Add KVM setup to quickstart.md

[Supritha-gurazala]

Add KVM setup instructions to Quickstart

Added instructions for checking and enabling KVM access before starting QEMU on Linux-based systems.

Testing done

Tested on Ubuntu by verifying KVM group membership and successfully starting the Flatcar QEMU VM.

• Changelog entries added in the respective changelog/ directory (user-facing change, bug fix, security fix, update)
• Inspected CI output for image differences: /boot and /usr size, packages, list files for any missing binaries, kernel modules, config files, kernel modules, etc.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds a new “Enable hardware-accelerated virtualization” section to the Flatcar QEMU quickstart to help users ensure KVM acceleration works before proceeding with VM provisioning.

Changes:

• Added steps to verify kvm group membership via id.
• Added instructions to add the user to the kvm group and apply the change for the current session.

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[shipitdev]

Hey supritha, thanks for putting this together, i followed the original discussion from discord to here, this is a solid addition for the kvm permission errors.

i just wanted to suggest a few quick tweaks before it gets merged:

1. PR checklist: it looks like you might have missed the changelog addition, i'm not sure if it can be bypassed but you need to add a changelog file with the changes your doing and then cross the checbox for it.
2. the suggestions: i'd agree with copilot since this is a linux focused quickstart the wording changes seems justified so does the -> $USER also some trailing spaces and missing blank lines that were added unintentionally. the suggestions aligns them all.

one more small thing, have you tried newgrp kvm in one terrminal and then run the QEMU script it another, do you still get the permission denied error ? i think the command only applies to the current terminal session although im not so sure, could you check it ?

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Suppressed comments (1)

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:67

• For consistency with the rest of the document, consider using the same fenced-code marker here as in other bash snippets on this page (instead of mixing fence styles).

~~~bash
newgrp kvm
~~~

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Suppressed comments (1)

Previously missed (1) — in code that hasn't changed since the last review.

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:52

• The section title and intro imply virtualization is being enabled, but the steps here only adjust user permissions for KVM. This can confuse users when /dev/kvm is missing (e.g., virtualization disabled in BIOS/UEFI), because group membership alone won’t make KVM available. Consider renaming the section to focus on KVM access and add a quick /dev/kvm availability check before the group membership steps.

## Enable hardware-accelerated virtualization

On Linux, QEMU uses KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. Your local user needs to be a member of the `kvm` group. You only need to do this once.

Check whether your user is already in the `kvm` group:

[shipitdev]

well i'd have rather simply commited the last suggestion by copilot, seems like you rewrote it. "On Ubuntu and in WSL2 on Windows, QEMU can use KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. Your local user needs to be a member of the kvm group. You only need to do this once." lets keep this to match the scope of the pr to ubuntu and windows. allthough i see you hadd similar written on the last commit sorry for vouching for it change, didn't pay much attention. i think its also safe to revert back to old.

[Supritha-gurazala]

I have been highly confused about the wording, ngl. The original commit was following the learning series verbatim, so that both the learning series and quickstart align. But the copilot kept confusing me, hence the current "On Ubuntu and in WSL2 on Windows, QEMU can use KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. Your local user needs to be a member of the kvm group. You only need to do this once." So I thought maybe I could use the maintainer's help, hence didn't change the PR description.
Should I tag a maintainer for help in this regard?

[shipitdev]

yeah it was confusing at first, although human judgement preferred over AI's anyday. i believe the current wordings are clear and as you said it follows the verbatim from the other two series, i believe this will do. As the docs are designed for new users, they should be simple and easy to interpret. the current one LGTM a maintainer will eventually look at the wording and give us a green signal, no need to tag them here as i see you've already asked for a review on the discord channel.

[Supritha-gurazala]

Hey supritha, thanks for putting this together, i followed the original discussion from discord to here, this is a solid addition for the kvm permission errors.

i just wanted to suggest a few quick tweaks before it gets merged:

1. PR checklist: it looks like you might have missed the changelog addition, i'm not sure if it can be bypassed but you need to add a changelog file with the changes your doing and then cross the checbox for it.
2. the suggestions: i'd agree with copilot since this is a linux focused quickstart the wording changes seems justified so does the -> $USER also some trailing spaces and missing blank lines that were added unintentionally. the suggestions aligns them all.

one more small thing, have you tried newgrp kvm in one terrminal and then run the QEMU script it another, do you still get the permission denied error ? i think the command only applies to the current terminal session although im not so sure, could you check it ?

Thank you for taking time and reviewing the pr !
I fixed the whitespace/formatting suggestions and updated the wording.
I also tested the newgrp kvm behavior across two terminals. I ran newgrp kvm in Terminal 1, then opened Terminal 2 without running it there. id in Terminal 2 still showed kvm as a supplementary group, and QEMU started successfully from Terminal 2.

So it looks like you don't need to run newgrp kvm in every terminal. Once your user is a member of the kvm group, a newly opened terminal gets that group membership automatically.

One thing I'm still unsure about is the changelog requirement. I couldn't find a changelog/ directory in the flatcar-website repo. Do you have any idea?

[shipitdev]

hi, thank you for time confirming it.

about the changelog requirement its actually a directory inside your local fork and not a repo, please just add a small changelog entry summarizing the change in this pr and sign off with your username. AI should be able to help you with that

also DCO check seems to failing, you need to be signing your commits so please amend this in the last commit "Signed-off-by: Author Name authoremail@example.com" that'd be all. thank you

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Suppressed comments (1)

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:50

• This section is written as generic Linux-only guidance, but the PR description (and the Getting Started learning series page) scopes the KVM group step specifically to Ubuntu and Windows/WSL2. Please align the wording here so users on other Linux distros don’t assume the kvm group approach is universally applicable, and so the doc matches the stated PR scope.

On Linux, QEMU uses KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. Your local user needs to be a member of the `kvm` group. You only need to do this once.

[sayanchowdhury]

Thanks for the PR @Supritha-gurazala

I've added a few comments.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Suppressed comments (1)

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:50

• The PR description/changelog say this is specifically for Ubuntu + Windows/WSL, but this line scopes the instructions to generic “Linux-based systems”. Either mention Ubuntu/WSL2 explicitly here (as discussed in the earlier review thread) or adjust the PR description/changelog to match the broader scope.

On Linux-based systems, QEMU uses KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. The current user needs to be a member of the `kvm` group.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Suppressed comments (2)

Previously missed (2) — in code that hasn't changed since the last review.

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:50

• The PR description (and prior review thread) indicates the KVM guidance is intended to cover Ubuntu and Windows/WSL, but this new text is phrased generically as “Linux-based systems”, which leaves the page scope unclear for Windows/WSL readers. Please align the wording with the intended platforms (or narrow the scope in the PR description).

On Linux-based systems, QEMU uses KVM for hardware-accelerated virtualization. The current user needs to be a member of the `kvm` group.

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:57

• Grammar/capitalization: “Please” should not be capitalized mid-sentence, and “an one-time” should be “a one-time”.

If `kvm` is not listed, Please proceed with adding your user to the `kvm` group. Note that adding the user to a group is an one-time configuration step. The group membership persists across subsequent login sessions and system reboots.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Suppressed comments (1)

content/docs/latest/getting-started/quickstart.md:57

• Grammar: “an one-time” should be “a one-time”, and this sentence reads a bit like a run-on. Consider tightening it into two shorter sentences for readability.

If `kvm` is not listed, please proceed with adding your user to the `kvm` group. Note that adding the user to a group is an one-time configuration step; the membership persists across subsequent login sessions and system reboots.

[Supritha-gurazala]

I've applied the requested changes to the PR @sayanchowdhury . Please take another look when you have a chance and let me know if I need to change anything else.