Boxes is a GNOME application in Fedora that is used to create, manage, and run virtual machines. It was designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, building upon the harder to use qemu-based virt-manager. Although it does not provide many of the features that virt-manager boasts, it is the perfect tool for Fedora users looking to try out new (potentially unstable) operating systems, or tinker with new software packages without polluting their own workstations.

To install Boxes, you will first need to open a Terminal window. Type the following in the prompt to install Boxes through yum (If you are using Gnome, you may also use the Software application in order to install Boxes): $ sudo yum install gnome-boxes Next, when Boxes has finished installing, you may open Boxes through your method of choice. I prefer pressing ALT+F2 and entering gnome-boxes . Finally, when Boxes has opened, you can click on the “New” button at the top left in order to create a new machine. You can blaze through the steps, or carefully consider every option. When asked to do so, you will need to select an ISO image. You can download the ISO image of the operating system you would like to run by downloading it from the OS’s website. For instance, you can download an ISO image of Fedora 21 by heading to this link. Once the virtual machine is created, you can start it by clicking on its thumbnail on Boxes’ main page.

Gnome Boxes is still under heavy development, and it is not perfect. However, in my testing, I’ve been able to reach fast speeds on Boxes, and most things have ran smoothly. Have fun, and let us know what you think in the comments!

Tip: If you would like to store your Gnome Boxes disks (which can get large) elsewhere, such as on a storage hard drive, you can use a symbolic link to move its location. Create a symbolic link from

~/.local/share/gnome-boxes

to your desired location:

$ rm -rf ~/.local/share/gnome-boxes && ln -s /path/to/drive ~/.local/share/gnome-boxes