From 384045c2fd5a056163b215713ebacd770eb2ad55 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Softer <sft.nik@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2026 17:02:37 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] Move dev VM script to test_tooling/dev_vm/, update paths and
 README

---
 .gitignore                                    |  2 +-
 README.md                                     | 18 +++++++++++++++++
 .../dev_vm}/derive_packages.py                |  0
 {scripts => test_tooling/dev_vm}/dev_vm.sh    | 20 +++++++++----------
 4 files changed, 29 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
 rename {scripts => test_tooling/dev_vm}/derive_packages.py (100%)
 rename {scripts => test_tooling/dev_vm}/dev_vm.sh (93%)

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0d3c150a..cef909bf 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ SAFETY_LOCK
 **/**.egg*
 **/**.sh
 !archinstall/locales/locales_generator.sh
-!scripts/dev_vm.sh
+!test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh
 **/**.egg-info/
 **/**build/
 **/**src/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4e6847f4..414cbab2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -170,6 +170,24 @@ replace the archinstall version with a newer one and execute the subsequent step
       rare case it will not work is if the source has introduced any new dependencies that are not installed yet
    - Installing the branch version with `pip install --break-system-packages .` and `archinstall`
 
+## Developer VM (recommended for contributors)
+
+The fastest way to iterate on archinstall is the dev VM script in `test_tooling/dev_vm/`.
+It builds a minimal Arch ISO with runtime deps pre-installed, then launches QEMU with the
+project source mounted read-only via 9p - edit code on the host, run `archinstall` in the
+guest immediately, no rebuild needed.
+
+```shell
+./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh           # first run builds ISO, then boots
+./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh rebuild   # force rebuild ISO
+./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh boot      # boot from installed disk (no ISO)
+./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh --bios    # legacy BIOS mode
+./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh -h        # all options
+```
+
+Requires an Arch-based host with `qemu-base` installed. See the script header for details
+on 9p shares, log streaming, and env overrides.
+
 ## Without a Live ISO Image
 
 To test this without a live ISO, the simplest approach is to use a local image and create a loop device.<br>
diff --git a/scripts/derive_packages.py b/test_tooling/dev_vm/derive_packages.py
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/derive_packages.py
rename to test_tooling/dev_vm/derive_packages.py
diff --git a/scripts/dev_vm.sh b/test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh
similarity index 93%
rename from scripts/dev_vm.sh
rename to test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh
index 0d1cad06..8d43bcbc 100755
--- a/scripts/dev_vm.sh
+++ b/test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh
@@ -18,22 +18,22 @@
 #   archinstall              wrapper around `python -m archinstall`; clears the
 #                            log directory on every invocation
 #
-# Run from the project root or from inside scripts/ - both work, the script
-# resolves the project root from its own location.
+# Run from the project root or from inside test_tooling/dev_vm/ - both work,
+# the script resolves the project root from its own location.
 #
 # Usage (from project root):
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh              - build ISO if missing, fresh disk, boot
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh rebuild | r  - force rebuild ISO, fresh disk, boot
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh keep    | k  - reuse disk, boot ISO
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh boot    | b  - boot from installed disk (no ISO)
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh clean   | c  - remove disk, NVRAM, ISO, logs
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh -h           - show this help
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh              - build ISO if missing, fresh disk, boot
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh rebuild | r  - force rebuild ISO, fresh disk, boot
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh keep    | k  - reuse disk, boot ISO
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh boot    | b  - boot from installed disk (no ISO)
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh clean   | c  - remove disk, NVRAM, ISO, logs
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh -h           - show this help
 #
 # Firmware mode (default is UEFI 64-bit):
 #   --bios                   - legacy BIOS boot (SeaBIOS, no OVMF)
 #
 # Flag can be combined with a command:
-#   ./scripts/dev_vm.sh --bios rebuild
+#   ./test_tooling/dev_vm/dev_vm.sh --bios rebuild
 #
 # Env overrides:
 #   SCREEN_W, SCREEN_H       - virtio-vga resolution (default 1280x720)
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
-PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
 DEV_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/.dev"
 CONFIGS_DIR="$DEV_DIR/configs"
 LOGS_DIR="$DEV_DIR/logs"