How to change Vagrant 'default' machine name?

Where does the name 'default' come from when launching a vagrant box?

$ vagrant up
Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...

Is there a way to set this?

I found the multiple options confusing, so I decided to test all of them to see exactly what they do.

I'm using VirtualBox 4.2.16-r86992 and Vagrant 1.3.3.

I created a directory called nametest and ran

vagrant init precise64 http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box

to generate a default Vagrantfile. Then I opened the VirtualBox GUI so I could see what names the boxes I create would show up as.

1. Default Vagrantfile

   Vagrant.configure('2') do |config|
       config.vm.box = "precise64"
       config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box"
   end
   

VirtualBox GUI Name: "nametest_default_1386347922"

Comments: The name defaults to the format DIRECTORY_default_TIMESTAMP.

2. Define VM

   Vagrant.configure('2') do |config|
       config.vm.box = "precise64"
       config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box"
       config.vm.define "foohost"
   end
   

VirtualBox GUI Name: "nametest_foohost_1386347922"

Comments: If you explicitly define a VM, the name used replaces the token 'default'. This is the name vagrant outputs on the console. Simplifying based on zook's (commenter) input

3. Set Provider Name

   Vagrant.configure('2') do |config|
       config.vm.box = "precise64"
       config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box"
       config.vm.provider :virtualbox do |vb|
           vb.name = "foohost"
       end
   end
   

VirtualBox GUI Name: "foohost"

Comments: If you set the name attribute in a provider configuration block, that name will become the entire name displayed in the VirtualBox GUI.

Combined Example: Define VM -and- Set Provider Name

    Vagrant.configure('2') do |config|
        config.vm.box = "precise64"
        config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box"
        config.vm.define "foohost"
        config.vm.provider :virtualbox do |vb|
            vb.name = "barhost"
        end
    end

VirtualBox GUI Name: "barhost"

Comments: If you use both methods at the same time, the value assigned to name in the provider configuration block wins. Simplifying based on zook's (commenter) input

4. Set hostname (BONUS)

   Vagrant.configure(VAGRANTFILE_API_VERSION) do |config|
     config.vm.hostname = "buzbar"
   end
   

Comments: This sets the hostname inside the VM. This would be the output of hostname command in the VM and also this is what's visible in the prompt like vagrant@<hostname>, here it will look like vagrant@buzbar

Final Code

    Vagrant.configure('2') do |config|
        config.vm.box = "precise64"
        config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise64.box"
        config.vm.hostname = "buzbar"
        config.vm.define "foohost"
        config.vm.provider :virtualbox do |vb|
            vb.name = "barhost"
        end
    end

---

So there it is. You now know 3 different options you can set and the effects they have. I guess it's a matter of preference at this point? (I'm new to Vagrant, so I can't speak to best practices yet.)

This is the way I've assigned names to individual VMs. Change YOURNAMEHERE to your desired name.

Contents of Vagrantfile:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|

  # Every Vagrant virtual environment requires a box to build off of.
  config.vm.box = "precise32"

  # The url from where the 'config.vm.box' box will be fetched if it
  # doesn't already exist on the user's system.
  config.vm.box_url = "http://files.vagrantup.com/precise32.box"

  config.vm.define :YOURNAMEHERE do |t|
  end

end

Terminal output:

$ vagrant status
Current machine states:

YOURNAMEHERE             not created (virtualbox)

I specify the name by defining inside the VagrantFile and also specify the hostname so i enjoy seeing the name of my project while executing Linux commands independently from my device's OS. ✌️

config.vm.define "abc"
config.vm.hostname = "abc"

If you want to change anything else instead of 'default', then just add these additional lines to your Vagrantfile:

Change the basebox name, when using "vagrant status"

 config.vm.define "tendo" do |tendo|
  end

Where "tendo" will be the name that will appear instead of default

You can change vagrant default machine name by changing value of config.vm.define.

Here is the simple Vagrantfile which uses getopts and allows you to change the name dynamically:

# -*- mode: ruby -*-
require 'getoptlong'

opts = GetoptLong.new(
  [ '--vm-name',        GetoptLong::OPTIONAL_ARGUMENT ],
)
vm_name        = ENV['VM_NAME'] || 'default'

begin
  opts.each do |opt, arg|
    case opt
      when '--vm-name'
        vm_name = arg
    end
  end
  rescue
end

Vagrant.configure(2) do |config|
  config.vm.define vm_name
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vbox, override|
    override.vm.box = "ubuntu/wily64"
    # ...
  end
  # ...
end

So to use different name, you can run for example:

vagrant --vm-name=my_name up --no-provision

^{Note: The --vm-name parameter needs to be specified before up command.}

or:

VM_NAME=my_name vagrant up --no-provision

Yes, for Virtualbox provider do something like this:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
    # ...other options...
    config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |p|
        p.name = "something-else"
    end
end

In case there are many people using your vagrant file - you might want to set name dynamically. Below is the example how to do it using username from your HOST machine as the name of the box and hostname:

require 'etc'
vagrant_name = "yourProjectName-" + Etc.getlogin
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/xenial64"
  config.vm.hostname = vagrant_name
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |v|
    v.name = vagrant_name
  end
end