lxd

LXD is a system container manager from Canonical designed to run Linux system containers and lightweight virtual machines. Built as an extension of the LXC project, LXD provides a daemon (lxd) that runs on a host and exposes a REST API, together with a command-line client (lxc) for managing resources. LXD containers behave like full Linux systems, with their own init process, network stack, and storage, while sharing the host kernel.

The software follows a client-server model and is designed to be used across single hosts or in clusters. The daemon can manage multiple storage backends through storage pools and can create and attach network devices via profiles. It also supports snapshots, live migration, resource control, and privileged/unprivileged containers through kernel features and AppArmor profiles.

A core part of LXD is its image and distribution management. LXD ships with a curated images server and tooling to import, cache, and deploy Linux distributions and versions. Images can be pulled from remote servers, customized with profiles, and deployed rapidly to new containers. Networking is configured through profiles that define bridges, NAT rules, and firewall settings; storage is provided by backend options such as dir, ZFS, or Btrfs.

In addition to containers, LXD can manage virtual machines using KVM, enabling mixed deployments that run both containers and VMs on the same host. LXD is widely used for development, testing, and production environments to improve density, isolation, and operational control. It is developed as open-source software with an emphasis on stability, security, and a clean API that enables automation and integration with orchestration tools.