diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1d8e0b3..f79659f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Minimal Firecracker launcher.
 - `rootfs.ext4`: guest root filesystem (base image if present)
 - `rootfs-docker.ext4`: docker-ready guest rootfs (built via `make-rootfs.sh`)
 - `id_ed25519`: SSH key for `root`
+- `mapdns`: local DNS mapping CLI used to publish `<vm-name>.vm` → guest IP records
 
 ## Run
 ```
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ Minimal Firecracker launcher.
 ## Storage Layout
 - `rootfs.ext4` is used as the read-only origin for a per-VM device-mapper snapshot mounted as `/`.
 - Each VM gets writable ext4 disks mounted at `/home` and `/var`.
+- `run.sh` seeds those `/home` and `/var` disks from the rootfs snapshot before boot so the guest sees the base image contents there on first boot.
 - The base image must include `/etc/fstab` entries for `/dev/vdb` → `/home` and `/dev/vdc` → `/var`.
 - `/run` and `/tmp` should be tmpfs via `/etc/fstab`.
 
@@ -46,6 +48,16 @@ Minimal Firecracker launcher.
 ssh -i "./id_ed25519" root@<guest_ip>
 ```
 
+Shortcut:
+```
+./ssh.sh <vm-name-or-ip>
+```
+
+## VM DNS
+- Spawned VMs register `<vm-name>.vm` → guest IP through `mapdns set`.
+- VM teardown removes the mapping through `mapdns rm`.
+- `mapdns` writes to `/home/thales/.local/share/mapdns/records.json`.
+
 ## Internet Access
 VMs do not get internet access by default. You must enable forwarding and NAT:
 ```
@@ -102,10 +114,22 @@ invoke `make-rootfs.sh` to build it.
 `make-rootfs.sh` chooses the first available base image:
 - `./rootfs.ext4`
 
+## Interactive Customization
+To create a writable copy and customize it manually over SSH (no automatic
+package/config changes), use:
+
+```
+./interactive.sh ./rootfs-docker.ext4
+```
+
+You can override the output path:
+```
+./interactive.sh ./rootfs-docker.ext4 --out ./my-rootfs.ext4
+```
+
 ## VM Info File
 Each VM writes:
-- `state/vms/<id>/vm.json`: raw `/vm/config` response from Firecracker.
-- `state/vms/<id>/meta.json`: local metadata (id, name, pid, created_at, guest_ip, tap, api_sock, log, rootfs, kernel, snapshot info).
+- `state/vms/<id>/vm.json`: local metadata under `.meta` plus the raw Firecracker config under `.config`.
 
 ## Log Notes
 - `PCI: Fatal: No config space access function found` and `MissingAddressRange` lines are expected with `pci=off` in `run.sh`.
diff --git a/customize.sh b/customize.sh
index 91a373e..ea1ea5e 100755
--- a/customize.sh
+++ b/customize.sh
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ parse_size() {
 }
 
 DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
 STATE="$DIR/state"
 VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
 mkdir -p "$VM_ROOT"
@@ -161,6 +162,7 @@ mkdir -p "$VM_DIR"
 API_SOCK="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/run/user/$(id -u)}/banger/fc-$VM_TAG.sock"
 LOG_FILE="$VM_DIR/firecracker.log"
 TAP_DEV="tap-fc-$VM_TAG"
+DNS_NAME=""
 
 # Allocate guest IP
 NEXT_IP_FILE="$STATE/next_ip"
@@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ cleanup() {
   sudo kill "${FC_PID:-}" 2>/dev/null || true
   sudo ip link del "$TAP_DEV" 2>/dev/null || true
   rm -f "$API_SOCK"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "${DNS_NAME:-}"
   rm -rf "$VM_DIR"
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
@@ -211,23 +214,6 @@ for _ in $(seq 1 200); do
 done
 [[ -S "$API_SOCK" ]] || { log "firecracker api socket not ready"; exit 1; }
 
-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 "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/machine-config \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
@@ -271,6 +257,31 @@ sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d '{ "action_type": "InstanceStart" }' >/dev/null
 
+SUDO_CHILD_PID="$(pgrep -n -f "$API_SOCK" || true)"
+if [[ -n "$SUDO_CHILD_PID" ]]; then
+  FC_PID="$SUDO_CHILD_PID"
+fi
+
+VM_CONFIG_JSON="$(sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
+CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+DNS_NAME="$(banger_dns_name "$VM_NAME")"
+banger_dns_write_record "$VM_NAME" "$GUEST_IP"
+jq -n \
+  --arg id "$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 "$KERNEL" \
+  --arg dns_name "$DNS_NAME" \
+  --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:$kernel,dns_name:$dns_name},config:$config}' \
+  > "$VM_DIR/vm.json"
+
 log "enabling NAT for customization"
 sudo -E ./nat.sh up "$VM_TAG" >/dev/null
 
diff --git a/dns.sh b/dns.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9438e44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dns.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+MAPDNS_BIN="${MAPDNS_BIN:-mapdns}"
+MAPDNS_DATA_FILE="/home/thales/.local/share/mapdns/records.json"
+
+banger_mapdns_cmd() {
+  local subcommand="$1"
+  shift
+
+  "$MAPDNS_BIN" "$subcommand" --data-file "$MAPDNS_DATA_FILE" "$@"
+}
+
+banger_dns_name() {
+  local vm_name="$1"
+  printf '%s.vm' "$vm_name"
+}
+
+banger_dns_write_record() {
+  local vm_name="$1"
+  local guest_ip="$2"
+  local dns_name
+
+  mkdir -p "$(dirname "$MAPDNS_DATA_FILE")"
+  dns_name="$(banger_dns_name "$vm_name")"
+  banger_mapdns_cmd set "$dns_name" "$guest_ip" >/dev/null
+}
+
+banger_dns_record_exists() {
+  local dns_name="$1"
+
+  [[ -n "$dns_name" ]] || return 1
+  banger_mapdns_cmd list | awk '{print $1}' | rg -Fxq "$dns_name"
+}
+
+banger_dns_remove_record_name() {
+  local dns_name="${1:-}"
+  [[ -n "$dns_name" ]] || return 0
+  if ! banger_dns_record_exists "$dns_name"; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  banger_mapdns_cmd rm "$dns_name" >/dev/null
+}
+
+banger_vm_process_running() {
+  local pid="$1"
+  local api_sock="$2"
+
+  [[ -n "$pid" && -n "$api_sock" ]] || return 1
+  ps -p "$pid" -o comm=,args= 2>/dev/null | rg -q "firecracker.*--api-sock $api_sock"
+}
+
+banger_wait_for_vm_exit() {
+  local pid="$1"
+  local api_sock="$2"
+  local timeout_secs="${3:-30}"
+  local deadline=$((SECONDS + timeout_secs))
+
+  while banger_vm_process_running "$pid" "$api_sock"; do
+    if (( SECONDS >= deadline )); then
+      return 1
+    fi
+    sleep 0.1
+  done
+}
+
+banger_teardown_vm_runtime() {
+  local tap="${1:-}"
+  local api_sock="${2:-}"
+  local dm_name="${3:-}"
+  local dm_dev="${4:-}"
+  local cow_loop="${5:-}"
+  local base_loop="${6:-}"
+
+  if [[ -n "$tap" ]]; then
+    sudo ip link del "$tap" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$api_sock" ]]; then
+    rm -f "$api_sock"
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$dm_name" || -n "$dm_dev" ]]; then
+    sudo dmsetup remove "${dm_name:-$dm_dev}" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$cow_loop" ]]; then
+    sudo losetup -d "$cow_loop" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$base_loop" ]]; then
+    sudo losetup -d "$base_loop" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+}
+
+banger_mark_vm_stopped() {
+  local vm_json="$1"
+
+  [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || return 0
+  jq \
+    'del(.meta.pid, .meta.base_loop, .meta.cow_loop, .meta.dm_dev)' \
+    "$vm_json" > "$vm_json.tmp" && mv "$vm_json.tmp" "$vm_json"
+}
diff --git a/interactive.sh b/interactive.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..dc04315
--- /dev/null
+++ b/interactive.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+log() {
+  printf '[interactive] %s\n' "$*"
+}
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF'
+Usage: ./interactive.sh <base-rootfs> [--out <path>] [--size <size>] [--home-size <size>] [--var-size <size>]
+
+Creates a writable copy of the base rootfs and boots a VM so you can
+customize it manually over SSH. No automatic package/config changes
+are applied.
+EOF
+}
+
+parse_size() {
+  local raw="$1"
+  if [[ "$raw" =~ ^([0-9]+)([KMG])?$ ]]; then
+    local num="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+    local unit="${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+    case "$unit" in
+      K) echo $((num * 1024)) ;;
+      M|"") echo $((num * 1024 * 1024)) ;;
+      G) echo $((num * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)) ;;
+    esac
+    return 0
+  fi
+  return 1
+}
+
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
+STATE="$DIR/state"
+VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
+mkdir -p "$VM_ROOT"
+
+FC_BIN="$DIR/firecracker"
+KERNEL="$DIR/wtf/root/boot/vmlinux-6.8.0-94-generic"
+INITRD="$DIR/wtf/root/boot/initrd.img-6.8.0-94-generic"
+SSH_KEY="$DIR/id_ed25519"
+
+BR_DEV="br-fc"
+BR_IP="172.16.0.1"
+CIDR="24"
+DNS_SERVER="1.1.1.1"
+DEFAULT_HOME_SIZE="2G"
+DEFAULT_VAR_SIZE="2G"
+
+BASE_ROOTFS=""
+OUT_ROOTFS=""
+SIZE_SPEC=""
+HOME_SIZE="$DEFAULT_HOME_SIZE"
+VAR_SIZE="$DEFAULT_VAR_SIZE"
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --out)
+      OUT_ROOTFS="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --size)
+      SIZE_SPEC="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --home-size)
+      HOME_SIZE="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --var-size)
+      VAR_SIZE="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      usage
+      exit 0
+      ;;
+    *)
+      if [[ -z "$BASE_ROOTFS" ]]; then
+        BASE_ROOTFS="$1"
+        shift
+      else
+        log "unknown option: $1"
+        usage
+        exit 1
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [[ -z "$BASE_ROOTFS" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ ! -f "$BASE_ROOTFS" ]]; then
+  log "base rootfs not found: $BASE_ROOTFS"
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ ! -f "$KERNEL" ]]; then
+  log "kernel not found: $KERNEL"
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ ! -f "$INITRD" ]]; then
+  log "initrd not found: $INITRD"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ -z "$OUT_ROOTFS" ]]; then
+  base_dir="$(dirname "$BASE_ROOTFS")"
+  base_name="$(basename "$BASE_ROOTFS")"
+  OUT_ROOTFS="${base_dir}/rw-${base_name}"
+fi
+if [[ -e "$OUT_ROOTFS" ]]; then
+  log "output rootfs already exists: $OUT_ROOTFS"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+HOME_BYTES="$(parse_size "$HOME_SIZE")" || { log "invalid --home-size value: $HOME_SIZE"; exit 1; }
+VAR_BYTES="$(parse_size "$VAR_SIZE")" || { log "invalid --var-size value: $VAR_SIZE"; exit 1; }
+
+log "copying base rootfs to $OUT_ROOTFS"
+cp --reflink=auto "$BASE_ROOTFS" "$OUT_ROOTFS"
+
+if [[ -n "$SIZE_SPEC" ]]; then
+  SIZE_BYTES="$(parse_size "$SIZE_SPEC")"
+  BASE_BYTES="$(stat -c%s "$BASE_ROOTFS")"
+  if [[ -z "$SIZE_BYTES" || "$SIZE_BYTES" -lt "$BASE_BYTES" ]]; then
+    log "size must be >= base image size"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  log "resizing rootfs to $SIZE_SPEC"
+  truncate -s "$SIZE_BYTES" "$OUT_ROOTFS"
+  e2fsck -p -f "$OUT_ROOTFS" >/dev/null
+  resize2fs "$OUT_ROOTFS" >/dev/null
+fi
+
+VM_ID="$(head -c 32 /dev/urandom | xxd -p -c 256)"
+VM_TAG="${VM_ID:0:8}"
+VM_NAME="interactive-${VM_TAG}"
+VM_DIR="$VM_ROOT/$VM_ID"
+mkdir -p "$VM_DIR"
+
+API_SOCK="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/run/user/$(id -u)}/banger/fc-$VM_TAG.sock"
+LOG_FILE="$VM_DIR/firecracker.log"
+TAP_DEV="tap-fc-$VM_TAG"
+HOME_PATH="$VM_DIR/home.ext4"
+VAR_PATH="$VM_DIR/var.ext4"
+DNS_NAME=""
+
+# Allocate guest IP
+NEXT_IP_FILE="$STATE/next_ip"
+NEXT_IP="$(cat "$NEXT_IP_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 2)"
+GUEST_IP="172.16.0.$NEXT_IP"
+echo "$((NEXT_IP + 1))" > "$NEXT_IP_FILE"
+
+sudo -v
+
+cleanup() {
+  sudo kill "${FC_PID:-}" 2>/dev/null || true
+  sudo ip link del "$TAP_DEV" 2>/dev/null || true
+  rm -f "$API_SOCK"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "${DNS_NAME:-}"
+  rm -rf "$VM_DIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+sudo mkdir -p "$(dirname "$API_SOCK")"
+sudo chown "$(id -u):$(id -g)" "$(dirname "$API_SOCK")"
+
+# Host bridge
+if ! ip link show "$BR_DEV" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "creating host bridge $BR_DEV ($BR_IP/$CIDR)"
+  sudo ip link add name "$BR_DEV" type bridge
+  sudo ip addr add "${BR_IP}/${CIDR}" dev "$BR_DEV"
+  sudo ip link set "$BR_DEV" up
+else
+  sudo ip link set "$BR_DEV" up
+fi
+
+log "creating tap device $TAP_DEV"
+TAP_USER="${SUDO_UID:-$(id -u)}"
+TAP_GROUP="${SUDO_GID:-$(id -g)}"
+sudo ip tuntap add dev "$TAP_DEV" mode tap user "$TAP_USER" group "$TAP_GROUP"
+sudo ip link set "$TAP_DEV" master "$BR_DEV"
+sudo ip link set "$TAP_DEV" up
+sudo ip link set "$BR_DEV" up
+
+if ! command -v mkfs.ext4 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "mkfs.ext4 required to create home/var disks"
+  exit 1
+fi
+truncate -s "$HOME_BYTES" "$HOME_PATH"
+mkfs.ext4 -F "$HOME_PATH" >/dev/null
+truncate -s "$VAR_BYTES" "$VAR_PATH"
+mkfs.ext4 -F "$VAR_PATH" >/dev/null
+
+log "starting firecracker process"
+rm -f "$API_SOCK"
+nohup sudo -E "$FC_BIN" --api-sock "$API_SOCK" >"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 &
+FC_PID="$!"
+
+log "waiting for firecracker api socket"
+for _ in $(seq 1 200); do
+  [[ -S "$API_SOCK" ]] && break
+  sleep 0.02
+done
+[[ -S "$API_SOCK" ]] || { log "firecracker api socket not ready"; exit 1; }
+
+log "configuring machine"
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/machine-config \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{
+    "vcpu_count": 2,
+    "mem_size_mib": 1024,
+    "smt": false
+  }' >/dev/null
+
+KCMD="console=ttyS0 reboot=k panic=1 pci=off root=/dev/vda rw ip=${GUEST_IP}::${BR_IP}:255.255.255.0:${VM_NAME}:eth0:off:${DNS_SERVER} hostname=${VM_NAME}"
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/boot-source \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"kernel_image_path\": \"$KERNEL\",
+    \"boot_args\": \"$KCMD\",
+    \"initrd_path\": \"$INITRD\"
+  }" >/dev/null
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/drives/rootfs \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"drive_id\": \"rootfs\",
+    \"path_on_host\": \"$OUT_ROOTFS\",
+    \"is_root_device\": true,
+    \"is_read_only\": false
+  }" >/dev/null
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/drives/home \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"drive_id\": \"home\",
+    \"path_on_host\": \"$HOME_PATH\",
+    \"is_root_device\": false,
+    \"is_read_only\": false
+  }" >/dev/null
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/drives/var \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"drive_id\": \"var\",
+    \"path_on_host\": \"$VAR_PATH\",
+    \"is_root_device\": false,
+    \"is_read_only\": false
+  }" >/dev/null
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/network-interfaces/eth0 \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d "{
+    \"iface_id\": \"eth0\",
+    \"host_dev_name\": \"$TAP_DEV\"
+  }" >/dev/null
+
+sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{ "action_type": "InstanceStart" }' >/dev/null
+
+SUDO_CHILD_PID="$(pgrep -n -f "$API_SOCK" || true)"
+if [[ -n "$SUDO_CHILD_PID" ]]; then
+  FC_PID="$SUDO_CHILD_PID"
+fi
+
+VM_CONFIG_JSON="$(sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
+CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+DNS_NAME="$(banger_dns_name "$VM_NAME")"
+banger_dns_write_record "$VM_NAME" "$GUEST_IP"
+jq -n \
+  --arg id "$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 "$KERNEL" \
+  --arg dns_name "$DNS_NAME" \
+  --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:$kernel,dns_name:$dns_name},config:$config}' \
+  > "$VM_DIR/vm.json"
+
+log "enabling NAT for interactive session"
+sudo -E ./nat.sh up "$VM_TAG" >/dev/null
+
+log "waiting for SSH"
+log "guest ip: $GUEST_IP"
+log "ssh: ssh -i \"$SSH_KEY\" root@${GUEST_IP}"
+for _ in $(seq 1 60); do
+  if ssh -i "$SSH_KEY" -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
+    "root@${GUEST_IP}" "true" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    log "ssh ready"
+    break
+  fi
+  sleep 1
+done
+
+log "output rootfs: $OUT_ROOTFS"
+log "press Ctrl+C to stop and clean up"
+
+while kill -0 "$FC_PID" >/dev/null 2>&1; do
+  sleep 1
+done
diff --git a/kill.sh b/kill.sh
index 9ee2081..90ebe55 100755
--- a/kill.sh
+++ b/kill.sh
@@ -5,9 +5,14 @@ log() {
   printf '[kill] %s\n' "$*"
 }
 
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
+STATE="$DIR/state"
+VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
+
 usage() {
   cat <<'EOF'
-Usage: ./kill.sh <id-or-name-prefix> [--signal SIGTERM|SIGKILL|...]
+Usage: ./kill.sh <id-or-name-prefix>... [--signal SIGTERM|SIGKILL|...]
 
 Sends a signal to the Firecracker process.
 EOF
@@ -17,7 +22,7 @@ find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
   local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+  for vm_json in "$VM_ROOT"/*/vm.json; do
     [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
     id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
@@ -41,6 +46,7 @@ find_vm_json() {
 }
 
 SIGNAL="TERM"
+QUERIES=()
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   case "$1" in
     --signal)
@@ -52,40 +58,68 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
       exit 0
       ;;
     *)
-      if [[ -z "${QUERY:-}" ]]; then
-        QUERY="$1"
-        shift
-        continue
-      fi
-      log "unknown option: $1"
-      usage
-      exit 1
+      QUERIES+=("$1")
+      shift
       ;;
   esac
 done
 
-if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+if (( ${#QUERIES[@]} == 0 )); then
   usage
   exit 1
 fi
 
-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 $VM_JSON"
-  exit 1
-fi
-if [[ -z "$API_SOCK" ]]; then
-  log "api_sock not found in $VM_JSON"
-  exit 1
-fi
+VM_JSONS=()
+for query in "${QUERIES[@]}"; do
+  VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$query")"
+  already_added=0
+  for existing_vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$existing_vm_json" == "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
+      already_added=1
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  if (( already_added == 0 )); then
+    VM_JSONS+=("$VM_JSON")
+  fi
+done
 
-if ! ps -p "$PID" -o comm=,args= 2>/dev/null | rg -q "firecracker.*--api-sock $API_SOCK"; then
-  log "pid $PID does not match a running VM"
-  exit 1
-fi
+for vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+  vm_id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  vm_name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$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")"
+  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")"
+  dns_name="$(jq -r '.meta.dns_name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  if [[ -z "$dns_name" ]]; then
+    dns_name="$(banger_dns_name "$vm_name")"
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$pid" ]]; then
+    log "pid not found in $vm_json"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$api_sock" ]]; then
+    log "api_sock not found in $vm_json"
+    exit 1
+  fi
 
-log "sending SIG$SIGNAL to pid $PID"
-sudo kill "-$SIGNAL" "$PID"
-log "signal sent"
+  if ! ps -p "$pid" -o comm=,args= 2>/dev/null | rg -q "firecracker.*--api-sock $api_sock"; then
+    log "pid $pid does not match a running VM for ${vm_name:-$vm_json}"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  log "sending SIG$SIGNAL to ${vm_name:-$vm_json} (pid $pid)"
+  sudo kill "-$SIGNAL" "$pid"
+  if ! banger_wait_for_vm_exit "$pid" "$api_sock" 30; then
+    log "timed out waiting for ${vm_name:-$vm_json} to exit"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  banger_teardown_vm_runtime "$tap" "$api_sock" "$dm_name" "$dm_dev" "$cow_loop" "$base_loop"
+  banger_mark_vm_stopped "$vm_json"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "$dns_name"
+  log "signal sent to ${vm_name:-$vm_json}"
+done
diff --git a/list.sh b/list.sh
index 8342c6c..93bab50 100755
--- a/list.sh
+++ b/list.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,67 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 shopt -s nullglob
 
+format_count_unit() {
+  local count="$1"
+  local singular="$2"
+  local plural="$3"
+
+  if (( count == 1 )); then
+    printf '%s %s ago' "$count" "$singular"
+  else
+    printf '%s %s ago' "$count" "$plural"
+  fi
+}
+
+humanize_created_at() {
+  local created_at="$1"
+  local created_epoch elapsed
+
+  if [[ -z "$created_at" ]]; then
+    printf '%s' "-"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  created_epoch="$(date -d "$created_at" +%s 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  if [[ -z "$created_epoch" ]]; then
+    printf '%s' "$created_at"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  elapsed=$((NOW_EPOCH - created_epoch))
+  if (( elapsed < 0 )); then
+    elapsed=0
+  fi
+
+  if (( elapsed < 45 )); then
+    printf '%s' "a few moments ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 90 )); then
+    printf '%s' "about a minute ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 3600 )); then
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 60))" "minute" "minutes"
+  elif (( elapsed < 5400 )); then
+    printf '%s' "about an hour ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 86400 )); then
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 3600))" "hour" "hours"
+  elif (( elapsed < 172800 )); then
+    printf '%s' "1 day ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 604800 )); then
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 86400))" "day" "days"
+  elif (( elapsed < 1209600 )); then
+    printf '%s' "1 week ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 2592000 )); then
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 604800))" "week" "weeks"
+  elif (( elapsed < 5184000 )); then
+    printf '%s' "1 month ago"
+  elif (( elapsed < 31536000 )); then
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 2592000))" "month" "months"
+  elif (( elapsed < 63072000 )); then
+    printf '%s' "1 year ago"
+  else
+    format_count_unit "$((elapsed / 31536000))" "year" "years"
+  fi
+}
+
 statuses=()
 ids=()
 names=()
@@ -10,14 +71,17 @@ ips=()
 created=()
 max_name=4
 max_ip=2
+max_created=7
 GREEN='\033[32m'
 YELLOW='\033[33m'
 RESET='\033[0m'
+NOW_EPOCH="$(date +%s)"
 
 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")"
+  created_display="$(humanize_created_at "$created_at")"
   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")"
@@ -34,13 +98,16 @@ for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
   ids+=("$short_id")
   names+=("$name")
   ips+=("$guest_ip")
-  created+=("$created_at")
+  created+=("$created_display")
   if (( ${#name} > max_name )); then
     max_name=${#name}
   fi
   if (( ${#guest_ip} > max_ip )); then
     max_ip=${#guest_ip}
   fi
+  if (( ${#created_display} > max_created )); then
+    max_created=${#created_display}
+  fi
 done
 
 for i in "${!ids[@]}"; do
@@ -48,6 +115,6 @@ for i in "${!ids[@]}"; do
   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[$i]}"
+  printf '%-10b %-12s %-*s %-*s %-*s\n' \
+    "${color}[${statuses[$i]}]${RESET}" "${ids[$i]}" "$max_name" "${names[$i]}" "$max_ip" "${ips[$i]}" "$max_created" "${created[$i]}"
 done
diff --git a/restore.sh b/restore.sh
index 60af354..6bdf297 100755
--- a/restore.sh
+++ b/restore.sh
@@ -13,17 +13,20 @@ Restarts a VM using existing disks and COW snapshot.
 EOF
 }
 
-find_vm_meta() {
-  local query="$1"
-  local meta_json match_count=0 match=""
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
 
-  for meta_json in state/vms/*/meta.json; do
-    [[ -f "$meta_json" ]] || continue
+find_vm_json() {
+  local query="$1"
+  local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
+
+  for vm_json in "$DIR"/state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
-    id="$(jq -r '.id // empty' "$meta_json")"
-    name="$(jq -r '.name // empty' "$meta_json")"
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
     if [[ "$id" == "$query"* || "$name" == "$query"* ]]; then
-      match="$meta_json"
+      match="$vm_json"
       match_count=$((match_count + 1))
     fi
   done
@@ -41,12 +44,15 @@ find_vm_meta() {
 }
 
 QUERY="${1:-}"
-if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+if [[ "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+if [[ -z "$QUERY" ]]; then
   usage
   exit 1
 fi
 
-DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 FC_BIN="$DIR/firecracker"
 
 if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -62,31 +68,39 @@ if ! command -v e2cp >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v e2rm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-META_JSON="$(find_vm_meta "$QUERY")"
-VM_DIR="$(dirname "$META_JSON")"
-VM_JSON="$VM_DIR/vm.json"
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+VM_DIR="$(dirname "$VM_JSON")"
 
-ROOTFS="$(jq -r '.rootfs // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-KERNEL="$(jq -r '.kernel // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-HOME_PATH="$(jq -r '.home_path // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-VAR_PATH="$(jq -r '.var_path // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-TAP_DEV="$(jq -r '.tap // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-API_SOCK="$(jq -r '.api_sock // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-LOG_FILE="$(jq -r '.log // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-GUEST_IP="$(jq -r '.guest_ip // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-DM_NAME="$(jq -r '.dm_name // empty' "$META_JSON")"
-COW_FILE="$(jq -r '.cow_file // empty' "$META_JSON")"
+VM_ID="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+VM_NAME="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+PID="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+ROOTFS="$(jq -r '.meta.rootfs // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+KERNEL="$(jq -r '.meta.kernel // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+HOME_PATH="$(jq -r '.meta.home_path // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+VAR_PATH="$(jq -r '.meta.var_path // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+TAP_DEV="$(jq -r '.meta.tap // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+API_SOCK="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+LOG_FILE="$(jq -r '.meta.log // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+GUEST_IP="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+DM_NAME="$(jq -r '.meta.dm_name // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+DM_DEV_OLD="$(jq -r '.meta.dm_dev // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+BASE_LOOP_OLD="$(jq -r '.meta.base_loop // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+COW_FILE="$(jq -r '.meta.cow_file // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+COW_LOOP_OLD="$(jq -r '.meta.cow_loop // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+INITRD_PATH="$(jq -r '.config["boot-source"].initrd_path // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+DNS_NAME="$(banger_dns_name "$VM_NAME")"
 
 if [[ -z "$ROOTFS" || -z "$KERNEL" || -z "$HOME_PATH" || -z "$VAR_PATH" || -z "$API_SOCK" || -z "$TAP_DEV" || -z "$GUEST_IP" || -z "$DM_NAME" || -z "$COW_FILE" ]]; then
-  log "meta.json missing required fields"
+  log "vm.json missing required fields"
   exit 1
 fi
 if [[ ! -f "$ROOTFS" || ! -f "$KERNEL" || ! -f "$HOME_PATH" || ! -f "$VAR_PATH" || ! -f "$COW_FILE" || ! -f "$FC_BIN" ]]; then
   log "missing disk/kernel file(s)"
   exit 1
 fi
-if [[ ! -f "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
-  log "vm.json missing: $VM_JSON"
+
+if banger_vm_process_running "$PID" "$API_SOCK"; then
+  log "vm is already running: $VM_NAME"
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -99,11 +113,16 @@ DNS_SERVER="1.1.1.1"
 
 VM_STARTED=0
 cleanup() {
+  local dm_dev_cleanup="${DM_DEV:-$DM_DEV_OLD}"
+  local cow_loop_cleanup="${COW_LOOP:-$COW_LOOP_OLD}"
+  local base_loop_cleanup="${BASE_LOOP:-$BASE_LOOP_OLD}"
+
   if [[ "$VM_STARTED" -eq 1 ]]; then
     return
   fi
-  sudo ip link del "$TAP_DEV" 2>/dev/null || true
-  rm -f "$API_SOCK"
+  banger_teardown_vm_runtime "$TAP_DEV" "$API_SOCK" "$DM_NAME" "$dm_dev_cleanup" "$cow_loop_cleanup" "$base_loop_cleanup"
+  banger_mark_vm_stopped "$VM_JSON"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "${DNS_NAME:-}"
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
@@ -121,8 +140,10 @@ sock_dir="$(dirname "$API_SOCK")"
 sudo mkdir -p "$sock_dir"
 sudo chown "$(id -u):$(id -g)" "$sock_dir"
 
+banger_teardown_vm_runtime "$TAP_DEV" "$API_SOCK" "$DM_NAME" "$DM_DEV_OLD" "$COW_LOOP_OLD" "$BASE_LOOP_OLD"
+banger_mark_vm_stopped "$VM_JSON"
+
 # Recreate dm-snapshot
-sudo dmsetup remove "$DM_NAME" 2>/dev/null || true
 BASE_LOOP="$(sudo losetup -f --show --read-only "$ROOTFS")"
 COW_LOOP="$(sudo losetup -f --show "$COW_FILE")"
 SECTORS="$(sudo blockdev --getsz "$BASE_LOOP")"
@@ -133,16 +154,16 @@ jq \
   --arg base_loop "$BASE_LOOP" \
   --arg cow_loop "$COW_LOOP" \
   --arg dm_dev "$DM_DEV" \
-  '.base_loop=$base_loop | .cow_loop=$cow_loop | .dm_dev=$dm_dev' \
-  "$META_JSON" > "$META_JSON.tmp" && mv "$META_JSON.tmp" "$META_JSON"
+  '.meta.base_loop=$base_loop | .meta.cow_loop=$cow_loop | .meta.dm_dev=$dm_dev' \
+  "$VM_JSON" > "$VM_JSON.tmp" && mv "$VM_JSON.tmp" "$VM_JSON"
 
 # Update /etc/resolv.conf and hostname in snapshot
 RESOLV_TMP="$VM_DIR/resolv.conf"
 HOSTNAME_TMP="$VM_DIR/hostname"
 HOSTS_TMP="$VM_DIR/hosts"
 printf 'nameserver %s\n' "$DNS_SERVER" >"$RESOLV_TMP"
-printf '%s\n' "$(jq -r '.name // empty' "$META_JSON")" >"$HOSTNAME_TMP"
-printf '127.0.0.1 localhost\n127.0.1.1 %s\n' "$(jq -r '.name // empty' "$META_JSON")" >"$HOSTS_TMP"
+printf '%s\n' "$VM_NAME" >"$HOSTNAME_TMP"
+printf '127.0.0.1 localhost\n127.0.1.1 %s\n' "$VM_NAME" >"$HOSTS_TMP"
 sudo e2rm "$DM_DEV:/etc/resolv.conf" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 sudo e2rm "$DM_DEV:/etc/hostname" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 sudo e2rm "$DM_DEV:/etc/hosts" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
@@ -171,22 +192,31 @@ for _ in $(seq 1 200); do
 done
 [[ -S "$API_SOCK" ]] || { log "firecracker api socket not ready"; exit 1; }
 
+SUDO_CHILD_PID="$(pgrep -n -f "$API_SOCK" || true)"
+if [[ -n "$SUDO_CHILD_PID" ]]; then
+  FC_PID="$SUDO_CHILD_PID"
+fi
+
 log "configuring machine"
 /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/machine-config \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d "$(jq -c '."machine-config"' "$VM_JSON")" >/dev/null
+  -d "$(jq -c '.config["machine-config"]' "$VM_JSON")" >/dev/null
 
-boot_args="$(jq -r '."boot-source".boot_args' "$VM_JSON")"
+boot_args="$(jq -r '.config["boot-source"].boot_args // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
 boot_args="$(printf '%s' "$boot_args" | sed -E 's/(^| )hostname=[^ ]+//g; s/(^| )ip=[^ ]+//g' | awk '{$1=$1; print}')"
 boot_args="$boot_args ip=${GUEST_IP}::${BR_IP}:255.255.255.0::eth0:off:${DNS_SERVER}"
-boot_args="$boot_args hostname=$(jq -r '.name // empty' "$META_JSON")"
+boot_args="$boot_args hostname=$VM_NAME"
+INITRD_JSON=""
+if [[ -n "$INITRD_PATH" ]]; then
+  INITRD_JSON=", \"initrd_path\": \"$INITRD_PATH\""
+fi
 
 log "configuring boot source"
 /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/boot-source \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d "{
     \"kernel_image_path\": \"$KERNEL\",
-    \"boot_args\": \"$boot_args\"
+    \"boot_args\": \"$boot_args\"${INITRD_JSON}
   }" >/dev/null
 
 log "attaching drives"
@@ -229,16 +259,21 @@ log "starting virtual machine"
 /usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d '{ "action_type": "InstanceStart" }' >/dev/null
-VM_STARTED=1
 
 CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+banger_dns_write_record "$VM_NAME" "$GUEST_IP"
 jq \
   --arg pid "$FC_PID" \
   --arg created_at "$CREATED_AT" \
-  '.pid=$pid | .created_at=$created_at' \
-  "$META_JSON" > "$META_JSON.tmp" && mv "$META_JSON.tmp" "$META_JSON"
+  --arg dns_name "$DNS_NAME" \
+  '.meta.pid=$pid | .meta.created_at=$created_at | .meta.dns_name=$dns_name | del(.meta.dns_file)' \
+  "$VM_JSON" > "$VM_JSON.tmp" && mv "$VM_JSON.tmp" "$VM_JSON"
 
 VM_CONFIG_JSON="$(/usr/bin/sudo /usr/bin/curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
-jq '.' <<<"$VM_CONFIG_JSON" > "$VM_JSON"
+jq \
+  --argjson config "$VM_CONFIG_JSON" \
+  '.config=$config' \
+  "$VM_JSON" > "$VM_JSON.tmp" && mv "$VM_JSON.tmp" "$VM_JSON"
+VM_STARTED=1
 
 log "restored"
diff --git a/rm.sh b/rm.sh
index 6061090..8e38197 100755
--- a/rm.sh
+++ b/rm.sh
@@ -5,9 +5,14 @@ log() {
   printf '[rm] %s\n' "$*"
 }
 
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
+STATE="$DIR/state"
+VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
+
 usage() {
   cat <<'EOF'
-Usage: ./rm.sh <id-or-name-prefix>
+Usage: ./rm.sh <id-or-name-prefix>...
 
 Removes VM artifacts from state/ and cleans up TAP and mapped devices.
 EOF
@@ -17,7 +22,7 @@ find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
   local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+  for vm_json in "$VM_ROOT"/*/vm.json; do
     [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
     id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
@@ -40,42 +45,69 @@ find_vm_json() {
   printf '%s' "$match"
 }
 
-QUERY="${1:-}"
-if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+QUERIES=("$@")
+if (( ${#QUERIES[@]} == 1 )) && [[ "${QUERIES[0]}" == "-h" || "${QUERIES[0]}" == "--help" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+if (( ${#QUERIES[@]} == 0 )); then
   usage
   exit 1
 fi
 
-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")"
+VM_JSONS=()
+for query in "${QUERIES[@]}"; do
+  VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$query")"
+  already_added=0
+  for existing_vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$existing_vm_json" == "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
+      already_added=1
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  if (( already_added == 0 )); then
+    VM_JSONS+=("$VM_JSON")
+  fi
+done
 
-if [[ -n "$PID" ]]; then
-  sudo kill "$PID" 2>/dev/null || true
-fi
-if [[ -n "$TAP" ]]; then
-  sudo ip link del "$TAP" 2>/dev/null || true
-fi
-if [[ -n "$API_SOCK" ]]; then
-  rm -f "$API_SOCK"
-fi
-if [[ -n "$DM_DEV" || -n "$DM_NAME" ]]; then
-  sudo dmsetup remove "${DM_NAME:-$DM_DEV}" 2>/dev/null || true
-fi
-if [[ -n "$COW_LOOP" ]]; then
-  sudo losetup -d "$COW_LOOP" 2>/dev/null || true
-fi
-if [[ -n "$BASE_LOOP" ]]; then
-  sudo losetup -d "$BASE_LOOP" 2>/dev/null || true
-fi
-if [[ -d "$VM_DIR" ]]; then
-  rm -rf "$VM_DIR"
-fi
+for vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+  vm_dir="$(dirname "$vm_json")"
+  vm_id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  vm_name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // 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' "$vm_json")"
+  base_loop="$(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' "$vm_json")"
+  dns_name="$(jq -r '.meta.dns_name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  if [[ -z "$dns_name" ]]; then
+    dns_name="$(banger_dns_name "$vm_name")"
+  fi
 
-log "removed $VM_DIR"
+  if [[ -n "$pid" ]]; then
+    sudo kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$tap" ]]; then
+    sudo ip link del "$tap" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$api_sock" ]]; then
+    rm -f "$api_sock"
+  fi
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "$dns_name"
+  if [[ -n "$dm_dev" || -n "$dm_name" ]]; then
+    sudo dmsetup remove "${dm_name:-$dm_dev}" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$cow_loop" ]]; then
+    sudo losetup -d "$cow_loop" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -n "$base_loop" ]]; then
+    sudo losetup -d "$base_loop" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  if [[ -d "$vm_dir" ]]; then
+    rm -rf "$vm_dir"
+  fi
+
+  log "removed ${vm_name:-$vm_dir}"
+done
diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 22c58ee..45e84b4 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ EOF
 log "starting"
 
 DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
 STATE="$DIR/state"
 VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
 mkdir -p "$VM_ROOT"
@@ -254,6 +255,41 @@ BASE_LOOP=""
 COW_LOOP=""
 DM_NAME="fc-rootfs-$VM_TAG"
 DM_DEV=""
+SEED_ROOT_MNT="$VM_DIR/mnt-root"
+SEED_HOME_MNT="$VM_DIR/mnt-home"
+SEED_VAR_MNT="$VM_DIR/mnt-var"
+DNS_NAME=""
+
+unmount_if_needed() {
+  local mount_path="$1"
+  [[ -n "$mount_path" ]] || return 0
+  sudo umount "$mount_path" 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+
+seed_volume_from_rootfs() {
+  local source_dir="$1"
+  local target_image="$2"
+  local target_mount="$3"
+  local label="$4"
+
+  if [[ ! -d "$source_dir" ]]; then
+    log "source directory missing in rootfs snapshot: $label"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  mkdir -p "$target_mount"
+  sudo mount "$target_image" "$target_mount"
+  sudo cp -a "$source_dir/." "$target_mount/"
+  sudo umount "$target_mount"
+}
+
+populate_data_disks() {
+  mkdir -p "$SEED_ROOT_MNT" "$SEED_HOME_MNT" "$SEED_VAR_MNT"
+  sudo mount -o ro "$DM_DEV" "$SEED_ROOT_MNT"
+  seed_volume_from_rootfs "$SEED_ROOT_MNT/home" "$HOME_PATH" "$SEED_HOME_MNT" "/home"
+  seed_volume_from_rootfs "$SEED_ROOT_MNT/var" "$VAR_PATH" "$SEED_VAR_MNT" "/var"
+  sudo umount "$SEED_ROOT_MNT"
+}
 
 cleanup() {
   local exit_code=$?
@@ -268,6 +304,10 @@ cleanup() {
     sudo ip link del "$TAP_DEV" 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
   rm -f "${API_SOCK:-}"
+  unmount_if_needed "${SEED_VAR_MNT:-}"
+  unmount_if_needed "${SEED_HOME_MNT:-}"
+  unmount_if_needed "${SEED_ROOT_MNT:-}"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "${DNS_NAME:-}"
   if [[ -n "${DM_NAME:-}" ]]; then
     sudo dmsetup remove "$DM_NAME" 2>/dev/null || true
   fi
@@ -328,6 +368,10 @@ if ! command -v e2cp >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v e2rm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   log "e2cp and e2rm are required to set hostname and resolv.conf"
   exit 1
 fi
+if ! command -v mount >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v umount >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  log "mount and umount are required to populate home/var disks"
+  exit 1
+fi
 if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   log "jq is required to persist VM metadata"
   exit 1
@@ -368,6 +412,9 @@ sudo e2cp "$HOSTS_TMP" "$DM_DEV:/etc/hosts" >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
   exit 1
 }
 
+log "populating /home and /var disks from rootfs snapshot"
+populate_data_disks
+
 # Host bridge
 if ! ip link show "$BR_DEV" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   log "creating host bridge $BR_DEV ($BR_IP/$CIDR)"
@@ -494,9 +541,10 @@ log "starting virtual machine"
 "${CURL_CMD[@]}" --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d '{ "action_type": "InstanceStart" }' >/dev/null
-VM_STARTED=1
 VM_CONFIG_JSON="$("${CURL_CMD[@]}" --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -sS http://localhost/vm/config)"
 CREATED_AT="$(date -Iseconds)"
+DNS_NAME="$(banger_dns_name "$VM_NAME")"
+banger_dns_write_record "$VM_NAME" "$GUEST_IP"
 jq -n \
   --arg id "$VM_ID" \
   --arg name "$VM_NAME" \
@@ -515,9 +563,11 @@ jq -n \
   --arg cow_loop "$COW_LOOP" \
   --arg dm_name "$DM_NAME" \
   --arg dm_dev "$DM_DEV" \
+  --arg dns_name "$DNS_NAME" \
   --argjson config "$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}' \
+  '{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:$dm_dev,dns_name:$dns_name},config:$config}' \
   > "$VM_DIR/vm.json"
+VM_STARTED=1
 
 log "vm started successfully"
 log "guest ip: $GUEST_IP"
diff --git a/ssh.sh b/ssh.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6990e92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ssh.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+log() {
+  printf '[ssh] %s\n' "$*"
+}
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF'
+Usage: ./ssh.sh <name-or-ip-or-id-prefix> [ssh-args...]
+
+Resolves a running VM by name, guest IP, or ID prefix and opens SSH as root.
+EOF
+}
+
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+STATE="$DIR/state"
+VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
+SSH_KEY="$DIR/id_ed25519"
+
+find_vm_json() {
+  local query="$1"
+  local vm_json exact_match="" prefix_match=""
+  local exact_count=0 prefix_count=0
+
+  for vm_json in "$VM_ROOT"/*/vm.json; do
+    [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
+
+    local id name guest_ip
+    id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+    guest_ip="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$vm_json")"
+
+    if [[ "$guest_ip" == "$query" || "$name" == "$query" || "$id" == "$query" ]]; then
+      exact_match="$vm_json"
+      exact_count=$((exact_count + 1))
+      continue
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "$name" == "$query"* || "$id" == "$query"* ]]; then
+      prefix_match="$vm_json"
+      prefix_count=$((prefix_count + 1))
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if (( exact_count == 1 )); then
+    printf '%s' "$exact_match"
+    return 0
+  fi
+  if (( exact_count > 1 )); then
+    log "multiple VMs found for: $query"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  if (( prefix_count == 1 )); then
+    printf '%s' "$prefix_match"
+    return 0
+  fi
+  if (( prefix_count > 1 )); then
+    log "multiple VMs found for prefix: $query"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  log "no VM found for: $query"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+vm_is_running() {
+  local vm_json="$1"
+  local pid api_sock
+  pid="$(jq -r '.meta.pid // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  api_sock="$(jq -r '.meta.api_sock // empty' "$vm_json")"
+
+  [[ -n "$pid" && -n "$api_sock" ]] || return 1
+  ps -p "$pid" -o comm=,args= 2>/dev/null | rg -q "firecracker.*--api-sock $api_sock"
+}
+
+QUERY="${1:-}"
+if [[ "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+if [[ -z "$QUERY" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 1
+fi
+shift
+
+if [[ ! -f "$SSH_KEY" ]]; then
+  log "ssh key not found: $SSH_KEY"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$QUERY")"
+if ! vm_is_running "$VM_JSON"; then
+  log "vm is not running: $QUERY"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+GUEST_IP="$(jq -r '.meta.guest_ip // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+VM_NAME="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$VM_JSON")"
+if [[ -z "$GUEST_IP" ]]; then
+  log "guest IP not found for: $QUERY"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+log "connecting to $VM_NAME ($GUEST_IP)"
+exec ssh \
+  -i "$SSH_KEY" \
+  -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
+  -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
+  "root@$GUEST_IP" \
+  "$@"
diff --git a/stop.sh b/stop.sh
index d50a99f..01f2f37 100755
--- a/stop.sh
+++ b/stop.sh
@@ -5,9 +5,14 @@ log() {
   printf '[stop] %s\n' "$*"
 }
 
+DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$DIR/dns.sh"
+STATE="$DIR/state"
+VM_ROOT="$STATE/vms"
+
 usage() {
   cat <<'EOF'
-Usage: ./stop.sh <id-or-name-prefix>
+Usage: ./stop.sh <id-or-name-prefix>...
 
 Sends Ctrl+Alt+Del to the guest via the Firecracker API socket.
 EOF
@@ -17,7 +22,7 @@ find_vm_json() {
   local query="$1"
   local vm_json match_count=0 match=""
 
-  for vm_json in state/vms/*/vm.json; do
+  for vm_json in "$VM_ROOT"/*/vm.json; do
     [[ -f "$vm_json" ]] || continue
     local id name
     id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
@@ -40,21 +45,64 @@ find_vm_json() {
   printf '%s' "$match"
 }
 
-QUERY="${1:-}"
-if [[ -z "$QUERY" || "$QUERY" == "-h" || "$QUERY" == "--help" ]]; then
+QUERIES=("$@")
+if (( ${#QUERIES[@]} == 1 )) && [[ "${QUERIES[0]}" == "-h" || "${QUERIES[0]}" == "--help" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+if (( ${#QUERIES[@]} == 0 )); then
   usage
   exit 1
 fi
 
-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: $API_SOCK"
-  exit 1
-fi
+VM_JSONS=()
+for query in "${QUERIES[@]}"; do
+  VM_JSON="$(find_vm_json "$query")"
+  already_added=0
+  for existing_vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$existing_vm_json" == "$VM_JSON" ]]; then
+      already_added=1
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  if (( already_added == 0 )); then
+    VM_JSONS+=("$VM_JSON")
+  fi
+done
 
-log "sending Ctrl+Alt+Del to guest"
-sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$API_SOCK" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
-  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{ "action_type": "SendCtrlAltDel" }' >/dev/null
-log "requested shutdown"
+for vm_json in "${VM_JSONS[@]}"; do
+  vm_id="$(jq -r '.meta.id // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  vm_name="$(jq -r '.meta.name // empty' "$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")"
+  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")"
+  dns_name="$(jq -r '.meta.dns_name // empty' "$vm_json")"
+  if [[ -z "$dns_name" ]]; then
+    dns_name="$(banger_dns_name "$vm_name")"
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$pid" ]]; then
+    log "pid not found for ${vm_name:-$vm_json}"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$api_sock" || ! -S "$api_sock" ]]; then
+    log "api socket not found for ${vm_name:-$vm_json}: $api_sock"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  log "sending Ctrl+Alt+Del to ${vm_name:-$vm_json}"
+  sudo -E curl --unix-socket "$api_sock" -X PUT http://localhost/actions \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    -d '{ "action_type": "SendCtrlAltDel" }' >/dev/null
+  if ! banger_wait_for_vm_exit "$pid" "$api_sock" 30; then
+    log "timed out waiting for ${vm_name:-$vm_json} to exit"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  banger_teardown_vm_runtime "$tap" "$api_sock" "$dm_name" "$dm_dev" "$cow_loop" "$base_loop"
+  banger_mark_vm_stopped "$vm_json"
+  banger_dns_remove_record_name "$dns_name"
+  log "requested shutdown for ${vm_name:-$vm_json}"
+done