# LXD

> This is the documentation for LXD, a system container and virtual machine manager.


2014-2026 AGPL-3.0, LXD contributors

## Pages in this subsection

- [Explanation](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/index.html.md): The explanatory guides in this section introduce you to the concepts used in LXD and help you unders...
- [`lxd` and `lxc`](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/lxd_lxc/index.html.md): LXD is frequently confused with LXC, and the fact that LXD provides both a `lxd` command and a `lxc`...
- [Containers and VMs](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/instances/index.html.md): LXD provides support for two different types of instances: *system containers* and *virtual machines...
- [Storage pools, volumes, and buckets](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/storage/index.html.md): LXD stores its data in storage pools, divided into storage volumes of different content types (like ...
- [Networking setups](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/networks/index.html.md): There are different ways to connect your instances to the Internet. The easiest method is to have LX...
- [`lxc` `show` and `info`](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/lxc_show_info/index.html.md): For the entities managed by LXD, the `lxc` command provides a `list` sub-command, and might provide ...
- [Remote API authorization](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/authorization/index.html.md): When LXD is exposed over the network it is possible to restrict API access via two mechanisms:
- [Instances grouping with projects](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/projects/index.html.md): <p class="youtube_link">
- [Clusters](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/clusters/index.html.md): <p class="youtube_link">
- [Performance tuning](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/performance_tuning/index.html.md): When you are ready to move your LXD setup to production, you should take some time to optimize the p...
- [Security](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/security/index.html.md): <p class="youtube_link">
- [Privilege delegation using BPF Token](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/bpf/index.html.md): The `security.delegate_bpf` option enables the  functionality delegation mechanism, using a BPF Toke...
- [Instance configuration](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/explanation/instance_config/index.html.md): The instance configuration consists of different categories:

## Optional

- [Top-level llms.txt](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/default/llms.txt): Complete documentation index.