now working perfectly, the copy/paste functionality between the host and the Lubuntu guest is still not working in either direction.
Here's what I've checked and found in the Lubuntu guest:
qemu-guest-agent: Confirmed to be installed and active (running). The channel device org.qemu.guest_agent.0 is configured in virt-manager.
spice-vdagent: This is installed.
Initially, spice-vdagentd.service was inactive (dead) after a guest reboot.
However, if I manually run sudo systemctl start spice-vdagentd.service inside the guest, its status changes to active (running).
Even when spice-vdagentd.service is active (running) after manual start, copy/paste still does not work.
After a guest reboot, the spice-vdagentd.service reverts to inactive (dead).
journalctl logs for spice-vdagentd.service in guest:
After a fresh reboot (where vdagentd is inactive (dead)), journalctl -u spice-vdagentd.service shows "No entries", implying it didn't even attempt to start in a way that produced logs, or logs were cleared.
When manually started, the logs show: Referenced but unset environment variable evaluates to an empty string: SPICE_VDAGENTD_EXTRA_ARGS. I understand this is likely a warning and not critical, but I include it for completeness.
Reinstallation Attempts for spice-xorg related packages in guest: I attempted to reinstall spice-xorg-xserver-videos and spice-xorg using sudo apt install --reinstall, but these packages were not found in Lubuntu's repositories. I'm unsure if equivalent packages exist or are integrated differently in Lubuntu 25.04.
Current Status and Remaining Question:
The core virtualization and display are now functional, which is fantastic. The sole remaining issue is the copy/paste feature, which seems to stem from spice-vdagentd.service not starting automatically on guest boot and not functioning even when manually started.
Could this be related to:
1. A missing dependency or different packaging of Xorg/Spice integration on Lubuntu 25.04?
2. A specific systemd ordering issue for spice-vdagentd.service within the guest that prevents it from starting with the graphical environment?
3. Are there specific virt-manager or QEMU settings (like an additional Spice channel) beyond the main Spice display that might be required for copy/paste to work?
Any further guidance on troubleshooting spice-vdagentd's startup and copy/paste functionality would be highly appreciated!
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