Configure where Multipass stores external data

First, stop the Multipass daemon:

sudo snap stop multipass

Since Multipass is installed using a strictly confined snap, it is limited on what it can do or access on your host. Depending on where the new storage directory is located, you will need to connect the respective interface to the Multipass snap. Because of snap confinement, this directory needs to be located in either /home (connected by default) or one of the removable mounts points (/mnt or /media). To connect the removable mount points, use the command:

sudo snap connect multipass:removable-media

Create the new directory in which Multipass will store its data:

mkdir -p <path>
sudo chown root <path>

After that, create the override config file, replacing <path> with the absolute path of the directory created above.

sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/system/snap.multipass.multipassd.service.d/
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/snap.multipass.multipassd.service.d/override.conf <<EOF
[Service]
Environment=MULTIPASS_STORAGE=<path>
EOF

The output at this point will be:

[Service]
Environment=MULTIPASS_STORAGE=<path>

Then, instruct systemd to reload the daemon configuration files:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Now you can transfer the data from its original location to the new location:

sudo cp -r /var/snap/multipass/common/data/multipassd <path>/data
sudo cp -r /var/snap/multipass/common/cache/multipassd <path>/cache

You also need to edit the following configuration files so that the specified paths point to the new Multipass storage directory, otherwise your instances will fail to start:

• multipass-vm-instances.json: Update the absolute path of the instance images in the “arguments” key for each instance.
• vault/multipassd-instance-image-records.json: Update the “path” key for each instance.

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

sudo snap start multipass

You can delete the original data at your discretion, to free up space:

sudo rm -rf /var/snap/multipass/common/data/multipassd
sudo rm -rf /var/snap/multipass/common/cache/multipassd

First, become root:

sudo su

Stop the Multipass daemon:

launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

Move your current data from its original location to <path>, replacing <path> with your custom location of choice:

mv /var/root/Library/Application\ Support/multipassd <path>

Define a symbolic link from the original location to the absolute path of new location:

ln -s <path> /var/root/Library/Application\ Support/multipassd

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

First, open a PowerShell prompt with administration privileges.

Stop the Multipass daemon:

Stop-Service Multipass

Create and set the new storage location, replacing <path> with the absolute path of your choice:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "<path>"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment" -Name MULTIPASS_STORAGE -Value "<path>"

Now you can transfer the data from its original location to the new location:

Copy-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Multipass\*" -Destination "<path>" -Recurse

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

Start-Service Multipass

You can delete the original data at your discretion, to free up space:

Remove-Item -Path "C:\ProgramData\Multipass\*" -Recurse

Stop the Multipass daemon:

sudo snap stop multipass

Although not required, to make sure that Multipass does not have access to directories that it shouldn’t, you can disconnect the respective interface depending on where the custom storage location was set (see Configuring a new storage location above). For example, to disconnect the removable mounts points (/mnt or /media), run:

sudo snap disconnect multipass:removable-media

Then, remove the override config file:

sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/snap.multipass.multipassd.service.d/override.conf
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Now you can transfer your data from the custom location back to its original location:

sudo cp -r <path>/data /var/snap/multipass/common/data/multipassd
sudo cp -r <path>/cache /var/snap/multipass/common/cache/multipassd

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

sudo snap start multipass

You can delete the data from the custom location at your discretion, to free up space:

sudo rm -rf <path>

First, become root:

sudo su

Stop the Multipass daemon:

launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

Remove the link pointing to your custom location:

unlink /var/root/Library/Application\ Support/multipassd

Move the data from your custom location back to its original location:

mv <path> /var/root/Library/Application\ Support/multipassd

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

First, open a PowerShell prompt with administrator privileges.

Stop the Multipass daemon:

Stop-Service Multipass

Remove the setting for the custom storage location:

Remove-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment" -Name MULTIPASS_STORAGE

Now you can transfer the data back to its original location:

Copy-Item -Path "<path>\*" -Destination "C:\ProgramData\Multipass" -Recurse

Finally, start the Multipass daemon:

Start-Service Multipass

You can delete the data from the custom location at your discretion, to free up space:

Remove-Item -Path "<path>" -Recurse