Announcement: Preloaded disposables by ben-grande · Pull Request #146 · QubesOS/qubes-posts

ben-grande · 2025-07-02T16:59:16Z

Depends:

Graphs are finished, they should be added to qubes-attachment and also, I think it is a good idea to update the disposable documentation before this post is published, because the docs is outdated, I will do it this week and reference bits of the documentation in this post.

andrewdavidwong

Looks great! Here are some minor editing suggestions.

For: QubesOS/qubes-posts#146 For: QubesOS/qubes-issues#1512

marmarek · 2025-07-05T01:52:47Z

+Or use the equivalent command-line operation:
+
+```shell
+qvm-features dom0 preload-dispvm-max 10


While in theory the exact value doesn't matter as an example, in practice people will use this as-is when trying it out. 10 dispvms is a lot, and will use considerable amount of memory, especially relevant for systems with not a lot of RAM... More preloaded disposables is useful only if you use them quickly one after another (qubes builder likely will be such example), but for normal usage (for example using disposables to view/edit documents) I'd say even 1 or 2 is a reasonable value.

For: QubesOS/qubes-posts#146 For: QubesOS/qubes-issues#1512

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T06:57:39Z

+
+-->
+
+## Know issues


Suggested change

## Know issues

## Known issues

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T06:58:38Z

+A [disposable](/doc/how-to-use-disposables/) is a lightweight qube that can be
+created quickly and will self-destruct when closed. Disposables are usually
+created in order to host and execute untrusted code, be it on the software
+level a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the


Suggested change

level a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the

level of a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T06:59:12Z

+created quickly and will self-destruct when closed. Disposables are usually
+created in order to host and execute untrusted code, be it on the software
+level a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the
+hardware level ([PCI passtrough](/doc/how-to-use-pci-devices/)).


Suggested change

hardware level ([PCI passtrough](/doc/how-to-use-pci-devices/)).

hardware level (e.g., for [PCI passthrough](/doc/how-to-use-pci-devices/)).

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:00:35Z

+for every new task. Unnamed disposables are ideal for this use case. So, what
+is the problem with them? The caller has to wait for a complete qube startup
+before running the desired application. The delay might seem a minor annoyance
+at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users run applications on


Suggested change

at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users run applications on

at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users tend to reuse

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:01:44Z

+is the problem with them? The caller has to wait for a complete qube startup
+before running the desired application. The delay might seem a minor annoyance
+at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users run applications on
+already tainted qubes or in the qube itself to avoid the waiting time.


Suggested change

already tainted qubes or in the qube itself to avoid the waiting time.

tainted disposables or run applications in non-disposable qubes to avoid the waiting time.

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:02:10Z

+at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users run applications on
+already tainted qubes or in the qube itself to avoid the waiting time.
+
+The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or lack of documentation


Suggested change

The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or lack of documentation

The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or a lack of documentation

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:02:35Z

+already tainted qubes or in the qube itself to avoid the waiting time.
+
+The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or lack of documentation
+but how the user perceives the system. If the system is slow, the user will


Suggested change

but how the user perceives the system. If the system is slow, the user will

but how the user perceives the system. If the system is slow, many users will

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:03:46Z

+
+Yes! It can do better.
+
+In the project lead's presentation


Suggested change

In the project lead's presentation

Qubes OS project lead Marek Marczykowski-Górecki, in his

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:05:43Z

+
+In the project lead's presentation
+[Qubes OS development status update](https://cfp.3mdeb.com/qubes-os-summit-2024/talk/AWCBJ8/)
+at the Qubes OS Summit 2024, it was mentioned that there was intent for faster


Suggested change

at the Qubes OS Summit 2024, it was mentioned that there was intent for faster

at Qubes OS Summit 2024, mentioned plans for faster

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:06:27Z

+In the project lead's presentation
+[Qubes OS development status update](https://cfp.3mdeb.com/qubes-os-summit-2024/talk/AWCBJ8/)
+at the Qubes OS Summit 2024, it was mentioned that there was intent for faster
+disposable qube usage for this release. Here is where preloaded disposables


Suggested change

disposable qube usage for this release. Here is where preloaded disposables

disposables in Qubes OS 4.3. Here is where preloaded disposables

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:06:58Z

+[Qubes OS development status update](https://cfp.3mdeb.com/qubes-os-summit-2024/talk/AWCBJ8/)
+at the Qubes OS Summit 2024, it was mentioned that there was intent for faster
+disposable qube usage for this release. Here is where preloaded disposables
+enters.


Suggested change

enters.

enter.

Isn't the subject preloaded disposables an it? Here is where it enters?

preloaded disposables is plural.

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:07:42Z

+suspended, as appropriate) and resumed (transparently) when a disposable qube
+is requested by the user.
+
+When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing or the qube entry


Suggested change

When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing or the qube entry

When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing and the qube entry

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:07:54Z

+is requested by the user.
+
+When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing or the qube entry
+itself is hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec


Suggested change

itself is hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec

itself are hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:08:17Z

+When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing or the qube entry
+itself is hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec
+Policy Ask prompt. This is by design to avoid contamination. A preload is not
+something you use directly, but indirectly.


Suggested change

something you use directly, but indirectly.

something intended to be used directly, but indirectly.

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:08:43Z

+something you use directly, but indirectly.
+
+The use of preloaded disposables is transparent, indistinguishable from the
+usage of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed


Suggested change

usage of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed

use of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed

andrewdavidwong · 2025-07-05T07:09:02Z

+
+The use of preloaded disposables is transparent, indistinguishable from the
+usage of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed
+disposable will instead mark a preload as used and reply with an already


Suggested change

disposable will instead mark a preload as used and reply with an already

disposable will instead mark a preload as used and reply with an already-

ben-grande · 2025-07-07T15:03:27Z

@ben-grande: I find myself suggesting changes for some of the same typos/errors more than once. It looks like maybe you're trying to manually implement my suggested changes but not actually implementing some of them or accidentally reverting some changes? You might want to use the "commit suggestion" feature (assuming you agree with the changes) to make this easier. Alternatively, I could just do an editing pass right before publication instead of iteratively while you're still revising the draft. The current workflow seems a bit inefficient for both of us, so I'll pause here for now. :)

Yes, I implement all the changes manually instead of copying from the Github WebUI to my code editor. I hope that one day the add to batch suggestion actually open an interface where it shows a patch instead of just prompting to commit in browser.

About the same errors resurfacing... I don't really know what happened, I verified each suggestion manually.

About making things easier, you are welcome to do a last pass when the draft is completed.

Thanks for your effort so far.

For: QubesOS/qubes-posts#146 For: QubesOS/qubes-issues#1512

For: QubesOS/qubes-issues#1512 For: QubesOS/qubes-posts#146

parulin · 2025-10-13T20:22:26Z

+A [disposable](/doc/how-to-use-disposables/) is a lightweight qube that can be
+created quickly and will self-destruct when closed. Disposables are usually


The new definition introduced in QubesOS/qubes-doc#1554 is better.

parulin · 2025-10-13T20:23:25Z

+There are two kinds of disposables, unnamed and named. The difference between
+them (besides one having a fixed name) is that unnamed disposables are
+destroyed when closing the first application opened in them while the user
+must explicitly shut down named disposables.


I mentioned this about QubesOS/qubes-doc#1554 but it is not exactly true when attaching devices.

I included this in the glossary and the how to. I am not sure I will add it here.

parulin · 2025-10-13T20:30:45Z

+GUI daemon only starts the connection with the qube's GUI agent when the
+preload disposable is marked as used.
+
+[![Stacked execution](/attachment/posts/preload-graph_01_stage_stack_0.png)](/attachment/posts/preload-graph_01_stack_stack_0.png)


These kind of graphs should provide a full textual description. Maybe the easiest way to do that would be to provide tables too?

Ideally, matplotlib would automatically generate them. I found out there is matplotlibalt, but installation is only via pip...

See that OpenQA is already generating graphs, which is nice. Matplotalt has an option img_file that can save alt text to JPEG. But for that to hapen on CI, I would need to get a pip package to dom0 using a wrapper to bypass network restrictions (probably there is an integrated script for that already or the curl wrapper CI uses to fetch from local network), or copy the results to a vm, install matplotalt in a vm, generate the results there and them copy them to dom0 so they can be uploaded to OpenQA at the end of the job. @marmarek ?

Or I can fix jjust this case by writing the results manually.

parulin · 2025-10-13T20:33:42Z

+with `qvm-console-dispvm`. The default qube for those operations is
+`default-mgmt-dvm`:
+
+[![VM Settings](/attachment/posts/preload-local.png)](/attachment/posts/preload-local.png)


The alt isn't consistent (should be "qube's settings") and a detailed textual description should be provided.

parulin · 2025-10-13T20:34:18Z

+If you use the global `default_dispvm` a lot, you can target the global
+preload setting by setting the feature on `dom0`:
+
+[![Global settings](/attachment/posts/preload-global.png)](/attachment/posts/preload-global.png)


A detailed textual description should be provided here too.

parulin · 2025-10-14T06:22:44Z

+destroyed when closing the first application opened in them (on most
+workflows) while the user must explicitly shut down named disposables.


(on most workflows)

Nice balance between precision and readability!

parulin · 2025-10-14T06:22:50Z

+with `qvm-console-dispvm`. The default qube for those operations is
+`default-mgmt-dvm`:
+
+[![The qube's settings window of default-mgmt-dvm is open, disposable template checkbox is enabled and preloaded disposables spinox has the value set to 2.](/attachment/posts/preload-local.png)](/attachment/posts/preload-local.png)


Typo on spinox

marmarek · 2025-12-27T18:36:29Z

This should be good for publishing, I think - the two TODO are for actual publishing (depending on when it happens).

ben-grande · 2026-01-06T14:55:32Z

OK for review. I was adding a section to compare against industry but may be too much for the news post.

parulin · 2026-03-10T09:22:12Z

I don't think there is something still preventing this post from being published.

unman · 2026-03-10T12:11:13Z

I think you are right. No further review comments.

unman · 2026-03-10T13:17:18Z

@ben-grande
I think there are four points I would like to see included -

Comment on user facing change - appearance of disposable in Qubes Widget, with limited menu.
Explanation of use of checkbox/list in global settings.
Explicit call out of cases where preloading may not be useful.
Reference to the current outstanding issues, with links to issues.

I will add these before we post, unless you will.

unman · 2026-03-12T14:32:49Z

The user facing material should be at the head of the post. Otherwise it will be lost or skipped over.

ben-grande · 2026-03-12T14:38:29Z

The user facing material should be at the head of the post. Otherwise it will be lost or skipped over.

I tried to do in order of discovery, as per the headers:

## What are disposables?
## Fresh disposable startup time leads to fatigue
## What are preloaded disposables?
### Industry comparison on getting pristine environments faster
## How to use preloaded disposables  (User-facing material)
## Performance improvements
### Stacked execution
### Stacked total
### Execution per iteration
### Total per iteration
## Known issues, some soon to be fixed

I think that moving the user-facing material to the top would break the discovery. It would explain how to use it before explaining what it is and what problem it is trying to solve.

Maybe I can do a TLDR at the top linking to important sections?

ben-grande · 2026-03-12T16:10:23Z

Comment on user facing change - appearance of disposable in Qubes Widget, with limited menu.

Done. Not pushed yet.

Explanation of use of checkbox/list in global settings.

This situation will change, hopefully soon and hopefully before this post is published. Marta is doing a centralized configuration of preload disposable quantity in the global config. That means that both images will become outdated. Apparently there still is a checkbox there.

Explicit call out of cases where preloading may not be useful.

Can you provide such case? I read your issue on the forum of not being beneficial to preload, but it is not clear to me how should I express that. I am just aware that it was a memory constrained environment, with some qubes already running and not being able to preloaded. But this is less relevant with the introduction of preload-dispvm-delay feature. Of course, that will delay preloading the replacement, but it is better to still have memory and not fail to preload than the opposite.

Reference to the current outstanding issues, with links to issues.

Can you link to them?

ben-grande · 2026-03-12T16:12:55Z

2. Explanation of use of checkbox/list in global settings.

I wrote this already:

While the disposable template remains the global `default_dispvm`, it will
respect the global feature and ignore the per-qube setting.

To remove all the preloaded qubes, set the feature value to `0`, `''` (empty)
or delete the feature by unchecking the box. If the feature is set on `dom0`,
it's better to delete the feature so that the preload setting to be read from
the disposable template itself and not capped to `0`.

ben-grande mentioned this pull request Jul 2, 2025

Preloaded disposables QubesOS/qubes-issues#1512

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Add preloaded disposables images

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Add preloaded disposables images QubesOS/qubes-attachment#75

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Add preloaded disposables images QubesOS/qubes-doc#1528

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Preloaded disposables are not explained on GUI tools that shows it QubesOS/qubes-issues#10639

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Announcement: Preloaded disposables

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	level a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the
	level of a single application (like a viewer, editor or web browser) or the

	hardware level ([PCI passtrough](/doc/how-to-use-pci-devices/)).
	hardware level (e.g., for [PCI passthrough](/doc/how-to-use-pci-devices/)).

	at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users run applications on
	at first, but over a prolonged period, fatigued users tend to reuse

	already tainted qubes or in the qube itself to avoid the waiting time.
	tainted disposables or run applications in non-disposable qubes to avoid the waiting time.

	The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or lack of documentation
	The problem is not the user's lack of understanding or a lack of documentation

	but how the user perceives the system. If the system is slow, the user will
	but how the user perceives the system. If the system is slow, many users will

	In the project lead's presentation
	Qubes OS project lead Marek Marczykowski-Górecki, in his

	at the Qubes OS Summit 2024, it was mentioned that there was intent for faster
	at Qubes OS Summit 2024, mentioned plans for faster

	disposable qube usage for this release. Here is where preloaded disposables
	disposables in Qubes OS 4.3. Here is where preloaded disposables

	When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing or the qube entry
	When the qube is preloaded, the qube application listing and the qube entry

	itself is hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec
	itself are hidden from GUI applications such as the app menu and the Qrexec

	something you use directly, but indirectly.
	something intended to be used directly, but indirectly.

	usage of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed
	use of unnamed disposables. Requesting the creation of a new unnamed

	disposable will instead mark a preload as used and reply with an already
	disposable will instead mark a preload as used and reply with an already-

		A [disposable](/doc/how-to-use-disposables/) is a lightweight qube that can be
		created quickly and will self-destruct when closed. Disposables are usually

		destroyed when closing the first application opened in them (on most
		workflows) while the user must explicitly shut down named disposables.

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