1 =head2 add-cdrom | cdrom
5 This function adds a virtual CD-ROM disk image to the guest.
7 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter C<-cdrom filename>.
13 This function adds a virtual machine disk image C<filename> to the
14 guest. The first time you call this function, the disk appears as IDE
15 disk 0 (C</dev/sda>) in the guest, the second time as C</dev/sdb>, and
18 You don't necessarily need to be root when using libguestfs. However
19 you obviously do need sufficient permissions to access the filename
20 for whatever operations you want to perform (ie. read access if you
21 just want to read the image or write access if you want to modify the
24 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter C<-drive file=filename>.
30 Close the current Augeas handle and free up any resources
31 used by it. After calling this, you have to call
32 C<aug_init> again before you can use any other
37 aug-defnode name expr val
39 Defines a variable C<name> whose value is the result of
42 If C<expr> evaluates to an empty nodeset, a node is created,
43 equivalent to calling C<aug_set> C<expr>, C<value>.
44 C<name> will be the nodeset containing that single node.
46 On success this returns a pair containing the
47 number of nodes in the nodeset, and a boolean flag
48 if a node was created.
54 Defines an Augeas variable C<name> whose value is the result
55 of evaluating C<expr>. If C<expr> is NULL, then C<name> is
58 On success this returns the number of nodes in C<expr>, or
59 C<0> if C<expr> evaluates to something which is not a nodeset.
65 Look up the value associated with C<path>. If C<path>
66 matches exactly one node, the C<value> is returned.
72 Create a new Augeas handle for editing configuration files.
73 If there was any previous Augeas handle associated with this
74 guestfs session, then it is closed.
76 You must call this before using any other C<aug_*>
79 C<root> is the filesystem root. C<root> must not be NULL,
82 The flags are the same as the flags defined in
83 E<lt>augeas.hE<gt>, the logical I<or> of the following
88 =item C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP> = 1
90 Keep the original file with a C<.augsave> extension.
92 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NEWFILE> = 2
94 Save changes into a file with extension C<.augnew>, and
95 do not overwrite original. Overrides C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP>.
97 =item C<AUG_TYPE_CHECK> = 4
99 Typecheck lenses (can be expensive).
101 =item C<AUG_NO_STDINC> = 8
103 Do not use standard load path for modules.
105 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NOOP> = 16
107 Make save a no-op, just record what would have been changed.
109 =item C<AUG_NO_LOAD> = 32
111 Do not load the tree in C<aug_init>.
115 To close the handle, you can call C<aug_close>.
117 To find out more about Augeas, see L<http://augeas.net/>.
121 aug-insert path label true|false
123 Create a new sibling C<label> for C<path>, inserting it into
124 the tree before or after C<path> (depending on the boolean
127 C<path> must match exactly one existing node in the tree, and
128 C<label> must be a label, ie. not contain C</>, C<*> or end
129 with a bracketed index C<[N]>.
135 Load files into the tree.
137 See C<aug_load> in the Augeas documentation for the full gory
144 This is just a shortcut for listing C<aug_match>
145 C<path/*> and sorting the resulting nodes into alphabetical order.
151 Returns a list of paths which match the path expression C<path>.
152 The returned paths are sufficiently qualified so that they match
153 exactly one node in the current tree.
159 Move the node C<src> to C<dest>. C<src> must match exactly
160 one node. C<dest> is overwritten if it exists.
166 Remove C<path> and all of its children.
168 On success this returns the number of entries which were removed.
174 This writes all pending changes to disk.
176 The flags which were passed to C<aug_init> affect exactly
183 Set the value associated with C<path> to C<value>.
185 =head2 blockdev-flushbufs
187 blockdev-flushbufs device
189 This tells the kernel to flush internal buffers associated
192 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
194 =head2 blockdev-getbsz
196 blockdev-getbsz device
198 This returns the block size of a device.
200 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
201 I<filesystem block size>).
203 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
205 =head2 blockdev-getro
207 blockdev-getro device
209 Returns a boolean indicating if the block device is read-only
210 (true if read-only, false if not).
212 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
214 =head2 blockdev-getsize64
216 blockdev-getsize64 device
218 This returns the size of the device in bytes.
220 See also C<blockdev_getsz>.
222 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
224 =head2 blockdev-getss
226 blockdev-getss device
228 This returns the size of sectors on a block device.
229 Usually 512, but can be larger for modern devices.
231 (Note, this is not the size in sectors, use C<blockdev_getsz>
234 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
236 =head2 blockdev-getsz
238 blockdev-getsz device
240 This returns the size of the device in units of 512-byte sectors
241 (even if the sectorsize isn't 512 bytes ... weird).
243 See also C<blockdev_getss> for the real sector size of
244 the device, and C<blockdev_getsize64> for the more
245 useful I<size in bytes>.
247 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
249 =head2 blockdev-rereadpt
251 blockdev-rereadpt device
253 Reread the partition table on C<device>.
255 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
257 =head2 blockdev-setbsz
259 blockdev-setbsz device blocksize
261 This sets the block size of a device.
263 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
264 I<filesystem block size>).
266 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
268 =head2 blockdev-setro
270 blockdev-setro device
272 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-only.
274 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
276 =head2 blockdev-setrw
278 blockdev-setrw device
280 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-write.
282 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
288 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
290 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
291 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
292 as end of string). For those you need to use the C<download>
293 function which has a more complex interface.
295 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
296 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
301 checksum csumtype path
303 This call computes the MD5, SHAx or CRC checksum of the
306 The type of checksum to compute is given by the C<csumtype>
307 parameter which must have one of the following values:
313 Compute the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) specified by POSIX
314 for the C<cksum> command.
318 Compute the MD5 hash (using the C<md5sum> program).
322 Compute the SHA1 hash (using the C<sha1sum> program).
326 Compute the SHA224 hash (using the C<sha224sum> program).
330 Compute the SHA256 hash (using the C<sha256sum> program).
334 Compute the SHA384 hash (using the C<sha384sum> program).
338 Compute the SHA512 hash (using the C<sha512sum> program).
342 The checksum is returned as a printable string.
348 Change the mode (permissions) of C<path> to C<mode>. Only
349 numeric modes are supported.
353 chown owner group path
355 Change the file owner to C<owner> and group to C<group>.
357 Only numeric uid and gid are supported. If you want to use
358 names, you will need to locate and parse the password file
359 yourself (Augeas support makes this relatively easy).
363 command arguments,...
365 This call runs a command from the guest filesystem. The
366 filesystem must be mounted, and must contain a compatible
367 operating system (ie. something Linux, with the same
368 or compatible processor architecture).
370 The single parameter is an argv-style list of arguments.
371 The first element is the name of the program to run.
372 Subsequent elements are parameters. The list must be
373 non-empty (ie. must contain a program name).
375 The C<$PATH> environment variable will contain at least
376 C</usr/bin> and C</bin>. If you require a program from
377 another location, you should provide the full path in the
380 Shared libraries and data files required by the program
381 must be available on filesystems which are mounted in the
382 correct places. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure
383 all filesystems that are needed are mounted at the right
388 command-lines arguments,...
390 This is the same as C<command>, but splits the
391 result into a list of lines.
395 config qemuparam qemuvalue
397 This can be used to add arbitrary qemu command line parameters
398 of the form C<-param value>. Actually it's not quite arbitrary - we
399 prevent you from setting some parameters which would interfere with
400 parameters that we use.
402 The first character of C<param> string must be a C<-> (dash).
404 C<value> can be NULL.
408 download remotefilename (filename|-)
410 Download file C<remotefilename> and save it as C<filename>
411 on the local machine.
413 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
415 See also C<upload>, C<cat>.
417 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
423 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file, directory
424 (or anything) with the given C<path> name.
426 See also C<is_file>, C<is_dir>, C<stat>.
432 This call uses the standard L<file(1)> command to determine
433 the type or contents of the file. This also works on devices,
434 for example to find out whether a partition contains a filesystem.
436 The exact command which runs is C<file -bsL path>. Note in
437 particular that the filename is not prepended to the output
444 Get the autosync flag.
450 Return the current search path.
452 This is always non-NULL. If it wasn't set already, then this will
453 return the default path.
459 This returns the current state as an opaque integer. This is
460 only useful for printing debug and internal error messages.
462 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
468 This returns the verbose messages flag.
474 This returns true iff this handle is busy processing a command
475 (in the C<BUSY> state).
477 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
483 This returns true iff this handle is being configured
484 (in the C<CONFIG> state).
486 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
492 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a directory
493 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
494 other objects like files.
502 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file
503 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
504 other objects like directories.
512 This returns true iff this handle is launching the subprocess
513 (in the C<LAUNCHING> state).
515 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
521 This returns true iff this handle is ready to accept commands
522 (in the C<READY> state).
524 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
526 =head2 kill-subprocess
530 This kills the qemu subprocess. You should never need to call this.
536 Internally libguestfs is implemented by running a virtual machine
539 You should call this after configuring the handle
540 (eg. adding drives) but before performing any actions.
546 List all the block devices.
548 The full block device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda>
550 =head2 list-partitions
554 List all the partitions detected on all block devices.
556 The full partition device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda1>
558 This does not return logical volumes. For that you will need to
565 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
566 there is no cwd) in the format of 'ls -la'.
568 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. It
569 is I<not> intended that you try to parse the output string.
575 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
576 there is no cwd). The '.' and '..' entries are not returned, but
577 hidden files are shown.
579 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. Programs
580 should probably use C<readdir> instead.
586 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
588 This is the same as C<stat> except that if C<path>
589 is a symbolic link, then the link is stat-ed, not the file it
592 This is the same as the C<lstat(2)> system call.
596 lvcreate logvol volgroup mbytes
598 This creates an LVM volume group called C<logvol>
599 on the volume group C<volgroup>, with C<size> megabytes.
601 =head2 lvm-remove-all
605 This command removes all LVM logical volumes, volume groups
606 and physical volumes.
608 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
609 can easily destroy all your data>.
615 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
616 of the L<lvs(8)> command.
618 This returns a list of the logical volume device names
619 (eg. C</dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00>).
621 See also C<lvs_full>.
627 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
628 of the L<lvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
634 Create a directory named C<path>.
640 Create a directory named C<path>, creating any parent directories
641 as necessary. This is like the C<mkdir -p> shell command.
647 This creates a filesystem on C<device> (usually a partition
648 of LVM logical volume). The filesystem type is C<fstype>, for
653 mount device mountpoint
655 Mount a guest disk at a position in the filesystem. Block devices
656 are named C</dev/sda>, C</dev/sdb> and so on, as they were added to
657 the guest. If those block devices contain partitions, they will have
658 the usual names (eg. C</dev/sda1>). Also LVM C</dev/VG/LV>-style
661 The rules are the same as for L<mount(2)>: A filesystem must
662 first be mounted on C</> before others can be mounted. Other
663 filesystems can only be mounted on directories which already
666 The mounted filesystem is writable, if we have sufficient permissions
667 on the underlying device.
669 The filesystem options C<sync> and C<noatime> are set with this
670 call, in order to improve reliability.
676 This returns the list of currently mounted filesystems. It returns
677 the list of devices (eg. C</dev/sda1>, C</dev/VG/LV>).
679 Some internal mounts are not shown.
685 This creates an LVM physical volume on the named C<device>,
686 where C<device> should usually be a partition name such
693 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
694 of the L<pvs(8)> command.
696 This returns a list of just the device names that contain
697 PVs (eg. C</dev/sda2>).
699 See also C<pvs_full>.
705 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
706 of the L<pvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
712 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
714 The file contents are returned as a list of lines. Trailing
715 C<LF> and C<CRLF> character sequences are I<not> returned.
717 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
718 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
719 as end of line). For those you need to use the C<read_file>
720 function which has a more complex interface.
726 Remove the single file C<path>.
732 Remove the file or directory C<path>, recursively removing the
733 contents if its a directory. This is like the C<rm -rf> shell
740 Remove the single directory C<path>.
742 =head2 set-autosync | autosync
744 set-autosync true|false
746 If C<autosync> is true, this enables autosync. Libguestfs will make a
747 best effort attempt to run C<sync> when the handle is closed
748 (also if the program exits without closing handles).
750 =head2 set-path | path
754 Set the path that libguestfs searches for kernel and initrd.img.
756 The default is C<$libdir/guestfs> unless overridden by setting
757 C<LIBGUESTFS_PATH> environment variable.
759 The string C<path> is stashed in the libguestfs handle, so the caller
760 must make sure it remains valid for the lifetime of the handle.
762 Setting C<path> to C<NULL> restores the default path.
764 =head2 set-verbose | verbose
766 set-verbose true|false
768 If C<verbose> is true, this turns on verbose messages (to C<stderr>).
770 Verbose messages are disabled unless the environment variable
771 C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG> is defined and set to C<1>.
775 sfdisk device cyls heads sectors lines,...
777 This is a direct interface to the L<sfdisk(8)> program for creating
778 partitions on block devices.
780 C<device> should be a block device, for example C</dev/sda>.
782 C<cyls>, C<heads> and C<sectors> are the number of cylinders, heads
783 and sectors on the device, which are passed directly to sfdisk as
784 the I<-C>, I<-H> and I<-S> parameters. If you pass C<0> for any
785 of these, then the corresponding parameter is omitted. Usually for
786 'large' disks, you can just pass C<0> for these, but for small
787 (floppy-sized) disks, sfdisk (or rather, the kernel) cannot work
788 out the right geometry and you will need to tell it.
790 C<lines> is a list of lines that we feed to C<sfdisk>. For more
791 information refer to the L<sfdisk(8)> manpage.
793 To create a single partition occupying the whole disk, you would
794 pass C<lines> as a single element list, when the single element being
795 the string C<,> (comma).
797 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
798 can easily destroy all your data>.
804 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
806 This is the same as the C<stat(2)> system call.
812 Returns file system statistics for any mounted file system.
813 C<path> should be a file or directory in the mounted file system
814 (typically it is the mount point itself, but it doesn't need to be).
816 This is the same as the C<statvfs(2)> system call.
822 This syncs the disk, so that any writes are flushed through to the
823 underlying disk image.
825 You should always call this if you have modified a disk image, before
830 tar-in (tarfile|-) directory
832 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarfile> (an
833 I<uncompressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
835 To upload a compressed tarball, use C<tgz_in>.
837 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
841 tar-out directory (tarfile|-)
843 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
844 it to local file C<tarfile>.
846 To download a compressed tarball, use C<tgz_out>.
848 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
852 tgz-in (tarball|-) directory
854 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarball> (a
855 I<gzip compressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
857 To upload an uncompressed tarball, use C<tar_in>.
859 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
863 tgz-out directory (tarball|-)
865 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
866 it to local file C<tarball>.
868 To download an uncompressed tarball, use C<tar_out>.
870 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
876 Touch acts like the L<touch(1)> command. It can be used to
877 update the timestamps on a file, or, if the file does not exist,
878 to create a new zero-length file.
884 This returns the contents of the ext2 or ext3 filesystem superblock
887 It is the same as running C<tune2fs -l device>. See L<tune2fs(8)>
888 manpage for more details. The list of fields returned isn't
889 clearly defined, and depends on both the version of C<tune2fs>
890 that libguestfs was built against, and the filesystem itself.
892 =head2 umount | unmount
896 This unmounts the given filesystem. The filesystem may be
897 specified either by its mountpoint (path) or the device which
898 contains the filesystem.
900 =head2 umount-all | unmount-all
904 This unmounts all mounted filesystems.
906 Some internal mounts are not unmounted by this call.
910 upload (filename|-) remotefilename
912 Upload local file C<filename> to C<remotefilename> on the
915 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
917 See also C<download>.
919 Use C<-> instead of a filename to read/write from stdin/stdout.
923 vgcreate volgroup physvols,...
925 This creates an LVM volume group called C<volgroup>
926 from the non-empty list of physical volumes C<physvols>.
932 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
933 of the L<vgs(8)> command.
935 This returns a list of just the volume group names that were
936 detected (eg. C<VolGroup00>).
938 See also C<vgs_full>.
944 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
945 of the L<vgs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
949 write-file path content size
951 This call creates a file called C<path>. The contents of the
952 file is the string C<content> (which can contain any 8 bit data),
955 As a special case, if C<size> is C<0>
956 then the length is calculated using C<strlen> (so in this case
957 the content cannot contain embedded ASCII NULs).
959 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
960 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use