LXD

LXD lets developers and operators create and manage Linux containers and virtual machines on their own systems. It supports both local and remote instances, controlled through a command-line interface or a REST API for scripted and automated workflows.

Its image-based model creates instances from available images instead of requiring every environment to be assembled from scratch. Images cover all Ubuntu releases and architectures, as well as many other Linux distributions, while integrations with deployment and operations tools support workflows resembling public-cloud management without giving up control of the underlying systems.

Containers provide lightweight, secure-by-default environments and can replace virtual machines when running Linux on Linux. LXD also manages virtual machines with UEFI and secure boot enabled by default, which is useful when an instance needs a different kernel or operating system. Clustering brings up to 50 LXD servers under shared management through the same tools and APIs, without external dependencies.

LXD is published by Canonical for development and operations teams that need repeatable instance management and automation. The open-source software runs on Linux with snapd and supports the x86_64 (amd64) architecture; the current version is 6.10.1-f5c750d.