RFE: Expose system reset to the API / remote CLI

[benoitf]

Is this a BUG REPORT or FEATURE REQUEST? (leave only one on its own line)

/kind feature

Description

Sometimes, podman machine is not working as expected. One example is #15526
But to call podman system reset we need first to ssh into the machine which is not so convenient for users.

Steps to reproduce the issue:

1. podman machine ssh

2. podman system reset

Describe the results you received:

2 steps

Describe the results you expected:

Add a REST API to call the reset command.
It will allow tools like Podman Desktop to add a reset machine option

in addition a podman machine reset would help end users.

Additional information you deem important (e.g. issue happens only occasionally):

Output of podman version:

4.2.1

Output of podman info:

(paste your output here)

Package info (e.g. output of rpm -q podman or apt list podman):

(paste your output here)

Have you tested with the latest version of Podman and have you checked the Podman Troubleshooting Guide? (https://github.com/containers/podman/blob/main/troubleshooting.md)

Yes/No

Additional environment details (AWS, VirtualBox, physical, etc.):

[ashley-cui]

Is this a good idea? I feel like allowing users to reset settings from another machine via an API (think in non podman-machine scenarios) feels dangerous. I'd much rather have podman machine do a podman machine ssh podman system reset (as a singular command, as podman machine ssh takes args).

[rhatdan]

That makes sense to me. We are not allowing most/all podman system * objects to be manipulated via a remote API.

[mheon]

The request from the desktop team was a way to "factory reset" a VM that is having problems. In that context, it seems reasonable to expose some way to do this - unless we want to require something like podman machine ssh podman system reset

[ashley-cui]

I'd be okay with something like a podman machine reset command, but that would literally just be a wrapper around podman machine ssh podman system reset, which seems like a reasonable command to just run from desktop

[baude]

what does factory reset mean? the contents of the vm are reset or the vm itself is reset?

[benoitf]

From a 'Client' point of view, after the reset, everything should work again and it includes data loss.

It may include a podman reset or a vm reset as well. (Sometimes podman machine is not starting anymore so podman machine ssh will hang as well as the machine is not responding)

so it may be:
if machine is responding: try to to do the system reset
if machine is not responding: wipe content or reinit it.

[rhatdan]

It might be safer to destroy the VM and recreate it rather then just reset the container storage.