| name | packer-vm-baking |
| description | QEMU/KVM VM image baking patterns with Packer. Covers golden image strategy, QEMU-specific boot command/keyboard automation via VNC, preseed/kickstart/cloud-init, QEMU disk management, and image testing. |
| invocation_policy | automatic |
Packer QEMU/KVM VM Baking Skill
QEMU/KVM-focused VM image baking patterns using Packer. This skill covers the full lifecycle of building golden VM images with the QEMU builder: from boot automation and provisioning through post-processing and image testing.
For general HCL authoring patterns, variables, sources, and template structure, use the packer-hcl skill. For infrastructure provisioning and CI/CD pipeline patterns around Packer builds, use the packer-infra skill.
Configuration
The packer-vm-baking skill directory is the directory containing this file. Feature files are in the features/ subdirectory.
Capabilities
QEMU Golden Image Patterns
When designing golden image workflows, image versioning, or multi-distribution matrix builds:
- Load
features/golden-image-patterns.md for image lifecycle strategy, QEMU disk provisioning, Ansible integration, cleanup before sealing, and image minimization
QEMU Boot & Automation
When configuring boot commands, keyboard automation via VNC, preseed/kickstart/cloud-init/autoinstall, or QEMU-specific boot quirks:
- Load
features/boot-and-automation.md for boot_command key encoding, VNC sendkey mapping, boot wait timing, EFI/BIOS boot differences, preseed/kickstart configuration, and cloud-init datasource seeding
Cross-Referencing
When a task spans multiple domains, load the primary feature first, then additional features as needed. Features reference each other for cross-cutting topics.
- packer-hcl — For general HCL authoring patterns, source/variable/output contracts, build block structure, and template organization
- packer-infra — For CI/CD pipeline integration, artifact storage, build orchestration, and infrastructure for running Packer builds
- packer-qemu — For QEMU builder-specific configuration details, accelerator tuning, and platform-specific QEMU options
- go — For developing or debugging custom Packer plugins, provisioners, or post-processors written in Go
