Rename KVM guest VM

rename-kvm-guest.txt

# Shutdown the VM and rename storage (optional)
$ virsh shutdown old_vm
$ mv /path/to/old_vm.img /path/to/new_vm.img
 
# Edit virsh template with the new name and storage
$ virsh dumpxml old_vm > new_vm.xml
$ vim new_vm.xml
~~~ new_vm.xml
<name>new_vm</name>                       # <-- change this line
...
<devices>
  ...
  <disk type='file' device='disk'>
    <driver name='qemu' type='raw'/>
    <source file='/path/to/new_vm.img'/>  # <-- change this line
    <target dev='vda' bus='virtio'/>
    ...
  </disk>
~~~
 
# Redefine the KVM guest
$ virsh undefine old_vm
$ virsh define new_vm.xml

instead of moving the img file, perhaps it is better to

# virsh vol-clone oldvolname newvolname --pool default
# virsh vol-delete oldvolname --pool default

that is, if you use virsh to manage your storage pool ...