1 =head2 guestfs_add_cdrom
3 int guestfs_add_cdrom (guestfs_h *handle,
6 This function adds a virtual CD-ROM disk image to the guest.
8 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter C<-cdrom filename>.
10 Note that this call checks for the existence of C<filename>. This
11 stops you from specifying other types of drive which are supported
12 by qemu such as C<nbd:> and C<http:> URLs. To specify those, use
13 the general C<guestfs_config> call instead.
15 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
17 =head2 guestfs_add_drive
19 int guestfs_add_drive (guestfs_h *handle,
20 const char *filename);
22 This function adds a virtual machine disk image C<filename> to the
23 guest. The first time you call this function, the disk appears as IDE
24 disk 0 (C</dev/sda>) in the guest, the second time as C</dev/sdb>, and
27 You don't necessarily need to be root when using libguestfs. However
28 you obviously do need sufficient permissions to access the filename
29 for whatever operations you want to perform (ie. read access if you
30 just want to read the image or write access if you want to modify the
33 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter C<-drive file=filename,cache=off>.
35 Note that this call checks for the existence of C<filename>. This
36 stops you from specifying other types of drive which are supported
37 by qemu such as C<nbd:> and C<http:> URLs. To specify those, use
38 the general C<guestfs_config> call instead.
40 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
42 =head2 guestfs_add_drive_ro
44 int guestfs_add_drive_ro (guestfs_h *handle,
45 const char *filename);
47 This adds a drive in snapshot mode, making it effectively
50 Note that writes to the device are allowed, and will be seen for
51 the duration of the guestfs handle, but they are written
52 to a temporary file which is discarded as soon as the guestfs
53 handle is closed. We don't currently have any method to enable
54 changes to be committed, although qemu can support this.
56 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter
57 C<-drive file=filename,snapshot=on>.
59 Note that this call checks for the existence of C<filename>. This
60 stops you from specifying other types of drive which are supported
61 by qemu such as C<nbd:> and C<http:> URLs. To specify those, use
62 the general C<guestfs_config> call instead.
64 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
66 =head2 guestfs_aug_close
68 int guestfs_aug_close (guestfs_h *handle);
70 Close the current Augeas handle and free up any resources
71 used by it. After calling this, you have to call
72 C<guestfs_aug_init> again before you can use any other
75 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
77 =head2 guestfs_aug_defnode
79 struct guestfs_int_bool *guestfs_aug_defnode (guestfs_h *handle,
84 Defines a variable C<name> whose value is the result of
87 If C<expr> evaluates to an empty nodeset, a node is created,
88 equivalent to calling C<guestfs_aug_set> C<expr>, C<value>.
89 C<name> will be the nodeset containing that single node.
91 On success this returns a pair containing the
92 number of nodes in the nodeset, and a boolean flag
93 if a node was created.
95 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_int_bool *>,
96 or NULL if there was an error.
97 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_int_bool> after use>.
99 =head2 guestfs_aug_defvar
101 int guestfs_aug_defvar (guestfs_h *handle,
105 Defines an Augeas variable C<name> whose value is the result
106 of evaluating C<expr>. If C<expr> is NULL, then C<name> is
109 On success this returns the number of nodes in C<expr>, or
110 C<0> if C<expr> evaluates to something which is not a nodeset.
112 On error this function returns -1.
114 =head2 guestfs_aug_get
116 char *guestfs_aug_get (guestfs_h *handle,
119 Look up the value associated with C<path>. If C<path>
120 matches exactly one node, the C<value> is returned.
122 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
123 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
125 =head2 guestfs_aug_init
127 int guestfs_aug_init (guestfs_h *handle,
131 Create a new Augeas handle for editing configuration files.
132 If there was any previous Augeas handle associated with this
133 guestfs session, then it is closed.
135 You must call this before using any other C<guestfs_aug_*>
138 C<root> is the filesystem root. C<root> must not be NULL,
141 The flags are the same as the flags defined in
142 E<lt>augeas.hE<gt>, the logical I<or> of the following
147 =item C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP> = 1
149 Keep the original file with a C<.augsave> extension.
151 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NEWFILE> = 2
153 Save changes into a file with extension C<.augnew>, and
154 do not overwrite original. Overrides C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP>.
156 =item C<AUG_TYPE_CHECK> = 4
158 Typecheck lenses (can be expensive).
160 =item C<AUG_NO_STDINC> = 8
162 Do not use standard load path for modules.
164 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NOOP> = 16
166 Make save a no-op, just record what would have been changed.
168 =item C<AUG_NO_LOAD> = 32
170 Do not load the tree in C<guestfs_aug_init>.
174 To close the handle, you can call C<guestfs_aug_close>.
176 To find out more about Augeas, see L<http://augeas.net/>.
178 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
180 =head2 guestfs_aug_insert
182 int guestfs_aug_insert (guestfs_h *handle,
187 Create a new sibling C<label> for C<path>, inserting it into
188 the tree before or after C<path> (depending on the boolean
191 C<path> must match exactly one existing node in the tree, and
192 C<label> must be a label, ie. not contain C</>, C<*> or end
193 with a bracketed index C<[N]>.
195 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
197 =head2 guestfs_aug_load
199 int guestfs_aug_load (guestfs_h *handle);
201 Load files into the tree.
203 See C<aug_load> in the Augeas documentation for the full gory
206 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
208 =head2 guestfs_aug_ls
210 char **guestfs_aug_ls (guestfs_h *handle,
213 This is just a shortcut for listing C<guestfs_aug_match>
214 C<path/*> and sorting the resulting nodes into alphabetical order.
216 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
217 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
218 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
220 =head2 guestfs_aug_match
222 char **guestfs_aug_match (guestfs_h *handle,
225 Returns a list of paths which match the path expression C<path>.
226 The returned paths are sufficiently qualified so that they match
227 exactly one node in the current tree.
229 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
230 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
231 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
233 =head2 guestfs_aug_mv
235 int guestfs_aug_mv (guestfs_h *handle,
239 Move the node C<src> to C<dest>. C<src> must match exactly
240 one node. C<dest> is overwritten if it exists.
242 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
244 =head2 guestfs_aug_rm
246 int guestfs_aug_rm (guestfs_h *handle,
249 Remove C<path> and all of its children.
251 On success this returns the number of entries which were removed.
253 On error this function returns -1.
255 =head2 guestfs_aug_save
257 int guestfs_aug_save (guestfs_h *handle);
259 This writes all pending changes to disk.
261 The flags which were passed to C<guestfs_aug_init> affect exactly
264 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
266 =head2 guestfs_aug_set
268 int guestfs_aug_set (guestfs_h *handle,
272 Set the value associated with C<path> to C<value>.
274 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
276 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_flushbufs
278 int guestfs_blockdev_flushbufs (guestfs_h *handle,
281 This tells the kernel to flush internal buffers associated
284 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
286 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
288 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getbsz
290 int guestfs_blockdev_getbsz (guestfs_h *handle,
293 This returns the block size of a device.
295 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
296 I<filesystem block size>).
298 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
300 On error this function returns -1.
302 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getro
304 int guestfs_blockdev_getro (guestfs_h *handle,
307 Returns a boolean indicating if the block device is read-only
308 (true if read-only, false if not).
310 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
312 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
314 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getsize64
316 int64_t guestfs_blockdev_getsize64 (guestfs_h *handle,
319 This returns the size of the device in bytes.
321 See also C<guestfs_blockdev_getsz>.
323 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
325 On error this function returns -1.
327 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getss
329 int guestfs_blockdev_getss (guestfs_h *handle,
332 This returns the size of sectors on a block device.
333 Usually 512, but can be larger for modern devices.
335 (Note, this is not the size in sectors, use C<guestfs_blockdev_getsz>
338 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
340 On error this function returns -1.
342 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getsz
344 int64_t guestfs_blockdev_getsz (guestfs_h *handle,
347 This returns the size of the device in units of 512-byte sectors
348 (even if the sectorsize isn't 512 bytes ... weird).
350 See also C<guestfs_blockdev_getss> for the real sector size of
351 the device, and C<guestfs_blockdev_getsize64> for the more
352 useful I<size in bytes>.
354 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
356 On error this function returns -1.
358 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_rereadpt
360 int guestfs_blockdev_rereadpt (guestfs_h *handle,
363 Reread the partition table on C<device>.
365 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
367 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
369 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setbsz
371 int guestfs_blockdev_setbsz (guestfs_h *handle,
375 This sets the block size of a device.
377 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
378 I<filesystem block size>).
380 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
382 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
384 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setro
386 int guestfs_blockdev_setro (guestfs_h *handle,
389 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-only.
391 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
393 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
395 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setrw
397 int guestfs_blockdev_setrw (guestfs_h *handle,
400 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-write.
402 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
404 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
408 char *guestfs_cat (guestfs_h *handle,
411 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
413 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
414 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
415 as end of string). For those you need to use the C<guestfs_download>
416 function which has a more complex interface.
418 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
419 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
421 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
422 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
425 =head2 guestfs_checksum
427 char *guestfs_checksum (guestfs_h *handle,
428 const char *csumtype,
431 This call computes the MD5, SHAx or CRC checksum of the
434 The type of checksum to compute is given by the C<csumtype>
435 parameter which must have one of the following values:
441 Compute the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) specified by POSIX
442 for the C<cksum> command.
446 Compute the MD5 hash (using the C<md5sum> program).
450 Compute the SHA1 hash (using the C<sha1sum> program).
454 Compute the SHA224 hash (using the C<sha224sum> program).
458 Compute the SHA256 hash (using the C<sha256sum> program).
462 Compute the SHA384 hash (using the C<sha384sum> program).
466 Compute the SHA512 hash (using the C<sha512sum> program).
470 The checksum is returned as a printable string.
472 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
473 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
477 int guestfs_chmod (guestfs_h *handle,
481 Change the mode (permissions) of C<path> to C<mode>. Only
482 numeric modes are supported.
484 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
488 int guestfs_chown (guestfs_h *handle,
493 Change the file owner to C<owner> and group to C<group>.
495 Only numeric uid and gid are supported. If you want to use
496 names, you will need to locate and parse the password file
497 yourself (Augeas support makes this relatively easy).
499 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
501 =head2 guestfs_command
503 char *guestfs_command (guestfs_h *handle,
504 char * const* const arguments);
506 This call runs a command from the guest filesystem. The
507 filesystem must be mounted, and must contain a compatible
508 operating system (ie. something Linux, with the same
509 or compatible processor architecture).
511 The single parameter is an argv-style list of arguments.
512 The first element is the name of the program to run.
513 Subsequent elements are parameters. The list must be
514 non-empty (ie. must contain a program name). Note that
515 the command runs directly, and is I<not> invoked via
516 the shell (see C<guestfs_sh>).
518 The return value is anything printed to I<stdout> by
521 If the command returns a non-zero exit status, then
522 this function returns an error message. The error message
523 string is the content of I<stderr> from the command.
525 The C<$PATH> environment variable will contain at least
526 C</usr/bin> and C</bin>. If you require a program from
527 another location, you should provide the full path in the
530 Shared libraries and data files required by the program
531 must be available on filesystems which are mounted in the
532 correct places. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure
533 all filesystems that are needed are mounted at the right
536 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
537 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
539 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
540 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
543 =head2 guestfs_command_lines
545 char **guestfs_command_lines (guestfs_h *handle,
546 char * const* const arguments);
548 This is the same as C<guestfs_command>, but splits the
549 result into a list of lines.
551 See also: C<guestfs_sh_lines>
553 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
554 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
555 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
557 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
558 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
561 =head2 guestfs_config
563 int guestfs_config (guestfs_h *handle,
564 const char *qemuparam,
565 const char *qemuvalue);
567 This can be used to add arbitrary qemu command line parameters
568 of the form C<-param value>. Actually it's not quite arbitrary - we
569 prevent you from setting some parameters which would interfere with
570 parameters that we use.
572 The first character of C<param> string must be a C<-> (dash).
574 C<value> can be NULL.
576 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
580 int guestfs_cp (guestfs_h *handle,
584 This copies a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
585 either a destination filename or destination directory.
587 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
591 int guestfs_cp_a (guestfs_h *handle,
595 This copies a file or directory from C<src> to C<dest>
596 recursively using the C<cp -a> command.
598 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
602 char *guestfs_debug (guestfs_h *handle,
604 char * const* const extraargs);
606 The C<guestfs_debug> command exposes some internals of
607 C<guestfsd> (the guestfs daemon) that runs inside the
610 There is no comprehensive help for this command. You have
611 to look at the file C<daemon/debug.c> in the libguestfs source
612 to find out what you can do.
614 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
615 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
619 char *guestfs_df (guestfs_h *handle);
621 This command runs the C<df> command to report disk space used.
623 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. It
624 is I<not> intended that you try to parse the output string.
625 Use C<statvfs> from programs.
627 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
628 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
632 char *guestfs_df_h (guestfs_h *handle);
634 This command runs the C<df -h> command to report disk space used
635 in human-readable format.
637 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. It
638 is I<not> intended that you try to parse the output string.
639 Use C<statvfs> from programs.
641 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
642 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
646 char *guestfs_dmesg (guestfs_h *handle);
648 This returns the kernel messages (C<dmesg> output) from
649 the guest kernel. This is sometimes useful for extended
650 debugging of problems.
652 Another way to get the same information is to enable
653 verbose messages with C<guestfs_set_verbose> or by setting
654 the environment variable C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG=1> before
657 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
658 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
660 =head2 guestfs_download
662 int guestfs_download (guestfs_h *handle,
663 const char *remotefilename,
664 const char *filename);
666 Download file C<remotefilename> and save it as C<filename>
667 on the local machine.
669 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
671 See also C<guestfs_upload>, C<guestfs_cat>.
673 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
675 =head2 guestfs_drop_caches
677 int guestfs_drop_caches (guestfs_h *handle,
680 This instructs the guest kernel to drop its page cache,
681 and/or dentries and inode caches. The parameter C<whattodrop>
682 tells the kernel what precisely to drop, see
683 L<http://linux-mm.org/Drop_Caches>
685 Setting C<whattodrop> to 3 should drop everything.
687 This automatically calls L<sync(2)> before the operation,
688 so that the maximum guest memory is freed.
690 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
694 int64_t guestfs_du (guestfs_h *handle,
697 This command runs the C<du -s> command to estimate file space
700 C<path> can be a file or a directory. If C<path> is a directory
701 then the estimate includes the contents of the directory and all
702 subdirectories (recursively).
704 The result is the estimated size in I<kilobytes>
705 (ie. units of 1024 bytes).
707 On error this function returns -1.
709 =head2 guestfs_e2fsck_f
711 int guestfs_e2fsck_f (guestfs_h *handle,
714 This runs C<e2fsck -p -f device>, ie. runs the ext2/ext3
715 filesystem checker on C<device>, noninteractively (C<-p>),
716 even if the filesystem appears to be clean (C<-f>).
718 This command is only needed because of C<guestfs_resize2fs>
719 (q.v.). Normally you should use C<guestfs_fsck>.
721 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
723 =head2 guestfs_end_busy
725 int guestfs_end_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
727 This sets the state to C<READY>, or if in C<CONFIG> then it leaves the
728 state as is. This is only used when implementing
729 actions using the low-level API.
731 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
733 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
737 int guestfs_equal (guestfs_h *handle,
741 This compares the two files C<file1> and C<file2> and returns
742 true if their content is exactly equal, or false otherwise.
744 The external L<cmp(1)> program is used for the comparison.
746 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
748 =head2 guestfs_exists
750 int guestfs_exists (guestfs_h *handle,
753 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file, directory
754 (or anything) with the given C<path> name.
756 See also C<guestfs_is_file>, C<guestfs_is_dir>, C<guestfs_stat>.
758 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
762 char *guestfs_file (guestfs_h *handle,
765 This call uses the standard L<file(1)> command to determine
766 the type or contents of the file. This also works on devices,
767 for example to find out whether a partition contains a filesystem.
769 The exact command which runs is C<file -bsL path>. Note in
770 particular that the filename is not prepended to the output
773 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
774 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
778 char **guestfs_find (guestfs_h *handle,
779 const char *directory);
781 This command lists out all files and directories, recursively,
782 starting at C<directory>. It is essentially equivalent to
783 running the shell command C<find directory -print> but some
784 post-processing happens on the output, described below.
786 This returns a list of strings I<without any prefix>. Thus
787 if the directory structure was:
793 then the returned list from C<guestfs_find> C</tmp> would be
801 If C<directory> is not a directory, then this command returns
804 The returned list is sorted.
806 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
807 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
808 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
812 int guestfs_fsck (guestfs_h *handle,
816 This runs the filesystem checker (fsck) on C<device> which
817 should have filesystem type C<fstype>.
819 The returned integer is the status. See L<fsck(8)> for the
820 list of status codes from C<fsck>.
828 Multiple status codes can be summed together.
832 A non-zero return code can mean "success", for example if
833 errors have been corrected on the filesystem.
837 Checking or repairing NTFS volumes is not supported
842 This command is entirely equivalent to running C<fsck -a -t fstype device>.
844 On error this function returns -1.
846 =head2 guestfs_get_append
848 const char *guestfs_get_append (guestfs_h *handle);
850 Return the additional kernel options which are added to the
851 guest kernel command line.
853 If C<NULL> then no options are added.
855 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
856 The string is owned by the guest handle and must I<not> be freed.
858 =head2 guestfs_get_autosync
860 int guestfs_get_autosync (guestfs_h *handle);
862 Get the autosync flag.
864 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
866 =head2 guestfs_get_e2label
868 char *guestfs_get_e2label (guestfs_h *handle,
871 This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
874 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
875 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
877 =head2 guestfs_get_e2uuid
879 char *guestfs_get_e2uuid (guestfs_h *handle,
882 This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
885 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
886 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
888 =head2 guestfs_get_memsize
890 int guestfs_get_memsize (guestfs_h *handle);
892 This gets the memory size in megabytes allocated to the
895 If C<guestfs_set_memsize> was not called
896 on this handle, and if C<LIBGUESTFS_MEMSIZE> was not set,
897 then this returns the compiled-in default value for memsize.
899 For more information on the architecture of libguestfs,
902 On error this function returns -1.
904 =head2 guestfs_get_path
906 const char *guestfs_get_path (guestfs_h *handle);
908 Return the current search path.
910 This is always non-NULL. If it wasn't set already, then this will
911 return the default path.
913 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
914 The string is owned by the guest handle and must I<not> be freed.
916 =head2 guestfs_get_qemu
918 const char *guestfs_get_qemu (guestfs_h *handle);
920 Return the current qemu binary.
922 This is always non-NULL. If it wasn't set already, then this will
923 return the default qemu binary name.
925 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
926 The string is owned by the guest handle and must I<not> be freed.
928 =head2 guestfs_get_state
930 int guestfs_get_state (guestfs_h *handle);
932 This returns the current state as an opaque integer. This is
933 only useful for printing debug and internal error messages.
935 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
937 On error this function returns -1.
939 =head2 guestfs_get_verbose
941 int guestfs_get_verbose (guestfs_h *handle);
943 This returns the verbose messages flag.
945 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
947 =head2 guestfs_glob_expand
949 char **guestfs_glob_expand (guestfs_h *handle,
950 const char *pattern);
952 This command searches for all the pathnames matching
953 C<pattern> according to the wildcard expansion rules
956 If no paths match, then this returns an empty list
957 (note: not an error).
959 It is just a wrapper around the C L<glob(3)> function
960 with flags C<GLOB_MARK|GLOB_BRACE>.
961 See that manual page for more details.
963 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
964 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
965 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
967 =head2 guestfs_grub_install
969 int guestfs_grub_install (guestfs_h *handle,
973 This command installs GRUB (the Grand Unified Bootloader) on
974 C<device>, with the root directory being C<root>.
976 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
980 char **guestfs_head (guestfs_h *handle,
983 This command returns up to the first 10 lines of a file as
986 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
987 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
988 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
990 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
991 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
994 =head2 guestfs_head_n
996 char **guestfs_head_n (guestfs_h *handle,
1000 If the parameter C<nrlines> is a positive number, this returns the first
1001 C<nrlines> lines of the file C<path>.
1003 If the parameter C<nrlines> is a negative number, this returns lines
1004 from the file C<path>, excluding the last C<nrlines> lines.
1006 If the parameter C<nrlines> is zero, this returns an empty list.
1008 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1009 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1010 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1012 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
1013 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
1016 =head2 guestfs_hexdump
1018 char *guestfs_hexdump (guestfs_h *handle,
1021 This runs C<hexdump -C> on the given C<path>. The result is
1022 the human-readable, canonical hex dump of the file.
1024 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1025 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1027 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
1028 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
1031 =head2 guestfs_initrd_list
1033 char **guestfs_initrd_list (guestfs_h *handle,
1036 This command lists out files contained in an initrd.
1038 The files are listed without any initial C</> character. The
1039 files are listed in the order they appear (not necessarily
1040 alphabetical). Directory names are listed as separate items.
1042 Old Linux kernels (2.4 and earlier) used a compressed ext2
1043 filesystem as initrd. We I<only> support the newer initramfs
1044 format (compressed cpio files).
1046 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1047 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1048 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1050 =head2 guestfs_is_busy
1052 int guestfs_is_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
1054 This returns true iff this handle is busy processing a command
1055 (in the C<BUSY> state).
1057 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1059 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1061 =head2 guestfs_is_config
1063 int guestfs_is_config (guestfs_h *handle);
1065 This returns true iff this handle is being configured
1066 (in the C<CONFIG> state).
1068 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1070 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1072 =head2 guestfs_is_dir
1074 int guestfs_is_dir (guestfs_h *handle,
1077 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a directory
1078 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
1079 other objects like files.
1081 See also C<guestfs_stat>.
1083 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1085 =head2 guestfs_is_file
1087 int guestfs_is_file (guestfs_h *handle,
1090 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file
1091 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
1092 other objects like directories.
1094 See also C<guestfs_stat>.
1096 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1098 =head2 guestfs_is_launching
1100 int guestfs_is_launching (guestfs_h *handle);
1102 This returns true iff this handle is launching the subprocess
1103 (in the C<LAUNCHING> state).
1105 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1107 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1109 =head2 guestfs_is_ready
1111 int guestfs_is_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
1113 This returns true iff this handle is ready to accept commands
1114 (in the C<READY> state).
1116 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1118 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
1120 =head2 guestfs_kill_subprocess
1122 int guestfs_kill_subprocess (guestfs_h *handle);
1124 This kills the qemu subprocess. You should never need to call this.
1126 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1128 =head2 guestfs_launch
1130 int guestfs_launch (guestfs_h *handle);
1132 Internally libguestfs is implemented by running a virtual machine
1135 You should call this after configuring the handle
1136 (eg. adding drives) but before performing any actions.
1138 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1140 =head2 guestfs_list_devices
1142 char **guestfs_list_devices (guestfs_h *handle);
1144 List all the block devices.
1146 The full block device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda>
1148 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1149 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1150 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1152 =head2 guestfs_list_partitions
1154 char **guestfs_list_partitions (guestfs_h *handle);
1156 List all the partitions detected on all block devices.
1158 The full partition device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda1>
1160 This does not return logical volumes. For that you will need to
1161 call C<guestfs_lvs>.
1163 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1164 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1165 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1169 char *guestfs_ll (guestfs_h *handle,
1170 const char *directory);
1172 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
1173 there is no cwd) in the format of 'ls -la'.
1175 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. It
1176 is I<not> intended that you try to parse the output string.
1178 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1179 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1183 char **guestfs_ls (guestfs_h *handle,
1184 const char *directory);
1186 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
1187 there is no cwd). The '.' and '..' entries are not returned, but
1188 hidden files are shown.
1190 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. Programs
1191 should probably use C<guestfs_readdir> instead.
1193 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1194 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1195 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1197 =head2 guestfs_lstat
1199 struct guestfs_stat *guestfs_lstat (guestfs_h *handle,
1202 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
1204 This is the same as C<guestfs_stat> except that if C<path>
1205 is a symbolic link, then the link is stat-ed, not the file it
1208 This is the same as the C<lstat(2)> system call.
1210 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_stat *>
1211 (see L<stat(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1212 or NULL if there was an error.
1213 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
1215 =head2 guestfs_lvcreate
1217 int guestfs_lvcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
1219 const char *volgroup,
1222 This creates an LVM volume group called C<logvol>
1223 on the volume group C<volgroup>, with C<size> megabytes.
1225 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1227 =head2 guestfs_lvm_remove_all
1229 int guestfs_lvm_remove_all (guestfs_h *handle);
1231 This command removes all LVM logical volumes, volume groups
1232 and physical volumes.
1234 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1236 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
1237 can easily destroy all your data>.
1239 =head2 guestfs_lvremove
1241 int guestfs_lvremove (guestfs_h *handle,
1242 const char *device);
1244 Remove an LVM logical volume C<device>, where C<device> is
1245 the path to the LV, such as C</dev/VG/LV>.
1247 You can also remove all LVs in a volume group by specifying
1248 the VG name, C</dev/VG>.
1250 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1252 =head2 guestfs_lvresize
1254 int guestfs_lvresize (guestfs_h *handle,
1258 This resizes (expands or shrinks) an existing LVM logical
1259 volume to C<mbytes>. When reducing, data in the reduced part
1262 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1266 char **guestfs_lvs (guestfs_h *handle);
1268 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1269 of the L<lvs(8)> command.
1271 This returns a list of the logical volume device names
1272 (eg. C</dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00>).
1274 See also C<guestfs_lvs_full>.
1276 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1277 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1278 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1280 =head2 guestfs_lvs_full
1282 struct guestfs_lvm_lv_list *guestfs_lvs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
1284 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1285 of the L<lvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
1287 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_lv_list *>
1288 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1289 or NULL if there was an error.
1290 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_lv_list> after use>.
1292 =head2 guestfs_mkdir
1294 int guestfs_mkdir (guestfs_h *handle,
1297 Create a directory named C<path>.
1299 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1301 =head2 guestfs_mkdir_p
1303 int guestfs_mkdir_p (guestfs_h *handle,
1306 Create a directory named C<path>, creating any parent directories
1307 as necessary. This is like the C<mkdir -p> shell command.
1309 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1311 =head2 guestfs_mkdtemp
1313 char *guestfs_mkdtemp (guestfs_h *handle,
1314 const char *template);
1316 This command creates a temporary directory. The
1317 C<template> parameter should be a full pathname for the
1318 temporary directory name with the final six characters being
1321 For example: "/tmp/myprogXXXXXX" or "/Temp/myprogXXXXXX",
1322 the second one being suitable for Windows filesystems.
1324 The name of the temporary directory that was created
1327 The temporary directory is created with mode 0700
1328 and is owned by root.
1330 The caller is responsible for deleting the temporary
1331 directory and its contents after use.
1333 See also: L<mkdtemp(3)>
1335 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1336 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1340 int guestfs_mkfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1342 const char *device);
1344 This creates a filesystem on C<device> (usually a partition
1345 or LVM logical volume). The filesystem type is C<fstype>, for
1348 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1350 =head2 guestfs_mkswap
1352 int guestfs_mkswap (guestfs_h *handle,
1353 const char *device);
1355 Create a swap partition on C<device>.
1357 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1359 =head2 guestfs_mkswap_L
1361 int guestfs_mkswap_L (guestfs_h *handle,
1363 const char *device);
1365 Create a swap partition on C<device> with label C<label>.
1367 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1369 =head2 guestfs_mkswap_U
1371 int guestfs_mkswap_U (guestfs_h *handle,
1373 const char *device);
1375 Create a swap partition on C<device> with UUID C<uuid>.
1377 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1379 =head2 guestfs_mount
1381 int guestfs_mount (guestfs_h *handle,
1383 const char *mountpoint);
1385 Mount a guest disk at a position in the filesystem. Block devices
1386 are named C</dev/sda>, C</dev/sdb> and so on, as they were added to
1387 the guest. If those block devices contain partitions, they will have
1388 the usual names (eg. C</dev/sda1>). Also LVM C</dev/VG/LV>-style
1391 The rules are the same as for L<mount(2)>: A filesystem must
1392 first be mounted on C</> before others can be mounted. Other
1393 filesystems can only be mounted on directories which already
1396 The mounted filesystem is writable, if we have sufficient permissions
1397 on the underlying device.
1399 The filesystem options C<sync> and C<noatime> are set with this
1400 call, in order to improve reliability.
1402 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1404 =head2 guestfs_mount_loop
1406 int guestfs_mount_loop (guestfs_h *handle,
1408 const char *mountpoint);
1410 This command lets you mount C<file> (a filesystem image
1411 in a file) on a mount point. It is entirely equivalent to
1412 the command C<mount -o loop file mountpoint>.
1414 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1416 =head2 guestfs_mount_options
1418 int guestfs_mount_options (guestfs_h *handle,
1419 const char *options,
1421 const char *mountpoint);
1423 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1424 allows you to set the mount options as for the
1425 L<mount(8)> I<-o> flag.
1427 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1429 =head2 guestfs_mount_ro
1431 int guestfs_mount_ro (guestfs_h *handle,
1433 const char *mountpoint);
1435 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1436 mounts the filesystem with the read-only (I<-o ro>) flag.
1438 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1440 =head2 guestfs_mount_vfs
1442 int guestfs_mount_vfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1443 const char *options,
1444 const char *vfstype,
1446 const char *mountpoint);
1448 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1449 allows you to set both the mount options and the vfstype
1450 as for the L<mount(8)> I<-o> and I<-t> flags.
1452 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1454 =head2 guestfs_mounts
1456 char **guestfs_mounts (guestfs_h *handle);
1458 This returns the list of currently mounted filesystems. It returns
1459 the list of devices (eg. C</dev/sda1>, C</dev/VG/LV>).
1461 Some internal mounts are not shown.
1463 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1464 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1465 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1469 int guestfs_mv (guestfs_h *handle,
1473 This moves a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
1474 either a destination filename or destination directory.
1476 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1478 =head2 guestfs_ntfs_3g_probe
1480 int guestfs_ntfs_3g_probe (guestfs_h *handle,
1482 const char *device);
1484 This command runs the L<ntfs-3g.probe(8)> command which probes
1485 an NTFS C<device> for mountability. (Not all NTFS volumes can
1486 be mounted read-write, and some cannot be mounted at all).
1488 C<rw> is a boolean flag. Set it to true if you want to test
1489 if the volume can be mounted read-write. Set it to false if
1490 you want to test if the volume can be mounted read-only.
1492 The return value is an integer which C<0> if the operation
1493 would succeed, or some non-zero value documented in the
1494 L<ntfs-3g.probe(8)> manual page.
1496 On error this function returns -1.
1498 =head2 guestfs_ping_daemon
1500 int guestfs_ping_daemon (guestfs_h *handle);
1502 This is a test probe into the guestfs daemon running inside
1503 the qemu subprocess. Calling this function checks that the
1504 daemon responds to the ping message, without affecting the daemon
1505 or attached block device(s) in any other way.
1507 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1509 =head2 guestfs_pvcreate
1511 int guestfs_pvcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
1512 const char *device);
1514 This creates an LVM physical volume on the named C<device>,
1515 where C<device> should usually be a partition name such
1518 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1520 =head2 guestfs_pvremove
1522 int guestfs_pvremove (guestfs_h *handle,
1523 const char *device);
1525 This wipes a physical volume C<device> so that LVM will no longer
1528 The implementation uses the C<pvremove> command which refuses to
1529 wipe physical volumes that contain any volume groups, so you have
1530 to remove those first.
1532 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1534 =head2 guestfs_pvresize
1536 int guestfs_pvresize (guestfs_h *handle,
1537 const char *device);
1539 This resizes (expands or shrinks) an existing LVM physical
1540 volume to match the new size of the underlying device.
1542 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1546 char **guestfs_pvs (guestfs_h *handle);
1548 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1549 of the L<pvs(8)> command.
1551 This returns a list of just the device names that contain
1552 PVs (eg. C</dev/sda2>).
1554 See also C<guestfs_pvs_full>.
1556 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1557 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1558 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1560 =head2 guestfs_pvs_full
1562 struct guestfs_lvm_pv_list *guestfs_pvs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
1564 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1565 of the L<pvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
1567 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_pv_list *>
1568 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1569 or NULL if there was an error.
1570 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_pv_list> after use>.
1572 =head2 guestfs_read_lines
1574 char **guestfs_read_lines (guestfs_h *handle,
1577 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
1579 The file contents are returned as a list of lines. Trailing
1580 C<LF> and C<CRLF> character sequences are I<not> returned.
1582 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
1583 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
1584 as end of line). For those you need to use the C<guestfs_read_file>
1585 function which has a more complex interface.
1587 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1588 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1589 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1591 =head2 guestfs_resize2fs
1593 int guestfs_resize2fs (guestfs_h *handle,
1594 const char *device);
1596 This resizes an ext2 or ext3 filesystem to match the size of
1597 the underlying device.
1599 I<Note:> It is sometimes required that you run C<guestfs_e2fsck_f>
1600 on the C<device> before calling this command. For unknown reasons
1601 C<resize2fs> sometimes gives an error about this and sometimes not.
1602 In any case, it is always safe to call C<guestfs_e2fsck_f> before
1603 calling this function.
1605 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1609 int guestfs_rm (guestfs_h *handle,
1612 Remove the single file C<path>.
1614 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1616 =head2 guestfs_rm_rf
1618 int guestfs_rm_rf (guestfs_h *handle,
1621 Remove the file or directory C<path>, recursively removing the
1622 contents if its a directory. This is like the C<rm -rf> shell
1625 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1627 =head2 guestfs_rmdir
1629 int guestfs_rmdir (guestfs_h *handle,
1632 Remove the single directory C<path>.
1634 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1636 =head2 guestfs_scrub_device
1638 int guestfs_scrub_device (guestfs_h *handle,
1639 const char *device);
1641 This command writes patterns over C<device> to make data retrieval
1644 It is an interface to the L<scrub(1)> program. See that
1645 manual page for more details.
1647 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1649 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
1650 can easily destroy all your data>.
1652 =head2 guestfs_scrub_file
1654 int guestfs_scrub_file (guestfs_h *handle,
1657 This command writes patterns over a file to make data retrieval
1660 The file is I<removed> after scrubbing.
1662 It is an interface to the L<scrub(1)> program. See that
1663 manual page for more details.
1665 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1667 =head2 guestfs_scrub_freespace
1669 int guestfs_scrub_freespace (guestfs_h *handle,
1672 This command creates the directory C<dir> and then fills it
1673 with files until the filesystem is full, and scrubs the files
1674 as for C<guestfs_scrub_file>, and deletes them.
1675 The intention is to scrub any free space on the partition
1678 It is an interface to the L<scrub(1)> program. See that
1679 manual page for more details.
1681 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1683 =head2 guestfs_set_append
1685 int guestfs_set_append (guestfs_h *handle,
1686 const char *append);
1688 This function is used to add additional options to the
1689 guest kernel command line.
1691 The default is C<NULL> unless overridden by setting
1692 C<LIBGUESTFS_APPEND> environment variable.
1694 Setting C<append> to C<NULL> means I<no> additional options
1695 are passed (libguestfs always adds a few of its own).
1697 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1699 =head2 guestfs_set_autosync
1701 int guestfs_set_autosync (guestfs_h *handle,
1704 If C<autosync> is true, this enables autosync. Libguestfs will make a
1705 best effort attempt to run C<guestfs_umount_all> followed by
1706 C<guestfs_sync> when the handle is closed
1707 (also if the program exits without closing handles).
1709 This is disabled by default (except in guestfish where it is
1710 enabled by default).
1712 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1714 =head2 guestfs_set_busy
1716 int guestfs_set_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
1718 This sets the state to C<BUSY>. This is only used when implementing
1719 actions using the low-level API.
1721 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1723 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1725 =head2 guestfs_set_e2label
1727 int guestfs_set_e2label (guestfs_h *handle,
1731 This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
1732 C<device> to C<label>. Filesystem labels are limited to
1735 You can use either C<guestfs_tune2fs_l> or C<guestfs_get_e2label>
1736 to return the existing label on a filesystem.
1738 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1740 =head2 guestfs_set_e2uuid
1742 int guestfs_set_e2uuid (guestfs_h *handle,
1746 This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
1747 C<device> to C<uuid>. The format of the UUID and alternatives
1748 such as C<clear>, C<random> and C<time> are described in the
1749 L<tune2fs(8)> manpage.
1751 You can use either C<guestfs_tune2fs_l> or C<guestfs_get_e2uuid>
1752 to return the existing UUID of a filesystem.
1754 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1756 =head2 guestfs_set_memsize
1758 int guestfs_set_memsize (guestfs_h *handle,
1761 This sets the memory size in megabytes allocated to the
1762 qemu subprocess. This only has any effect if called before
1765 You can also change this by setting the environment
1766 variable C<LIBGUESTFS_MEMSIZE> before the handle is
1769 For more information on the architecture of libguestfs,
1772 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1774 =head2 guestfs_set_path
1776 int guestfs_set_path (guestfs_h *handle,
1779 Set the path that libguestfs searches for kernel and initrd.img.
1781 The default is C<$libdir/guestfs> unless overridden by setting
1782 C<LIBGUESTFS_PATH> environment variable.
1784 Setting C<path> to C<NULL> restores the default path.
1786 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1788 =head2 guestfs_set_qemu
1790 int guestfs_set_qemu (guestfs_h *handle,
1793 Set the qemu binary that we will use.
1795 The default is chosen when the library was compiled by the
1798 You can also override this by setting the C<LIBGUESTFS_QEMU>
1799 environment variable.
1801 Setting C<qemu> to C<NULL> restores the default qemu binary.
1803 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1805 =head2 guestfs_set_ready
1807 int guestfs_set_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
1809 This sets the state to C<READY>. This is only used when implementing
1810 actions using the low-level API.
1812 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1814 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1816 =head2 guestfs_set_verbose
1818 int guestfs_set_verbose (guestfs_h *handle,
1821 If C<verbose> is true, this turns on verbose messages (to C<stderr>).
1823 Verbose messages are disabled unless the environment variable
1824 C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG> is defined and set to C<1>.
1826 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1828 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk
1830 int guestfs_sfdisk (guestfs_h *handle,
1835 char * const* const lines);
1837 This is a direct interface to the L<sfdisk(8)> program for creating
1838 partitions on block devices.
1840 C<device> should be a block device, for example C</dev/sda>.
1842 C<cyls>, C<heads> and C<sectors> are the number of cylinders, heads
1843 and sectors on the device, which are passed directly to sfdisk as
1844 the I<-C>, I<-H> and I<-S> parameters. If you pass C<0> for any
1845 of these, then the corresponding parameter is omitted. Usually for
1846 'large' disks, you can just pass C<0> for these, but for small
1847 (floppy-sized) disks, sfdisk (or rather, the kernel) cannot work
1848 out the right geometry and you will need to tell it.
1850 C<lines> is a list of lines that we feed to C<sfdisk>. For more
1851 information refer to the L<sfdisk(8)> manpage.
1853 To create a single partition occupying the whole disk, you would
1854 pass C<lines> as a single element list, when the single element being
1855 the string C<,> (comma).
1857 See also: C<guestfs_sfdisk_l>, C<guestfs_sfdisk_N>
1859 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1861 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
1862 can easily destroy all your data>.
1864 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk_N
1866 int guestfs_sfdisk_N (guestfs_h *handle,
1874 This runs L<sfdisk(8)> option to modify just the single
1875 partition C<n> (note: C<n> counts from 1).
1877 For other parameters, see C<guestfs_sfdisk>. You should usually
1878 pass C<0> for the cyls/heads/sectors parameters.
1880 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1882 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
1883 can easily destroy all your data>.
1885 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk_disk_geometry
1887 char *guestfs_sfdisk_disk_geometry (guestfs_h *handle,
1888 const char *device);
1890 This displays the disk geometry of C<device> read from the
1891 partition table. Especially in the case where the underlying
1892 block device has been resized, this can be different from the
1893 kernel's idea of the geometry (see C<guestfs_sfdisk_kernel_geometry>).
1895 The result is in human-readable format, and not designed to
1898 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1899 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1901 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk_kernel_geometry
1903 char *guestfs_sfdisk_kernel_geometry (guestfs_h *handle,
1904 const char *device);
1906 This displays the kernel's idea of the geometry of C<device>.
1908 The result is in human-readable format, and not designed to
1911 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1912 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1914 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk_l
1916 char *guestfs_sfdisk_l (guestfs_h *handle,
1917 const char *device);
1919 This displays the partition table on C<device>, in the
1920 human-readable output of the L<sfdisk(8)> command. It is
1921 not intended to be parsed.
1923 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1924 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1928 char *guestfs_sh (guestfs_h *handle,
1929 const char *command);
1931 This call runs a command from the guest filesystem via the
1934 This is like C<guestfs_command>, but passes the command to:
1936 /bin/sh -c "command"
1938 Depending on the guest's shell, this usually results in
1939 wildcards being expanded, shell expressions being interpolated
1942 All the provisos about C<guestfs_command> apply to this call.
1944 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
1945 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
1947 =head2 guestfs_sh_lines
1949 char **guestfs_sh_lines (guestfs_h *handle,
1950 const char *command);
1952 This is the same as C<guestfs_sh>, but splits the result
1953 into a list of lines.
1955 See also: C<guestfs_command_lines>
1957 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1958 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1959 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1961 =head2 guestfs_sleep
1963 int guestfs_sleep (guestfs_h *handle,
1966 Sleep for C<secs> seconds.
1968 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1972 struct guestfs_stat *guestfs_stat (guestfs_h *handle,
1975 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
1977 This is the same as the C<stat(2)> system call.
1979 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_stat *>
1980 (see L<stat(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1981 or NULL if there was an error.
1982 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
1984 =head2 guestfs_statvfs
1986 struct guestfs_statvfs *guestfs_statvfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1989 Returns file system statistics for any mounted file system.
1990 C<path> should be a file or directory in the mounted file system
1991 (typically it is the mount point itself, but it doesn't need to be).
1993 This is the same as the C<statvfs(2)> system call.
1995 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_statvfs *>
1996 (see L<statvfs(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1997 or NULL if there was an error.
1998 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
2000 =head2 guestfs_strings
2002 char **guestfs_strings (guestfs_h *handle,
2005 This runs the L<strings(1)> command on a file and returns
2006 the list of printable strings found.
2008 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
2009 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
2010 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2012 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
2013 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
2016 =head2 guestfs_strings_e
2018 char **guestfs_strings_e (guestfs_h *handle,
2019 const char *encoding,
2022 This is like the C<guestfs_strings> command, but allows you to
2023 specify the encoding.
2025 See the L<strings(1)> manpage for the full list of encodings.
2027 Commonly useful encodings are C<l> (lower case L) which will
2028 show strings inside Windows/x86 files.
2030 The returned strings are transcoded to UTF-8.
2032 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
2033 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
2034 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2036 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
2037 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
2042 int guestfs_sync (guestfs_h *handle);
2044 This syncs the disk, so that any writes are flushed through to the
2045 underlying disk image.
2047 You should always call this if you have modified a disk image, before
2050 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2054 char **guestfs_tail (guestfs_h *handle,
2057 This command returns up to the last 10 lines of a file as
2060 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
2061 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
2062 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2064 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
2065 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
2068 =head2 guestfs_tail_n
2070 char **guestfs_tail_n (guestfs_h *handle,
2074 If the parameter C<nrlines> is a positive number, this returns the last
2075 C<nrlines> lines of the file C<path>.
2077 If the parameter C<nrlines> is a negative number, this returns lines
2078 from the file C<path>, starting with the C<-nrlines>th line.
2080 If the parameter C<nrlines> is zero, this returns an empty list.
2082 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
2083 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
2084 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2086 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
2087 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
2090 =head2 guestfs_tar_in
2092 int guestfs_tar_in (guestfs_h *handle,
2093 const char *tarfile,
2094 const char *directory);
2096 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarfile> (an
2097 I<uncompressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
2099 To upload a compressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tgz_in>.
2101 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2103 =head2 guestfs_tar_out
2105 int guestfs_tar_out (guestfs_h *handle,
2106 const char *directory,
2107 const char *tarfile);
2109 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
2110 it to local file C<tarfile>.
2112 To download a compressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tgz_out>.
2114 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2116 =head2 guestfs_tgz_in
2118 int guestfs_tgz_in (guestfs_h *handle,
2119 const char *tarball,
2120 const char *directory);
2122 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarball> (a
2123 I<gzip compressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
2125 To upload an uncompressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tar_in>.
2127 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2129 =head2 guestfs_tgz_out
2131 int guestfs_tgz_out (guestfs_h *handle,
2132 const char *directory,
2133 const char *tarball);
2135 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
2136 it to local file C<tarball>.
2138 To download an uncompressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tar_out>.
2140 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2142 =head2 guestfs_touch
2144 int guestfs_touch (guestfs_h *handle,
2147 Touch acts like the L<touch(1)> command. It can be used to
2148 update the timestamps on a file, or, if the file does not exist,
2149 to create a new zero-length file.
2151 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2153 =head2 guestfs_tune2fs_l
2155 char **guestfs_tune2fs_l (guestfs_h *handle,
2156 const char *device);
2158 This returns the contents of the ext2, ext3 or ext4 filesystem
2159 superblock on C<device>.
2161 It is the same as running C<tune2fs -l device>. See L<tune2fs(8)>
2162 manpage for more details. The list of fields returned isn't
2163 clearly defined, and depends on both the version of C<tune2fs>
2164 that libguestfs was built against, and the filesystem itself.
2166 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of
2167 strings, or NULL if there was an error.
2168 The array of strings will always have length C<2n+1>, where
2169 C<n> keys and values alternate, followed by the trailing NULL entry.
2170 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2172 =head2 guestfs_umount
2174 int guestfs_umount (guestfs_h *handle,
2175 const char *pathordevice);
2177 This unmounts the given filesystem. The filesystem may be
2178 specified either by its mountpoint (path) or the device which
2179 contains the filesystem.
2181 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2183 =head2 guestfs_umount_all
2185 int guestfs_umount_all (guestfs_h *handle);
2187 This unmounts all mounted filesystems.
2189 Some internal mounts are not unmounted by this call.
2191 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2193 =head2 guestfs_upload
2195 int guestfs_upload (guestfs_h *handle,
2196 const char *filename,
2197 const char *remotefilename);
2199 Upload local file C<filename> to C<remotefilename> on the
2202 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
2204 See also C<guestfs_download>.
2206 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2208 =head2 guestfs_vg_activate
2210 int guestfs_vg_activate (guestfs_h *handle,
2212 char * const* const volgroups);
2214 This command activates or (if C<activate> is false) deactivates
2215 all logical volumes in the listed volume groups C<volgroups>.
2216 If activated, then they are made known to the
2217 kernel, ie. they appear as C</dev/mapper> devices. If deactivated,
2218 then those devices disappear.
2220 This command is the same as running C<vgchange -a y|n volgroups...>
2222 Note that if C<volgroups> is an empty list then B<all> volume groups
2223 are activated or deactivated.
2225 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2227 =head2 guestfs_vg_activate_all
2229 int guestfs_vg_activate_all (guestfs_h *handle,
2232 This command activates or (if C<activate> is false) deactivates
2233 all logical volumes in all volume groups.
2234 If activated, then they are made known to the
2235 kernel, ie. they appear as C</dev/mapper> devices. If deactivated,
2236 then those devices disappear.
2238 This command is the same as running C<vgchange -a y|n>
2240 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2242 =head2 guestfs_vgcreate
2244 int guestfs_vgcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
2245 const char *volgroup,
2246 char * const* const physvols);
2248 This creates an LVM volume group called C<volgroup>
2249 from the non-empty list of physical volumes C<physvols>.
2251 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2253 =head2 guestfs_vgremove
2255 int guestfs_vgremove (guestfs_h *handle,
2256 const char *vgname);
2258 Remove an LVM volume group C<vgname>, (for example C<VG>).
2260 This also forcibly removes all logical volumes in the volume
2263 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2267 char **guestfs_vgs (guestfs_h *handle);
2269 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
2270 of the L<vgs(8)> command.
2272 This returns a list of just the volume group names that were
2273 detected (eg. C<VolGroup00>).
2275 See also C<guestfs_vgs_full>.
2277 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
2278 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
2279 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
2281 =head2 guestfs_vgs_full
2283 struct guestfs_lvm_vg_list *guestfs_vgs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
2285 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
2286 of the L<vgs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
2288 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_vg_list *>
2289 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
2290 or NULL if there was an error.
2291 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_vg_list> after use>.
2293 =head2 guestfs_wait_ready
2295 int guestfs_wait_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
2297 Internally libguestfs is implemented by running a virtual machine
2300 You should call this after C<guestfs_launch> to wait for the launch
2303 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2307 int guestfs_wc_c (guestfs_h *handle,
2310 This command counts the characters in a file, using the
2311 C<wc -c> external command.
2313 On error this function returns -1.
2317 int guestfs_wc_l (guestfs_h *handle,
2320 This command counts the lines in a file, using the
2321 C<wc -l> external command.
2323 On error this function returns -1.
2327 int guestfs_wc_w (guestfs_h *handle,
2330 This command counts the words in a file, using the
2331 C<wc -w> external command.
2333 On error this function returns -1.
2335 =head2 guestfs_write_file
2337 int guestfs_write_file (guestfs_h *handle,
2339 const char *content,
2342 This call creates a file called C<path>. The contents of the
2343 file is the string C<content> (which can contain any 8 bit data),
2344 with length C<size>.
2346 As a special case, if C<size> is C<0>
2347 then the length is calculated using C<strlen> (so in this case
2348 the content cannot contain embedded ASCII NULs).
2350 I<NB.> Owing to a bug, writing content containing ASCII NUL
2351 characters does I<not> work, even if the length is specified.
2352 We hope to resolve this bug in a future version. In the meantime
2353 use C<guestfs_upload>.
2355 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2357 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
2358 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
2363 int guestfs_zero (guestfs_h *handle,
2364 const char *device);
2366 This command writes zeroes over the first few blocks of C<device>.
2368 How many blocks are zeroed isn't specified (but it's I<not> enough
2369 to securely wipe the device). It should be sufficient to remove
2370 any partition tables, filesystem superblocks and so on.
2372 See also: C<guestfs_scrub_device>.
2374 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
2376 =head2 guestfs_zerofree
2378 int guestfs_zerofree (guestfs_h *handle,
2379 const char *device);
2381 This runs the I<zerofree> program on C<device>. This program
2382 claims to zero unused inodes and disk blocks on an ext2/3
2383 filesystem, thus making it possible to compress the filesystem
2386 You should B<not> run this program if the filesystem is
2389 It is possible that using this program can damage the filesystem
2390 or data on the filesystem.
2392 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.