Managing VM Lifecycle

1. Starting VM

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant up	Starts the VM and provisions it if needed	Default behavior starts all VMs defined in Vagrantfile
vagrant up <vm-name>	Starts a specific VM defined in Vagrantfile	Useful when multiple VMs are defined
vagrant up --no-provision	Starts the VM without running provisioners	Useful for debugging or when provisioning is not needed

Example: Starting a VM

vagrant up
# Output:
# Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
# Preparing network interfaces based on config...
# ...
# VM started!

Example: Starting a specific VM

vagrant up web-server
# Output:
# Bringing machine 'web-server' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
# ...
# VM started!

2. Suspending VM

Suspending a Vagrant VM saves its current state to disk and stops the virtual machine. This allows you to resume the VM later with its previous state intact.

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant suspend	Suspends the running VM	State is saved to disk, VM is stopped

Example: Suspending a VM

$ vagrant suspend

Note: Suspending is useful for saving resources when the VM is not in use but you want to preserve its state.

Warning: Suspending does not save the VM's network configuration changes permanently. Changes made to the network after suspension may be lost upon resumption.

3. Resuming VM

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant resume	Resumes a suspended VM	VM must be in `suspended` state

Example: Resume a suspended VM

vagrant resume

Note: The vagrant resume command only works if the VM is in a suspended state. If the VM is halted or running, this command will not have any effect.

4. Halting VM

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant halt	Stops the VM gracefully	Equivalent to shutting down the VM from the UI
vagrant halt --force	Stops the VM forcefully	Bypasses graceful shutdown; may cause data loss

Example: Halting a VM

vagrant halt

Note: The VM will be in a "saved" state and can be resumed with vagrant resume or vagrant up.

5. Reloading VM

Reloading a Vagrant VM applies configuration changes from the Vagrantfile without destroying the VM. It's useful for updating network settings, synced folders, or other configurations.

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant reload	Gracefully shuts down and restarts the VM	Applies changes from Vagrantfile
vagrant reload --hard	Forcefully restarts the VM (equivalent to halt + up)	Does not preserve VM state
vagrant reload --provision	Reloads and re-runs provisioners	Useful after config changes that require provisioning

Example: Reloading with Provisioning

vagrant reload --provision

Note: The vagrant reload command will not re-run provisioners unless explicitly requested with the --provision flag.

Warning: Using vagrant reload --hard will cause a full shutdown and restart, which may interrupt running processes or services.

6. Destroying VM

Command	Description	Notes
vagrant destroy	Destroys the VM instance and removes all associated files.	Deletes the VM from the hypervisor. Use with caution as this action is irreversible.
vagrant destroy -f	Destroys the VM without prompting for confirmation.	Useful in scripts or automation where user interaction is not possible.
vagrant destroy <name>	Destroys a specific VM instance by name.	Allows destruction of individual VMs in a multi-VM environment.

Example: Destroying a VM

$ vagrant destroy

Example: Forcefully Destroying a VM

$ vagrant destroy -f

Note: The vagrant destroy command removes the VM from the hypervisor and deletes all associated files. This action cannot be undone.

7. Checking VM Status

Command	Description	Output
vagrant status	Shows the current status of all VMs defined in the Vagrantfile	`default: running (virtualbox)`
vagrant status <vm-name>	Shows the status of a specific VM	`web: running (virtualbox)`

Example: Checking status of a VM

$ vagrant status
default: running (virtualbox)

Note: The status can be running, saved, poweroff, or not created.

8. Checking Global Status

Example: Vagrant Global Status

vagrant global-status

Field	Description	Notes
id	Unique identifier for the VM	Used internally by Vagrant
name	Name of the VM	Set in Vagrantfile or default to project name
provider	Virtualization provider used	e.g., virtualbox, vmware_fusion, libvirt
state	Current state of the VM	running, poweredoff, saved, etc.
directory	Path to Vagrantfile	Used to identify project location

Note: The vagrant global-status command shows all VMs managed by Vagrant across your system, including those not currently running.

9. Pruning Invalid Entries

Invalid entries in Vagrant's global state can accumulate over time, leading to outdated or broken configurations. Pruning these entries helps maintain a clean and functional Vagrant environment.

Entry Type	Description	Action
Invalid Boxes	Boxes that are no longer accessible or have been removed from the system.	Use `vagrant box prune` to remove outdated or unused boxes.
Invalid VMs	Virtual machines that are no longer associated with valid Vagrant configurations.	Run `vagrant global-status --prune` to clean up invalid VMs.
Orphaned State Files	State files that remain after a VM has been destroyed or removed.	Delete manually from `~/.vagrant.d/` if not handled by prune commands.

Example: Pruning Invalid Boxes

vagrant box prune

Example: Pruning Invalid VMs

vagrant global-status --prune

Note: The vagrant global-status --prune command will remove all invalid entries from the global status, including those that are not currently running.

10. Understanding Graceful vs Forced Shutdown

Shutdown Type	Description	Command	Notes
graceful	Allows running processes to finish before shutting down	`vagrant halt`	Default behavior; waits for processes to complete
forced	Immediately terminates all processes without waiting	`vagrant halt --force`	Use only when graceful shutdown fails or is unresponsive

Example: Graceful shutdown

$ vagrant halt

Example: Forced shutdown

$ vagrant halt --force

Note: Use vagrant halt --force only when the VM is unresponsive or stuck in a non-graceful state.