Build System Overview

Since QEMU 4.0, the build system uses Meson + Ninja, replacing the old autoconf/make system. The ./configure script is still present but it is now a thin wrapper that generates a Meson build directory.

configure (wrapper)
    └──► meson setup build/  ──► Ninja  ──► binaries

System Dependencies (Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04)

# Core build tools:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y \
    git python3 python3-pip meson ninja-build \
    pkg-config libglib2.0-dev libpixman-1-dev \
    gcc g++ make

# For specific features:
sudo apt-get install -y \
    libslirp-dev \
    libcap-ng-dev \
    libattr1-dev \
    libfuse3-dev \
    libspice-server-dev \
    libaio-dev \
    libvirgl-dev \
    libepoxy-dev \
    libdrm-dev \
    libgbm-dev \
    libfdt-dev \
    libsdl2-dev \
    libgtk-3-dev \
    libvte-2.91-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    liblzo2-dev \
    libbzip2-dev \
    zlib1g-dev

# Python dependencies for tests and scripts:
pip3 install sphinx sphinx_rtd_theme tomli pyyaml

Getting the Source

# Latest release:
git clone https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu.git --branch v9.2.0 --depth 1
cd qemu

# Or latest development:
git clone https://gitlab.com/qemu-project/qemu.git
cd qemu
git submodule update --init --recursive    # dtc, berkleydb, etc.

Building: Selective Target List

Building all targets takes very long. For embedded work, build only what you need:

# ARM32 + AArch64 + RISC-V only (recommended for embedded):
./configure \
    --target-list=arm-softmmu,aarch64-softmmu,riscv64-softmmu,riscv32-softmmu \
    --enable-slirp \
    --enable-plugins \
    --enable-debug-info

# With KVM support (for x86 host):
./configure \
    --target-list=aarch64-softmmu,arm-softmmu,riscv64-softmmu,x86_64-softmmu \
    --enable-kvm \
    --enable-slirp \
    --enable-plugins

# Minimal: user-mode and one system target:
./configure \
    --target-list=aarch64-softmmu,aarch64-linux-user,arm-linux-user

# Build:
make -j$(nproc)

# Install (optional):
sudo make install

Key Configure Options

Option	Effect
--target-list=<list>	Comma-separated list of targets to build
--enable-kvm	KVM hardware acceleration (Linux only)
--enable-hvf	Apple Hypervisor.framework (macOS only)
--enable-plugins	TCG Plugin API for custom instrumentation
--enable-slirp	User-mode networking (required for -netdev user)
--enable-debug	Debug build (address sanitizer, assertions)
--enable-debug-info	Include DWARF info in binaries
--disable-docs	Skip Sphinx documentation build (faster)
--disable-werror	Don't treat warnings as errors
--enable-sanitizers	ASAN + UBSAN
--enable-trace-backends=<b>	log, simple, ust (LTTng), dtrace, nop
--prefix=<path>	Install prefix (default /usr/local)

Package Manager Installation

For quick installation without source build:

# Ubuntu / Debian:
sudo apt-get install qemu-system-arm qemu-system-misc qemu-user-static

# Fedora / RHEL:
sudo dnf install qemu-system-arm qemu-user

# Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S qemu-system-arm qemu-user-static

# macOS (Homebrew):
brew install qemu

Note: Package manager versions may lag behind. For the TCG Plugin API and latest machine models, build from source.

Enabling KVM

# Check if KVM is available:
kvm-ok
# OR:
ls /dev/kvm

# Add your user to the kvm group:
sudo usermod -a -G kvm $USER
newgrp kvm      # Activate without logout

# Load kernel module:
sudo modprobe kvm
sudo modprobe kvm_intel     # Intel host
sudo modprobe kvm_amd       # AMD host

# Make KVM module persistent:
echo 'kvm_intel' | sudo tee -a /etc/modules-load.d/kvm.conf

# Test KVM:
qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -M q35 -m 1G -nographic -kernel /boot/vmlinuz \
  -append "console=ttyS0" 2>&1 | head -20

Verifying Installation

# Version:
qemu-system-aarch64 --version
# QEMU emulator version 9.2.0 (v9.2.0)

# Available machines:
qemu-system-arm -M help | head -20

# Available CPUs for a machine:
qemu-system-aarch64 -M virt -cpu help

# First boot test with virt machine:
qemu-system-aarch64 \
  -M virt -cpu cortex-a57 \
  -m 512M \
  -nographic \
  -kernel /usr/share/qemu/qemu-aarch64-firmware.bin 2>/dev/null || \
echo "QEMU is installed and functional"

# Test user-mode:
echo '#include <stdio.h>
int main(){printf("QEMU user-mode OK\\n");}' > /tmp/t.c
gcc -o /tmp/t-arm -static --target=aarch64-linux-gnu /tmp/t.c 2>/dev/null || \
aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc -static -o /tmp/t-arm /tmp/t.c && \
qemu-aarch64 /tmp/t-arm

Building QEMU with TCG Plugin Support

TCG plugins (for custom instrumentation) require --enable-plugins:

./configure \
    --target-list=aarch64-softmmu,arm-softmmu \
    --enable-plugins \
    --enable-debug-info
make -j$(nproc)

# Build the included example plugins:
make -C contrib/plugins

# Run with a plugin:
qemu-system-aarch64 -M virt -cpu cortex-a53 -kernel Image \
  -plugin contrib/plugins/libinsn.so,arg=inline \
  -d plugin -nographic

Cross-Compiling QEMU for an Embedded Host

If you need to run QEMU on an embedded Linux host (e.g., a powerful SBC):

# Cross-compile QEMU for ARM64 host:
./configure \
    --cross-prefix=aarch64-linux-gnu- \
    --target-list=arm-softmmu \
    --static \
    --disable-docs
make -j$(nproc)

Prerequisites

Before installing QEMU, ensure your system meets the following requirements:

• Linux-based operating system (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, etc.)
• Administrative privileges (sudo access)
• Internet connection for downloading packages

Installation Methods

Method 1: Package Manager Installation (Recommended)

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install qemu-system-arm qemu-system-x86 qemu-utils

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora:

sudo dnf install qemu-kvm qemu-img
# Or for older systems:
sudo yum install qemu-kvm qemu-img

Method 2: Build from Source

For the latest features or custom configurations:

1. Download the source code:

wget https://download.qemu.org/qemu-7.2.0.tar.xz
tar xvJf qemu-7.2.0.tar.xz
cd qemu-7.2.0

2. Configure and build:

./configure --target-list=arm-softmmu,x86_64-softmmu --enable-kvm
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

Contributors: Vasu Grover

Previous pageQEMU Supported Architectures

Next pageQEMU Basic Usage