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Add SPICE support by installing qemu-system-modules-spice - #1567

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Add SPICE support by installing qemu-system-modules-spice#1567
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slawomir-andreasik:add-spice-support

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@slawomir-andreasik

@slawomir-andreasik slawomir-andreasik commented Nov 12, 2025

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Summary

This PR adds the qemu-system-modules-spice package to the Docker image, enabling SPICE protocol support for enhanced VM interaction capabilities.

Problem

Currently, users attempting to use SPICE with the container encounter errors:

ERROR: qemu-system-x86_64: -spice port=5930,addr=0.0.0.0,disable-ticketing: There is no option group 'spice'
qemu-system-x86_64: -spice port=5930,addr=0.0.0.0,disable-ticketing: Perhaps you want to install qemu-system-modules-spice package?

This limitation blocks several important use cases:

  • Audio device passthrough - Users cannot pass through microphones or speakers to the Windows VM ([Feature]: Spice support #1478)
  • GPU passthrough with proper input handling - SPICE is essential for keyboard and mouse functionality when using GPU passthrough (GPU Passthrough #22)
  • Looking Glass integration - SPICE is required for proper operation of Looking Glass, which provides low-latency display for GPU-passthrough scenarios

Solution

The fix is straightforward: install the qemu-system-modules-spice package alongside other dependencies. This single-line change enables QEMU's -spice option without affecting existing functionality.

Use Cases

This change enables users to:

  1. Pass through audio devices - Access real microphone/speaker hardware in Windows (not just RDP's remote audio)
  2. Use GPU passthrough effectively - Combined with Looking Glass for near-native graphics performance with proper input device handling
  3. Connect via SPICE protocol - Alternative to RDP with better device support

Testing

The SPICE module has been successfully used in modified builds of this image, as demonstrated in community implementations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNym2aW7Js

Impact

  • Backward compatible - Simply adds an optional package; existing functionality unchanged
  • Small footprint - Minimal increase in image size

This change adds the qemu-system-modules-spice package to enable
SPICE protocol support for the Windows VM, which is required for:
- GPU passthrough scenarios with proper input device handling
- Integration with Looking Glass for low-latency display
- Audio device passthrough (microphone and speaker support)

The package enables QEMU's -spice option, which was previously
unavailable and resulted in errors when users attempted to use it.
@kroese

kroese commented Nov 12, 2025

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Thanks! But this should be submitted to the base project: https://github.com/qemus/qemu instead.

@slawomir-andreasik

slawomir-andreasik commented Nov 12, 2025

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Thanks for the feedback! You're right - this belongs at the base layer.

I've submitted the change to qemus/qemu instead: qemus/qemu#978

The PR includes detailed context on why SPICE is essential for GPU passthrough + Looking Glass gaming setups (as documented in the official Looking Glass installation guide).

Closing this PR in favor of the upstream change.

@slawomir-andreasik

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Moved to upstream: qemus/qemu#978

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2 participants