libguestfs

7.0easy start · #6 of 23
in Virtual Drive Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on api, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows.

libguestfs is ranked #6 of 23 in virtual drive software on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

libguestfs plans and pricing

All plans

libguestfs Free Open source library and tools · source and binary downloads libguestfs.org · 29 Sept 2026

Compared on virtual drive software

Free plan: Yes
Image formats: raw, qcow2, vmdk, vdi, vpc, vhd
Virtual disk files: Yes
Optical image mounting: Yes
Supported platforms: Linux, Mac OS X; some virt tools have been ported to Windows

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The record

Purpose: libguestfs is a library and set of tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images.
Disk image tasks: It can view and edit guest files, script VM changes, create and resize images, perform backups, clone VMs, and build VMs.
Image compatibility: The project says it can access almost any disk image, including images from VMware and Hyper-V.
Security: It accesses guest filesystems through a Linux kernel in a qemu virtual machine, usually running as a non-root user, and can use sVirt with the libvirt backend and SELinux.
Command line: The functionality is available through guestfish, a scriptable shell, and virt-rescue, an interactive rescue shell.
Developer interfaces: libguestfs is a C library with bindings for many programming languages, and the site provides examples for C/C++, Erlang, Go, Java, Lua, OCaml, Perl, Python, and Ruby.
Integration: The FAQ says libvirt is not required and libguestfs works with disk images created by VMware, KVM, qemu, VirtualBox, Xen, and other hypervisors.
Downloads: The project provides source downloads and lists installation commands for Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Debian, and Ubuntu.
Supported systems: The FAQ says libguestfs runs on many Linux distributions and Mac OS X, while some virt tools have been ported to Windows.
Support: Users can ask questions on the libguestfs mailing list or IRC channel #guestfs on Libera Chat; Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers are directed to Red Hat Support.
Security reporting: The security guide directs private reports to Red Hat's security procedure and allows less serious issues to be filed as bugs or sent to the mailing list.
Limit: The FAQ says non-Linux systems require compiling from source and porting libguestfs.
Maker: The GitHub repository copyright notice names Red Hat Inc.
Founded: 2009
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Virtual Drive Software in 2026#6 of 23

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Sources

libguestfs.org· checked 29 Sept 2026
libguestfs.org/guestfs-security.1.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
libguestfs.org/guestfs-faq.1.html· checked 29 Sept 2026
github.com/libguestfs/libguestfs· checked 29 Sept 2026