Store VM metadata as JSON

README.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Minimal Firecracker launcher.
 
 ## Requirements
 - Linux host with KVM (`/dev/kvm` access)
-- `sudo`, `ip`, `curl`, `ssh`
+- `sudo`, `ip`, `curl`, `ssh`, `jq`
 - `dmsetup`, `losetup`, `blockdev` (device-mapper snapshot for rootfs)
 - `e2cp`, `e2rm` (writes hostname and resolv.conf into rootfs snapshot)
 
@@ -63,22 +63,9 @@ reboot
 ```
 
 ## VM Info File
-Each VM writes a metadata file at `state/vms/<id>/info` with the following fields:
-- `id`: unique identifier for the VM instance.
-- `name`: VM name.
-- `pid`: Firecracker process ID.
-- `created_at`: timestamp when the VM was launched.
-- `rootfs`: root filesystem image path used to launch the VM.
-- `kernel`: kernel image path used to launch the VM.
-- `guest_ip`: IP address assigned to the guest.
-- `tap`: host TAP interface name attached to the bridge.
-- `api_sock`: path to the Firecracker API socket (stored under `$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/banger/` when available).
-- `log`: path to the Firecracker log file.
-- `base_loop`: loop device backing the base rootfs (if present).
-- `cow_file`: copy-on-write image file (if present).
-- `cow_loop`: loop device for the COW image (if present).
-- `dm_name`: device-mapper name for the merged rootfs (if present).
-- `dm_dev`: device-mapper device path for the merged rootfs (if present).
+Each VM writes `state/vms/<id>/vm.json` with:
+- `meta`: local metadata (id, name, pid, created_at, guest_ip, tap, api_sock, log, rootfs, kernel, snapshot info).
+- `config`: full `/vm/config` response from Firecracker.
 
 ## Log Notes
 - `PCI: Fatal: No config space access function found` and `MissingAddressRange` lines are expected with `pci=off` in `run.sh`.

customize.sh

@@ -89,6 +89,10 @@ if ! command -v resize2fs >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   log "resize2fs required"
   exit 1
 fi
+if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "jq required"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 log "copying base rootfs to $OUT_ROOTFS"
 cp --reflink=auto "$BASE_ROOTFS" "$OUT_ROOTFS"
@@ -165,16 +169,22 @@ for _ in $(seq 1 200); do
 done
 [[ -S "$API_SOCK" ]] || { log "firecracker api socket not ready"; exit 1; }
 
-cat > "$VM_DIR/info" <<EOF
-id=$VM_ID
-name=$VM_NAME
-pid=$FC_PID
-created_at=$(date -Iseconds)
-guest_ip=$GUEST_IP
-tap=$TAP_DEV
-api_sock=$API_SOCK
-log=$LOG_FILE
-EOF
+VM_CONFIG_JSON="$(sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
+CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+jq -n \
+  --arg id "$VM_ID" \
+  --arg name "$VM_NAME" \
+  --arg pid "$FC_PID" \
+  --arg created_at "$CREATED_AT" \
+  --arg guest_ip "$GUEST_IP" \
+  --arg tap "$TAP_DEV" \
+  --arg api_sock "$API_SOCK" \
+  --arg log "$LOG_FILE" \
+  --arg rootfs "$OUT_ROOTFS" \
+  --arg kernel "$KERNEL" \
+  --argjson config "$VM_CONFIG_JSON" \
+  '{meta:{id:$id,name:$name,pid:$pid,created_at:$created_at,guest_ip:$guest_ip,tap:$tap,api_sock:$api_sock,log:$log,rootfs:$rootfs,kernel:$kernel},config:$config}' \
+  > "$VM_DIR/vm.json"
 
 log "configuring machine"
 sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/machine-config \
@@ -232,6 +242,19 @@ ssh -i "$SSH_KEY" -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
 printf 'nameserver %s\n' \"$DNS_SERVER\" > /etc/resolv.conf
 echo \"$VM_NAME\" > /etc/hostname
 printf '127.0.0.1 localhost\n127.0.1.1 %s\n' \"$VM_NAME\" > /etc/hosts
+mkdir -p /home /var
+if ! grep -q '^/dev/vdb ' /etc/fstab; then
+  echo '/dev/vdb /home ext4 defaults 0 2' >> /etc/fstab
+fi
+if ! grep -q '^/dev/vdc ' /etc/fstab; then
+  echo '/dev/vdc /var ext4 defaults 0 2' >> /etc/fstab
+fi
+if ! grep -q '^tmpfs /run ' /etc/fstab; then
+  echo 'tmpfs /run tmpfs defaults,nodev,nosuid,mode=0755 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
+fi
+if ! grep -q '^tmpfs /tmp ' /etc/fstab; then
+  echo 'tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,nodev,nosuid,mode=1777 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
+fi
 apt-get update
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y upgrade
 DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get -y install git less tree ca-certificates curl

kill.sh

@@ -13,23 +13,17 @@ Sends a signal to the Firecracker process.
 EOF
 }
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-find_vm_info() {
+find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
-  local info match_count=0 match=""
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-    [[ -f "$info" ]] || continue
+  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-    name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$info"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -75,15 +69,15 @@ if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-INFO_FILE="$(find_vm_info "$QUERY")"
-PID="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "pid")"
-API_SOCK="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "api_sock")"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+PID="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+API_SOCK="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 if [[ -z "$PID" ]]; then
-  log "pid not found in $INFO_FILE"
+  log "pid not found in $VM_JSON"
   exit 1
 fi
 if [[ -z "$API_SOCK" ]]; then
-  log "api_sock not found in $INFO_FILE"
+  log "api_sock not found in $VM_JSON"
   exit 1
 fi
 

list.sh

@@ -3,28 +3,51 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 shopt -s nullglob
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
+statuses=()
+ids=()
+names=()
+ips=()
+created=()
+max_name=4
+max_ip=2
+GREEN='\033[32m'
+YELLOW='\033[33m'
+RESET='\033[0m'
 
-for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-  id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-  name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
-  created_at="$(get_prop "$info" "created_at")"
-  guest_ip="$(get_prop "$info" "guest_ip")"
-  pid="$(get_prop "$info" "pid")"
-  tap="$(get_prop "$info" "tap")"
-  api_sock="$(get_prop "$info" "api_sock")"
+for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+  id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  created_at="$(jq -r '.meta.created_at // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  guest_ip="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  pid="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  api_sock="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$vm_json")"
 
-  status="stale"
+  status="stopped"
   if [[ -n "$pid" && -n "$api_sock" ]]; then
     if ps -p "$pid" -o comm=,args= 2>/dev/null | rg -q "firecracker.*--api-sock $api_sock"; then
       status="running"
     fi
   fi
 
-  printf 'status=%s id=%s name=%s created_at=%s guest_ip=%s pid=%s tap=%s\n' \
-    "$status" "$id" "$name" "$created_at" "$guest_ip" "$pid" "$tap"
+  short_id="${id:0:12}"
+  statuses+=("$status")
+  ids+=("$short_id")
+  names+=("$name")
+  ips+=("$guest_ip")
+  created+=("$created_at")
+  if (( ${#name} > max_name )); then
+    max_name=${#name}
+  fi
+  if (( ${#guest_ip} > max_ip )); then
+    max_ip=${#guest_ip}
+  fi
+done
+
+for i in "${!ids[@]}"; do
+  color="$YELLOW"
+  if [[ "${statuses[$i]}" == "running" ]]; then
+    color="$GREEN"
+  fi
+  printf '%-10b %-12s %-*s %-*s %s\n' \
+    "${color}[${statuses[$i]}]${RESET}" "${ids[$i]}" "$max_name" "${names[$i]}" "$max_ip" "${ips[$i]}" "${created[$i]}"
 done

logs.sh

@@ -13,23 +13,17 @@ Prints the Firecracker log for a VM. Use --follow to tail -f.
 EOF
 }
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-find_vm_info() {
+find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
-  local info match_count=0 match=""
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-    [[ -f "$info" ]] || continue
+  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-    name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$info"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -76,8 +70,8 @@ if [[ -z "$QUERY" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-INFO_FILE="$(find_vm_info "$QUERY")"
-LOG_FILE="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "log")"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+LOG_FILE="$(jq -r '.meta.log // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 
 if [[ -z "$LOG_FILE" || ! -f "$LOG_FILE" ]]; then
   log "log file not found: $LOG_FILE"

nat.sh

@@ -13,23 +13,17 @@ Manage per-VM NAT rules for internet access.
 EOF
 }
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-find_vm_info() {
+find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
-  local info match_count=0 match=""
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-    [[ -f "$info" ]] || continue
+  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-    name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$info"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -64,12 +58,12 @@ if [[ -z "$ACTION" || -z "$QUERY" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-INFO_FILE="$(find_vm_info "$QUERY")"
-GUEST_IP="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "guest_ip")"
-TAP="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "tap")"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+GUEST_IP="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+TAP="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 
 if [[ -z "$GUEST_IP" || -z "$TAP" ]]; then
-  log "missing guest_ip or tap in $INFO_FILE"
+  log "missing guest_ip or tap in $VM_JSON"
   exit 1
 fi
 

ps.sh

@@ -3,20 +3,14 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 shopt -s nullglob
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-  id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-  name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
-  created_at="$(get_prop "$info" "created_at")"
-  guest_ip="$(get_prop "$info" "guest_ip")"
-  pid="$(get_prop "$info" "pid")"
-  tap="$(get_prop "$info" "tap")"
-  api_sock="$(get_prop "$info" "api_sock")"
+for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+  id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  created_at="$(jq -r '.meta.created_at // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  guest_ip="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  pid="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  tap="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  api_sock="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$vm_json")"
 
   if [[ -z "$pid" || -z "$api_sock" ]]; then
     continue

rm.sh

@@ -13,23 +13,17 @@ Removes VM artifacts from state/ and cleans up TAP and mapped devices.
 EOF
 }
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-find_vm_info() {
+find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
-  local info match_count=0 match=""
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-    [[ -f "$info" ]] || continue
+  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-    name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$info"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -52,15 +46,15 @@ if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-INFO_FILE="$(find_vm_info "$QUERY")"
-VM_DIR="${INFO_FILE%/info}"
-PID="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "pid")"
-TAP="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "tap")"
-API_SOCK="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "api_sock")"
-BASE_LOOP="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "base_loop")"
-COW_LOOP="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "cow_loop")"
-DM_DEV="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "dm_dev")"
-DM_NAME="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "dm_name")"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+VM_DIR="$(dirname "$VM_JSON")"
+PID="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+TAP="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+API_SOCK="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+BASE_LOOP="$(jq -r '.meta.base_loop // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+COW_LOOP="$(jq -r '.meta.cow_loop // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+DM_DEV="$(jq -r '.meta.dm_dev // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+DM_NAME="$(jq -r '.meta.dm_name // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 
 if [[ -n "$PID" ]]; then
   sudo kill "$PID" 2>/dev/null || true

run.sh

@@ -62,9 +62,9 @@ shopt -s nullglob
 
 name_taken() {
   local candidate="$1"
-  local info existing_name
-  for info in "$VM_ROOT"/*/info; do
-    existing_name="$(awk -F= '$1=="name"{print $2}' "$info")"
+  local vm_json existing_name
+  for vm_json in "$VM_ROOT"/*/vm.json; do
+    existing_name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json" 2>/dev/null)"
     if [[ "$existing_name" == "$candidate" ]]; then
       return 0
     fi
@@ -311,6 +311,10 @@ if ! command -v e2cp >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v e2rm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   log "e2cp and e2rm are required to set hostname and resolv.conf"
   exit 1
 fi
+if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "jq is required to persist VM metadata"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 COW_BYTES="$(parse_disk_size "$COW_SIZE")"
 if [[ -z "$COW_BYTES" ]]; then
@@ -469,24 +473,29 @@ log "starting virtual machine"
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d '{ "action_type": "InstanceStart" }' >/dev/null
 VM_STARTED=1
-
-cat > "$VM_DIR/info" <<EOF
-id=$VM_ID
-name=$VM_NAME
-pid=$FC_PID
-created_at=$(date -Iseconds)
-rootfs=$ROOTFS
-kernel=$KERNEL
-guest_ip=$GUEST_IP
-tap=$TAP_DEV
-api_sock=$API_SOCK
-log=$LOG_FILE
-base_loop=$BASE_LOOP
-cow_file=$COW_FILE
-cow_loop=$COW_LOOP
-dm_name=$DM_NAME
-dm_dev=$DM_DEV
-EOF
+VM_CONFIG_JSON="$("${CURL_CMD[@]}" --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
+CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+jq -n \
+  --arg id "$VM_ID" \
+  --arg name "$VM_NAME" \
+  --arg pid "$FC_PID" \
+  --arg created_at "$CREATED_AT" \
+  --arg guest_ip "$GUEST_IP" \
+  --arg tap "$TAP_DEV" \
+  --arg api_sock "$API_SOCK" \
+  --arg log "$LOG_FILE" \
+  --arg rootfs "$ROOTFS" \
+  --arg kernel "$KERNEL" \
+  --arg home_path "$HOME_PATH" \
+  --arg var_path "$VAR_PATH" \
+  --arg base_loop "$BASE_LOOP" \
+  --arg cow_file "$COW_FILE" \
+  --arg cow_loop "$COW_LOOP" \
+  --arg dm_name "$DM_NAME" \
+  --arg dm_dev "$DM_DEV" \
+  --argjson config "$VM_CONFIG_JSON" \
+  '{meta:{id:$id,name:$name,pid:$pid,created_at:$created_at,guest_ip:$guest_ip,tap:$tap,api_sock:$api_sock,log:$log,rootfs:$rootfs,kernel:$kernel,home_path:$home_path,var_path:$var_path,base_loop:$base_loop,cow_file:$cow_file,cow_loop:$cow_loop,dm_name:$dm_name,dm_dev:$dm_dev},config:$config}' \
+  > "$VM_DIR/vm.json"
 
 log "vm started successfully"
 log "guest ip: $GUEST_IP"

stop.sh

@@ -13,23 +13,17 @@ Sends Ctrl+Alt+Del to the guest via the Firecracker API socket.
 EOF
 }
 
-get_prop() {
-  local info="$1"
-  local key="$2"
-  awk -F= -v k="$key" '$1==k {print $2}' "$info"
-}
-
-find_vm_info() {
+find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
-  local info match_count=0 match=""
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for info in state/vms/*/info; do
-    [[ -f "$info" ]] || continue
+  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(get_prop "$info" "id")"
-    name="$(get_prop "$info" "name")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$info"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -52,8 +46,8 @@ if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-INFO_FILE="$(find_vm_info "$QUERY")"
-API_SOCK="$(get_prop "$INFO_FILE" "api_sock")"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+API_SOCK="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 if [[ -z "$API_SOCK" || ! -S "$API_SOCK" ]]; then
   log "api socket not found: $API_SOCK"
   exit 1

verify.sh

@@ -6,18 +6,19 @@ log() {
 }
 
 cleanup() {
-  if [[ -z "${VM_INFO:-}" || ! -f "$VM_INFO" ]]; then
+  if [[ -z "${VM_JSON:-}" || ! -f "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
     return
   fi
-  # shellcheck disable=SC1090
-  source "$VM_INFO"
-  if [[ -n "${pid:-}" ]]; then
+  pid="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+  tap="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+  vm_dir="$(dirname "$VM_JSON")"
+  if [[ -n "$pid" ]]; then
     sudo kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
-  if [[ -n "${tap:-}" ]]; then
+  if [[ -n "$tap" ]]; then
     sudo ip link del "$tap" 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
-  if [[ -n "${vm_dir:-}" ]]; then
+  if [[ -n "$vm_dir" ]]; then
     rm -rf "$vm_dir"
   fi
 }
@@ -35,18 +36,21 @@ if [[ -z "$VM_DIR" ]]; then
   log "no VM state directory found"
   exit 1
 fi
-VM_INFO="$VM_DIR/info"
-if [[ ! -f "$VM_INFO" ]]; then
-  log "info file not found: $VM_INFO"
+VM_JSON="$VM_DIR/vm.json"
+if [[ ! -f "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
+  log "vm.json not found: $VM_JSON"
   exit 1
 fi
 
-# shellcheck disable=SC1090
-source "$VM_INFO"
+name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+created_at="$(jq -r '.meta.created_at // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+guest_ip="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+tap="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+pid="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 vm_dir="$VM_DIR"
 
-if [[ -z "${name:-}" || -z "${created_at:-}" || -z "${guest_ip:-}" ]]; then
-  log "missing name or created_at in info file"
+if [[ -z "$name" || -z "$created_at" || -z "$guest_ip" ]]; then
+  log "missing name or created_at in vm.json"
   exit 1
 fi