---
name: "bhyvectl"
section: "8"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/bhyvectl"
---

# bhyvectl(8)

control utility for bhyve instances

## NAME

**bhyvectl** – control utility for bhyve instances

## SYNOPSIS

**bhyvectl** **--vm=***\<vmname\>* \[**--create**\] \[**--destroy**\] \[**--get-stats**\] \[**--get-vm-pid**\] \[**--inject-nmi**\] \[**--force-reset**\] \[**--force-poweroff**\] \[**--checkpoint=***\<file\>*\] \[**--rundir=***\<path\>*\] \[**--suspend=***\<file\>*\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **bhyvectl** command is a control utility for active [bhyve(8)](/bhyve/8.md) virtual machine instances.

The user-facing options are as follows:

- **--vm=***\<vmname\>*

  Operate on the virtual machine *\<vmname\>*.

- **--create**

  Create the specified VM.

- **--destroy**

  Destroy the specified VM.

- **--get-stats**

  Retrieve statistics for the specified VM.

- **--get-vm-pid**

  Print the process ID of the bhyve process running the specified VM. In monitor mode, this is the child process executing the VM.

- **--inject-nmi**

  Inject a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) into the VM.

- **--force-reset**

  Force the VM to reset.

- **--force-poweroff**

  Force the VM to power off.

- **--checkpoint=***\<file\>*

  Save a snapshot of a virtual machine. The guest memory contents are saved in the file given in *\<file\>*. The guest device and vCPU state are saved in the file *\<file\>.kern*.

- **--suspend=***\<file\>*

  Save a snapshot of a virtual machine similar to **--checkpoint**. The virtual machine will terminate after the snapshot has been saved.

- **--rundir=***\<path\>*

  Specify path to the directory containing the bhyve IPC socket. If not specified, */var/run/bhyve* is used.

*Note*: Most **bhyvectl** flags are intended for querying and setting the state of an active instance. These commands are intended for development purposes, and are not documented here. A complete list can be obtained by executing **bhyvectl** without any arguments.

## EXIT STATUS

The **bhyvectl** utility exits 0 on success, and \>0 if an error occurs.

## EXAMPLES

Destroy the VM called fbsd10:

```
bhyvectl --vm=fbsd10 --destroy
```

Running VMs will be visible in */dev/vmm/*.

## COMPATIBILITY

The snapshot file format is not yet stable and is subject to future changes. Backwards compatibility support for the current snapshot file format is not guaranteed when future changes are made.

## SEE ALSO

[bhyve(8)](/bhyve/8.md), [bhyveload(8)](/bhyveload/8.md)

## HISTORY

The **bhyvectl** command first appeared in FreeBSD 10.1.

## AUTHORS

The **bhyvectl** utility was written by Peter Grehan and Neel Natu.