1vm is not a wrapper around the app, and the app is not a wrapper around 1vm. Both are clients of the same library, which is why nothing you can click is impossible to script.

1vm <command> [options]
1vm --help
1vm snapshot --help

Machines

Command	What it does
`list`	Every machine, with state and address
`create <name>`	Create a machine
`info <vm>`	Everything about one machine
`config <vm>`	Print the machine's definition file
`get <vm> [key]`	Read one setting, or list all dotted keys
`set <vm> <key> <value>`	Change a setting, live where supported
`rm <vm> --force`	Delete a machine and all its snapshots
`clone <vm> <name>`	Linked clone (`--full`, `--rekey-ssh`)
`archive <vm>`	Compress a stopped machine; run again to restore
`rollback <vm> on\|off`	Discard all changes at power-off
`du`	Disk usage across the library
`logs <vm>`	Guest serial and host lifecycle logs

logs takes --source all|guest|host, --lines N and --follow.

Running

Command	What it does
`start <vm>`	Run in the foreground; `--detach` to background it
`stop <vm> [--force]`	Ask the guest to shut down, or pull the plug
`pause` / `resume <vm>`	Freeze and unfreeze
`suspend <vm>`	Save memory to disk and power off
`eject <vm>`	Detach the installer once the guest boots on its own
`console <vm>`	Open the guest display
`configure <vm>`	Open the settings window
`ip <vm>`	The guest address, bare, for scripting
`ports <vm>`	Listening TCP and UDP ports discovered in the guest
`storage`	Open the storage window
`config-global list\|get\|set`	Library memory budget and Linux port defaults

start resumes a suspended machine; add --discard-saved-state to cold-boot instead. --hold-on-crash keeps a Windows bug-check painted on screen instead of resetting it away.

Snapshots

Command	What it does
`snapshot take <vm> [name]`	Capture state
`snapshot list <vm>`	The snapshot tree
`snapshot restore <vm> <ref>`	Go back to a snapshot
`snapshot rm <vm> <ref> [-r]`	Delete one, or a branch
`reset <vm> --force`	Back to the clean state
`discard-session <vm> --force`	Back to the snapshot this boot started from

Docker

Command	What it does
`engine setup`	Download and provision the managed Debian engine
`engine start\|stop\|restart`	Manage the engine VM (`stop --force` is available)
`engine status [--json]`	State, socket and owned Docker context
`engine logs`	Setup and daemon diagnostics
`engine service-stop`	Stop socket activation without deleting data
`engine delete --force`	Delete the engine and all its container data
`docker <args…>`	The Docker CLI through the private engine socket

engine setup --no-start prepares the disk without the first boot. docker starts a stopped engine on first connection and never changes the selected global Docker context. See Docker.

Host

Command	What it does
`capabilities`	What this Mac can and cannot do
`doctor`	Host, entitlements, library, engines
`guide <linux\|macos\|windows\|omarchy>`	What a guest supports, and what it does not
`guide rosetta`	Running x86 binaries in a Linux guest
`passport [<vm>]`	Capability matrix as markdown, or `--json`
`macos images\|download`	Cached restore images, and Apple's latest
`debug metrics <vm>`	Engine performance counters

Guest access

Command	What it does
`wait-ready <vm>`	Poll SSH (Linux) or the guest agent (Windows)
`exec <vm> -- <cmd…>`	Run one command in the guest
`ssh <vm> [-- <cmd…>]`	Interactive SSH
`ssh enable\|disable <vm>`	Turn Mac-to-guest SSH on or off
`ssh config --install`	Add the Include line to `~/.ssh/config`
`ssh keys <vm>`	Machine key (`--regenerate`, `--print-public`)
`ssh trust <vm>`	Pin the guest host key (`--relearn`)

wait-ready is the one that makes scripts reliable — it blocks until the guest is actually reachable rather than merely running.

Automation

Command	What it does
`task run -- <cmd…>`	Clone a golden image, wait, exec, dispose
`template pin\|unpin\|list`	The golden image library
`golden capture <vm>`	Record a firmware and first-boot golden
`agent gc`	Delete stopped machines an agent created
`mcp serve`	MCP JSON-RPC on stdio
`mcp install-snippet [host]`	Config JSON for Claude, Cursor or generic

Create options

Option	Meaning
`--guest linux\|macos\|windows`	Guest type, default `linux`
`--hypervisor apple\|native`	Engine. Windows defaults to `native`
`--cpu <n>`	CPU count, default 4
`--memory <size>`	e.g. `4GiB`, default 4 GiB
`--disk <size>`	e.g. `64GiB`, default 64 GiB
`--iso <path>`	Installer media, attached until ejected
`--from-folder <path>`	A host folder as removable install media
`--drivers <path>`	virtio-win ISO for a Windows guest
`--restore-image <path\|build>`	macOS restore image
`--from <golden>`	Linked-clone a pinned golden (`--full` to copy)
`--storage virtio-block\|nvme`	Disk controller; `nvme` for Windows
`--network nat\|host-only\|bridged:en0`	Networking
`--share tag:/host/path[:ro]`	Shared folder, repeatable
`--clipboard`	Share the Mac clipboard both directions
`--rosetta`	x86 translation in a Linux guest
`--agent-ready`	Generate an SSH key and cloud-init for `exec`
`--preset omarchy`	The Omarchy recipe

Global options

--json for machine-readable output, --quiet / -q for errors only, --force / --yes to skip confirmation, --detach to background a start, and --version.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	ok
1	failed
2	usage
3	not found
4	wrong state
5	unsupported

Destructive commands refuse with exit 4 rather than prompting, unless you pass --force. There are no interactive prompts anywhere, by design.