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 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
12 =head2 guestfs_add_drive
14 int guestfs_add_drive (guestfs_h *handle,
15 const char *filename);
17 This function adds a virtual machine disk image C<filename> to the
18 guest. The first time you call this function, the disk appears as IDE
19 disk 0 (C</dev/sda>) in the guest, the second time as C</dev/sdb>, and
22 You don't necessarily need to be root when using libguestfs. However
23 you obviously do need sufficient permissions to access the filename
24 for whatever operations you want to perform (ie. read access if you
25 just want to read the image or write access if you want to modify the
28 This is equivalent to the qemu parameter C<-drive file=filename>.
30 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
32 =head2 guestfs_aug_close
34 int guestfs_aug_close (guestfs_h *handle);
36 Close the current Augeas handle and free up any resources
37 used by it. After calling this, you have to call
38 C<guestfs_aug_init> again before you can use any other
41 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
43 =head2 guestfs_aug_defnode
45 struct guestfs_int_bool *guestfs_aug_defnode (guestfs_h *handle,
50 Defines a variable C<name> whose value is the result of
53 If C<expr> evaluates to an empty nodeset, a node is created,
54 equivalent to calling C<guestfs_aug_set> C<expr>, C<value>.
55 C<name> will be the nodeset containing that single node.
57 On success this returns a pair containing the
58 number of nodes in the nodeset, and a boolean flag
59 if a node was created.
61 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_int_bool *>,
62 or NULL if there was an error.
63 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_int_bool> after use>.
65 =head2 guestfs_aug_defvar
67 int guestfs_aug_defvar (guestfs_h *handle,
71 Defines an Augeas variable C<name> whose value is the result
72 of evaluating C<expr>. If C<expr> is NULL, then C<name> is
75 On success this returns the number of nodes in C<expr>, or
76 C<0> if C<expr> evaluates to something which is not a nodeset.
78 On error this function returns -1.
80 =head2 guestfs_aug_get
82 char *guestfs_aug_get (guestfs_h *handle,
85 Look up the value associated with C<path>. If C<path>
86 matches exactly one node, the C<value> is returned.
88 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
89 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
91 =head2 guestfs_aug_init
93 int guestfs_aug_init (guestfs_h *handle,
97 Create a new Augeas handle for editing configuration files.
98 If there was any previous Augeas handle associated with this
99 guestfs session, then it is closed.
101 You must call this before using any other C<guestfs_aug_*>
104 C<root> is the filesystem root. C<root> must not be NULL,
107 The flags are the same as the flags defined in
108 E<lt>augeas.hE<gt>, the logical I<or> of the following
113 =item C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP> = 1
115 Keep the original file with a C<.augsave> extension.
117 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NEWFILE> = 2
119 Save changes into a file with extension C<.augnew>, and
120 do not overwrite original. Overrides C<AUG_SAVE_BACKUP>.
122 =item C<AUG_TYPE_CHECK> = 4
124 Typecheck lenses (can be expensive).
126 =item C<AUG_NO_STDINC> = 8
128 Do not use standard load path for modules.
130 =item C<AUG_SAVE_NOOP> = 16
132 Make save a no-op, just record what would have been changed.
134 =item C<AUG_NO_LOAD> = 32
136 Do not load the tree in C<guestfs_aug_init>.
140 To close the handle, you can call C<guestfs_aug_close>.
142 To find out more about Augeas, see L<http://augeas.net/>.
144 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
146 =head2 guestfs_aug_insert
148 int guestfs_aug_insert (guestfs_h *handle,
153 Create a new sibling C<label> for C<path>, inserting it into
154 the tree before or after C<path> (depending on the boolean
157 C<path> must match exactly one existing node in the tree, and
158 C<label> must be a label, ie. not contain C</>, C<*> or end
159 with a bracketed index C<[N]>.
161 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
163 =head2 guestfs_aug_load
165 int guestfs_aug_load (guestfs_h *handle);
167 Load files into the tree.
169 See C<aug_load> in the Augeas documentation for the full gory
172 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
174 =head2 guestfs_aug_ls
176 char **guestfs_aug_ls (guestfs_h *handle,
179 This is just a shortcut for listing C<guestfs_aug_match>
180 C<path/*> and sorting the resulting nodes into alphabetical order.
182 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
183 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
184 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
186 =head2 guestfs_aug_match
188 char **guestfs_aug_match (guestfs_h *handle,
191 Returns a list of paths which match the path expression C<path>.
192 The returned paths are sufficiently qualified so that they match
193 exactly one node in the current tree.
195 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
196 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
197 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
199 =head2 guestfs_aug_mv
201 int guestfs_aug_mv (guestfs_h *handle,
205 Move the node C<src> to C<dest>. C<src> must match exactly
206 one node. C<dest> is overwritten if it exists.
208 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
210 =head2 guestfs_aug_rm
212 int guestfs_aug_rm (guestfs_h *handle,
215 Remove C<path> and all of its children.
217 On success this returns the number of entries which were removed.
219 On error this function returns -1.
221 =head2 guestfs_aug_save
223 int guestfs_aug_save (guestfs_h *handle);
225 This writes all pending changes to disk.
227 The flags which were passed to C<guestfs_aug_init> affect exactly
230 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
232 =head2 guestfs_aug_set
234 int guestfs_aug_set (guestfs_h *handle,
238 Set the value associated with C<path> to C<value>.
240 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
242 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_flushbufs
244 int guestfs_blockdev_flushbufs (guestfs_h *handle,
247 This tells the kernel to flush internal buffers associated
250 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
252 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
254 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getbsz
256 int guestfs_blockdev_getbsz (guestfs_h *handle,
259 This returns the block size of a device.
261 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
262 I<filesystem block size>).
264 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
266 On error this function returns -1.
268 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getro
270 int guestfs_blockdev_getro (guestfs_h *handle,
273 Returns a boolean indicating if the block device is read-only
274 (true if read-only, false if not).
276 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
278 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
280 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getsize64
282 int64_t guestfs_blockdev_getsize64 (guestfs_h *handle,
285 This returns the size of the device in bytes.
287 See also C<guestfs_blockdev_getsz>.
289 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
291 On error this function returns -1.
293 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getss
295 int guestfs_blockdev_getss (guestfs_h *handle,
298 This returns the size of sectors on a block device.
299 Usually 512, but can be larger for modern devices.
301 (Note, this is not the size in sectors, use C<guestfs_blockdev_getsz>
304 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
306 On error this function returns -1.
308 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_getsz
310 int64_t guestfs_blockdev_getsz (guestfs_h *handle,
313 This returns the size of the device in units of 512-byte sectors
314 (even if the sectorsize isn't 512 bytes ... weird).
316 See also C<guestfs_blockdev_getss> for the real sector size of
317 the device, and C<guestfs_blockdev_getsize64> for the more
318 useful I<size in bytes>.
320 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
322 On error this function returns -1.
324 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_rereadpt
326 int guestfs_blockdev_rereadpt (guestfs_h *handle,
329 Reread the partition table on C<device>.
331 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
333 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
335 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setbsz
337 int guestfs_blockdev_setbsz (guestfs_h *handle,
341 This sets the block size of a device.
343 (Note this is different from both I<size in blocks> and
344 I<filesystem block size>).
346 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
348 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
350 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setro
352 int guestfs_blockdev_setro (guestfs_h *handle,
355 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-only.
357 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
359 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
361 =head2 guestfs_blockdev_setrw
363 int guestfs_blockdev_setrw (guestfs_h *handle,
366 Sets the block device named C<device> to read-write.
368 This uses the L<blockdev(8)> command.
370 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
374 char *guestfs_cat (guestfs_h *handle,
377 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
379 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
380 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
381 as end of string). For those you need to use the C<guestfs_download>
382 function which has a more complex interface.
384 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
385 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
387 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
388 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
391 =head2 guestfs_checksum
393 char *guestfs_checksum (guestfs_h *handle,
394 const char *csumtype,
397 This call computes the MD5, SHAx or CRC checksum of the
400 The type of checksum to compute is given by the C<csumtype>
401 parameter which must have one of the following values:
407 Compute the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) specified by POSIX
408 for the C<cksum> command.
412 Compute the MD5 hash (using the C<md5sum> program).
416 Compute the SHA1 hash (using the C<sha1sum> program).
420 Compute the SHA224 hash (using the C<sha224sum> program).
424 Compute the SHA256 hash (using the C<sha256sum> program).
428 Compute the SHA384 hash (using the C<sha384sum> program).
432 Compute the SHA512 hash (using the C<sha512sum> program).
436 The checksum is returned as a printable string.
438 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
439 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
443 int guestfs_chmod (guestfs_h *handle,
447 Change the mode (permissions) of C<path> to C<mode>. Only
448 numeric modes are supported.
450 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
454 int guestfs_chown (guestfs_h *handle,
459 Change the file owner to C<owner> and group to C<group>.
461 Only numeric uid and gid are supported. If you want to use
462 names, you will need to locate and parse the password file
463 yourself (Augeas support makes this relatively easy).
465 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
467 =head2 guestfs_command
469 char *guestfs_command (guestfs_h *handle,
470 char * const* const arguments);
472 This call runs a command from the guest filesystem. The
473 filesystem must be mounted, and must contain a compatible
474 operating system (ie. something Linux, with the same
475 or compatible processor architecture).
477 The single parameter is an argv-style list of arguments.
478 The first element is the name of the program to run.
479 Subsequent elements are parameters. The list must be
480 non-empty (ie. must contain a program name).
482 The C<$PATH> environment variable will contain at least
483 C</usr/bin> and C</bin>. If you require a program from
484 another location, you should provide the full path in the
487 Shared libraries and data files required by the program
488 must be available on filesystems which are mounted in the
489 correct places. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure
490 all filesystems that are needed are mounted at the right
493 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
494 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
496 =head2 guestfs_command_lines
498 char **guestfs_command_lines (guestfs_h *handle,
499 char * const* const arguments);
501 This is the same as C<guestfs_command>, but splits the
502 result into a list of lines.
504 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
505 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
506 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
508 =head2 guestfs_config
510 int guestfs_config (guestfs_h *handle,
511 const char *qemuparam,
512 const char *qemuvalue);
514 This can be used to add arbitrary qemu command line parameters
515 of the form C<-param value>. Actually it's not quite arbitrary - we
516 prevent you from setting some parameters which would interfere with
517 parameters that we use.
519 The first character of C<param> string must be a C<-> (dash).
521 C<value> can be NULL.
523 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
527 int guestfs_cp (guestfs_h *handle,
531 This copies a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
532 either a destination filename or destination directory.
534 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
538 int guestfs_cp_a (guestfs_h *handle,
542 This copies a file or directory from C<src> to C<dest>
543 recursively using the C<cp -a> command.
545 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
549 char *guestfs_debug (guestfs_h *handle,
551 char * const* const extraargs);
553 The C<guestfs_debug> command exposes some internals of
554 C<guestfsd> (the guestfs daemon) that runs inside the
557 There is no comprehensive help for this command. You have
558 to look at the file C<daemon/debug.c> in the libguestfs source
559 to find out what you can do.
561 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
562 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
566 char *guestfs_dmesg (guestfs_h *handle);
568 This returns the kernel messages (C<dmesg> output) from
569 the guest kernel. This is sometimes useful for extended
570 debugging of problems.
572 Another way to get the same information is to enable
573 verbose messages with C<guestfs_set_verbose> or by setting
574 the environment variable C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG=1> before
577 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
578 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
580 =head2 guestfs_download
582 int guestfs_download (guestfs_h *handle,
583 const char *remotefilename,
584 const char *filename);
586 Download file C<remotefilename> and save it as C<filename>
587 on the local machine.
589 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
591 See also C<guestfs_upload>, C<guestfs_cat>.
593 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
595 =head2 guestfs_drop_caches
597 int guestfs_drop_caches (guestfs_h *handle,
600 This instructs the guest kernel to drop its page cache,
601 and/or dentries and inode caches. The parameter C<whattodrop>
602 tells the kernel what precisely to drop, see
603 L<http://linux-mm.org/Drop_Caches>
605 Setting C<whattodrop> to 3 should drop everything.
607 This automatically calls L<sync(2)> before the operation,
608 so that the maximum guest memory is freed.
610 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
612 =head2 guestfs_end_busy
614 int guestfs_end_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
616 This sets the state to C<READY>, or if in C<CONFIG> then it leaves the
617 state as is. This is only used when implementing
618 actions using the low-level API.
620 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
622 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
626 int guestfs_equal (guestfs_h *handle,
630 This compares the two files C<file1> and C<file2> and returns
631 true if their content is exactly equal, or false otherwise.
633 The external L<cmp(1)> program is used for the comparison.
635 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
637 =head2 guestfs_exists
639 int guestfs_exists (guestfs_h *handle,
642 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file, directory
643 (or anything) with the given C<path> name.
645 See also C<guestfs_is_file>, C<guestfs_is_dir>, C<guestfs_stat>.
647 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
651 char *guestfs_file (guestfs_h *handle,
654 This call uses the standard L<file(1)> command to determine
655 the type or contents of the file. This also works on devices,
656 for example to find out whether a partition contains a filesystem.
658 The exact command which runs is C<file -bsL path>. Note in
659 particular that the filename is not prepended to the output
662 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
663 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
667 int guestfs_fsck (guestfs_h *handle,
671 This runs the filesystem checker (fsck) on C<device> which
672 should have filesystem type C<fstype>.
674 The returned integer is the status. See L<fsck(8)> for the
675 list of status codes from C<fsck>.
683 Multiple status codes can be summed together.
687 A non-zero return code can mean "success", for example if
688 errors have been corrected on the filesystem.
692 Checking or repairing NTFS volumes is not supported
697 This command is entirely equivalent to running C<fsck -a -t fstype device>.
699 On error this function returns -1.
701 =head2 guestfs_get_autosync
703 int guestfs_get_autosync (guestfs_h *handle);
705 Get the autosync flag.
707 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
709 =head2 guestfs_get_e2label
711 char *guestfs_get_e2label (guestfs_h *handle,
714 This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
717 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
718 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
720 =head2 guestfs_get_e2uuid
722 char *guestfs_get_e2uuid (guestfs_h *handle,
725 This returns the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
728 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
729 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
731 =head2 guestfs_get_path
733 const char *guestfs_get_path (guestfs_h *handle);
735 Return the current search path.
737 This is always non-NULL. If it wasn't set already, then this will
738 return the default path.
740 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
741 The string is owned by the guest handle and must I<not> be freed.
743 =head2 guestfs_get_qemu
745 const char *guestfs_get_qemu (guestfs_h *handle);
747 Return the current qemu binary.
749 This is always non-NULL. If it wasn't set already, then this will
750 return the default qemu binary name.
752 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
753 The string is owned by the guest handle and must I<not> be freed.
755 =head2 guestfs_get_state
757 int guestfs_get_state (guestfs_h *handle);
759 This returns the current state as an opaque integer. This is
760 only useful for printing debug and internal error messages.
762 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
764 On error this function returns -1.
766 =head2 guestfs_get_verbose
768 int guestfs_get_verbose (guestfs_h *handle);
770 This returns the verbose messages flag.
772 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
774 =head2 guestfs_grub_install
776 int guestfs_grub_install (guestfs_h *handle,
780 This command installs GRUB (the Grand Unified Bootloader) on
781 C<device>, with the root directory being C<root>.
783 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
785 =head2 guestfs_hexdump
787 char *guestfs_hexdump (guestfs_h *handle,
790 This runs C<hexdump -C> on the given C<path>. The result is
791 the human-readable, canonical hex dump of the file.
793 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
794 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
796 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
797 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
800 =head2 guestfs_is_busy
802 int guestfs_is_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
804 This returns true iff this handle is busy processing a command
805 (in the C<BUSY> state).
807 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
809 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
811 =head2 guestfs_is_config
813 int guestfs_is_config (guestfs_h *handle);
815 This returns true iff this handle is being configured
816 (in the C<CONFIG> state).
818 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
820 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
822 =head2 guestfs_is_dir
824 int guestfs_is_dir (guestfs_h *handle,
827 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a directory
828 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
829 other objects like files.
831 See also C<guestfs_stat>.
833 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
835 =head2 guestfs_is_file
837 int guestfs_is_file (guestfs_h *handle,
840 This returns C<true> if and only if there is a file
841 with the given C<path> name. Note that it returns false for
842 other objects like directories.
844 See also C<guestfs_stat>.
846 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
848 =head2 guestfs_is_launching
850 int guestfs_is_launching (guestfs_h *handle);
852 This returns true iff this handle is launching the subprocess
853 (in the C<LAUNCHING> state).
855 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
857 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
859 =head2 guestfs_is_ready
861 int guestfs_is_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
863 This returns true iff this handle is ready to accept commands
864 (in the C<READY> state).
866 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
868 This function returns a C truth value on success or -1 on error.
870 =head2 guestfs_kill_subprocess
872 int guestfs_kill_subprocess (guestfs_h *handle);
874 This kills the qemu subprocess. You should never need to call this.
876 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
878 =head2 guestfs_launch
880 int guestfs_launch (guestfs_h *handle);
882 Internally libguestfs is implemented by running a virtual machine
885 You should call this after configuring the handle
886 (eg. adding drives) but before performing any actions.
888 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
890 =head2 guestfs_list_devices
892 char **guestfs_list_devices (guestfs_h *handle);
894 List all the block devices.
896 The full block device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda>
898 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
899 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
900 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
902 =head2 guestfs_list_partitions
904 char **guestfs_list_partitions (guestfs_h *handle);
906 List all the partitions detected on all block devices.
908 The full partition device names are returned, eg. C</dev/sda1>
910 This does not return logical volumes. For that you will need to
913 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
914 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
915 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
919 char *guestfs_ll (guestfs_h *handle,
920 const char *directory);
922 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
923 there is no cwd) in the format of 'ls -la'.
925 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. It
926 is I<not> intended that you try to parse the output string.
928 This function returns a string, or NULL on error.
929 I<The caller must free the returned string after use>.
933 char **guestfs_ls (guestfs_h *handle,
934 const char *directory);
936 List the files in C<directory> (relative to the root directory,
937 there is no cwd). The '.' and '..' entries are not returned, but
938 hidden files are shown.
940 This command is mostly useful for interactive sessions. Programs
941 should probably use C<guestfs_readdir> instead.
943 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
944 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
945 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
949 struct guestfs_stat *guestfs_lstat (guestfs_h *handle,
952 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
954 This is the same as C<guestfs_stat> except that if C<path>
955 is a symbolic link, then the link is stat-ed, not the file it
958 This is the same as the C<lstat(2)> system call.
960 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_stat *>
961 (see L<stat(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
962 or NULL if there was an error.
963 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
965 =head2 guestfs_lvcreate
967 int guestfs_lvcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
969 const char *volgroup,
972 This creates an LVM volume group called C<logvol>
973 on the volume group C<volgroup>, with C<size> megabytes.
975 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
977 =head2 guestfs_lvm_remove_all
979 int guestfs_lvm_remove_all (guestfs_h *handle);
981 This command removes all LVM logical volumes, volume groups
982 and physical volumes.
984 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
986 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
987 can easily destroy all your data>.
989 =head2 guestfs_lvremove
991 int guestfs_lvremove (guestfs_h *handle,
994 Remove an LVM logical volume C<device>, where C<device> is
995 the path to the LV, such as C</dev/VG/LV>.
997 You can also remove all LVs in a volume group by specifying
998 the VG name, C</dev/VG>.
1000 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1004 char **guestfs_lvs (guestfs_h *handle);
1006 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1007 of the L<lvs(8)> command.
1009 This returns a list of the logical volume device names
1010 (eg. C</dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00>).
1012 See also C<guestfs_lvs_full>.
1014 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1015 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1016 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1018 =head2 guestfs_lvs_full
1020 struct guestfs_lvm_lv_list *guestfs_lvs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
1022 List all the logical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1023 of the L<lvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
1025 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_lv_list *>
1026 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1027 or NULL if there was an error.
1028 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_lv_list> after use>.
1030 =head2 guestfs_mkdir
1032 int guestfs_mkdir (guestfs_h *handle,
1035 Create a directory named C<path>.
1037 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1039 =head2 guestfs_mkdir_p
1041 int guestfs_mkdir_p (guestfs_h *handle,
1044 Create a directory named C<path>, creating any parent directories
1045 as necessary. This is like the C<mkdir -p> shell command.
1047 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1051 int guestfs_mkfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1053 const char *device);
1055 This creates a filesystem on C<device> (usually a partition
1056 or LVM logical volume). The filesystem type is C<fstype>, for
1059 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1061 =head2 guestfs_mount
1063 int guestfs_mount (guestfs_h *handle,
1065 const char *mountpoint);
1067 Mount a guest disk at a position in the filesystem. Block devices
1068 are named C</dev/sda>, C</dev/sdb> and so on, as they were added to
1069 the guest. If those block devices contain partitions, they will have
1070 the usual names (eg. C</dev/sda1>). Also LVM C</dev/VG/LV>-style
1073 The rules are the same as for L<mount(2)>: A filesystem must
1074 first be mounted on C</> before others can be mounted. Other
1075 filesystems can only be mounted on directories which already
1078 The mounted filesystem is writable, if we have sufficient permissions
1079 on the underlying device.
1081 The filesystem options C<sync> and C<noatime> are set with this
1082 call, in order to improve reliability.
1084 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1086 =head2 guestfs_mount_options
1088 int guestfs_mount_options (guestfs_h *handle,
1089 const char *options,
1091 const char *mountpoint);
1093 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1094 allows you to set the mount options as for the
1095 L<mount(8)> I<-o> flag.
1097 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1099 =head2 guestfs_mount_ro
1101 int guestfs_mount_ro (guestfs_h *handle,
1103 const char *mountpoint);
1105 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1106 mounts the filesystem with the read-only (I<-o ro>) flag.
1108 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1110 =head2 guestfs_mount_vfs
1112 int guestfs_mount_vfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1113 const char *options,
1114 const char *vfstype,
1116 const char *mountpoint);
1118 This is the same as the C<guestfs_mount> command, but it
1119 allows you to set both the mount options and the vfstype
1120 as for the L<mount(8)> I<-o> and I<-t> flags.
1122 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1124 =head2 guestfs_mounts
1126 char **guestfs_mounts (guestfs_h *handle);
1128 This returns the list of currently mounted filesystems. It returns
1129 the list of devices (eg. C</dev/sda1>, C</dev/VG/LV>).
1131 Some internal mounts are not shown.
1133 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1134 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1135 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1139 int guestfs_mv (guestfs_h *handle,
1143 This moves a file from C<src> to C<dest> where C<dest> is
1144 either a destination filename or destination directory.
1146 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1148 =head2 guestfs_ping_daemon
1150 int guestfs_ping_daemon (guestfs_h *handle);
1152 This is a test probe into the guestfs daemon running inside
1153 the qemu subprocess. Calling this function checks that the
1154 daemon responds to the ping message, without affecting the daemon
1155 or attached block device(s) in any other way.
1157 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1159 =head2 guestfs_pvcreate
1161 int guestfs_pvcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
1162 const char *device);
1164 This creates an LVM physical volume on the named C<device>,
1165 where C<device> should usually be a partition name such
1168 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1170 =head2 guestfs_pvremove
1172 int guestfs_pvremove (guestfs_h *handle,
1173 const char *device);
1175 This wipes a physical volume C<device> so that LVM will no longer
1178 The implementation uses the C<pvremove> command which refuses to
1179 wipe physical volumes that contain any volume groups, so you have
1180 to remove those first.
1182 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1186 char **guestfs_pvs (guestfs_h *handle);
1188 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1189 of the L<pvs(8)> command.
1191 This returns a list of just the device names that contain
1192 PVs (eg. C</dev/sda2>).
1194 See also C<guestfs_pvs_full>.
1196 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1197 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1198 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1200 =head2 guestfs_pvs_full
1202 struct guestfs_lvm_pv_list *guestfs_pvs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
1204 List all the physical volumes detected. This is the equivalent
1205 of the L<pvs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
1207 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_pv_list *>
1208 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1209 or NULL if there was an error.
1210 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_pv_list> after use>.
1212 =head2 guestfs_read_lines
1214 char **guestfs_read_lines (guestfs_h *handle,
1217 Return the contents of the file named C<path>.
1219 The file contents are returned as a list of lines. Trailing
1220 C<LF> and C<CRLF> character sequences are I<not> returned.
1222 Note that this function cannot correctly handle binary files
1223 (specifically, files containing C<\0> character which is treated
1224 as end of line). For those you need to use the C<guestfs_read_file>
1225 function which has a more complex interface.
1227 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1228 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1229 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1233 int guestfs_rm (guestfs_h *handle,
1236 Remove the single file C<path>.
1238 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1240 =head2 guestfs_rm_rf
1242 int guestfs_rm_rf (guestfs_h *handle,
1245 Remove the file or directory C<path>, recursively removing the
1246 contents if its a directory. This is like the C<rm -rf> shell
1249 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1251 =head2 guestfs_rmdir
1253 int guestfs_rmdir (guestfs_h *handle,
1256 Remove the single directory C<path>.
1258 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1260 =head2 guestfs_set_autosync
1262 int guestfs_set_autosync (guestfs_h *handle,
1265 If C<autosync> is true, this enables autosync. Libguestfs will make a
1266 best effort attempt to run C<guestfs_umount_all> followed by
1267 C<guestfs_sync> when the handle is closed
1268 (also if the program exits without closing handles).
1270 This is disabled by default (except in guestfish where it is
1271 enabled by default).
1273 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1275 =head2 guestfs_set_busy
1277 int guestfs_set_busy (guestfs_h *handle);
1279 This sets the state to C<BUSY>. This is only used when implementing
1280 actions using the low-level API.
1282 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1284 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1286 =head2 guestfs_set_e2label
1288 int guestfs_set_e2label (guestfs_h *handle,
1292 This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem label of the filesystem on
1293 C<device> to C<label>. Filesystem labels are limited to
1296 You can use either C<guestfs_tune2fs_l> or C<guestfs_get_e2label>
1297 to return the existing label on a filesystem.
1299 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1301 =head2 guestfs_set_e2uuid
1303 int guestfs_set_e2uuid (guestfs_h *handle,
1307 This sets the ext2/3/4 filesystem UUID of the filesystem on
1308 C<device> to C<uuid>. The format of the UUID and alternatives
1309 such as C<clear>, C<random> and C<time> are described in the
1310 L<tune2fs(8)> manpage.
1312 You can use either C<guestfs_tune2fs_l> or C<guestfs_get_e2uuid>
1313 to return the existing UUID of a filesystem.
1315 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1317 =head2 guestfs_set_path
1319 int guestfs_set_path (guestfs_h *handle,
1322 Set the path that libguestfs searches for kernel and initrd.img.
1324 The default is C<$libdir/guestfs> unless overridden by setting
1325 C<LIBGUESTFS_PATH> environment variable.
1327 The string C<path> is stashed in the libguestfs handle, so the caller
1328 must make sure it remains valid for the lifetime of the handle.
1330 Setting C<path> to C<NULL> restores the default path.
1332 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1334 =head2 guestfs_set_qemu
1336 int guestfs_set_qemu (guestfs_h *handle,
1339 Set the qemu binary that we will use.
1341 The default is chosen when the library was compiled by the
1344 You can also override this by setting the C<LIBGUESTFS_QEMU>
1345 environment variable.
1347 The string C<qemu> is stashed in the libguestfs handle, so the caller
1348 must make sure it remains valid for the lifetime of the handle.
1350 Setting C<qemu> to C<NULL> restores the default qemu binary.
1352 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1354 =head2 guestfs_set_ready
1356 int guestfs_set_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
1358 This sets the state to C<READY>. This is only used when implementing
1359 actions using the low-level API.
1361 For more information on states, see L<guestfs(3)>.
1363 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1365 =head2 guestfs_set_verbose
1367 int guestfs_set_verbose (guestfs_h *handle,
1370 If C<verbose> is true, this turns on verbose messages (to C<stderr>).
1372 Verbose messages are disabled unless the environment variable
1373 C<LIBGUESTFS_DEBUG> is defined and set to C<1>.
1375 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1377 =head2 guestfs_sfdisk
1379 int guestfs_sfdisk (guestfs_h *handle,
1384 char * const* const lines);
1386 This is a direct interface to the L<sfdisk(8)> program for creating
1387 partitions on block devices.
1389 C<device> should be a block device, for example C</dev/sda>.
1391 C<cyls>, C<heads> and C<sectors> are the number of cylinders, heads
1392 and sectors on the device, which are passed directly to sfdisk as
1393 the I<-C>, I<-H> and I<-S> parameters. If you pass C<0> for any
1394 of these, then the corresponding parameter is omitted. Usually for
1395 'large' disks, you can just pass C<0> for these, but for small
1396 (floppy-sized) disks, sfdisk (or rather, the kernel) cannot work
1397 out the right geometry and you will need to tell it.
1399 C<lines> is a list of lines that we feed to C<sfdisk>. For more
1400 information refer to the L<sfdisk(8)> manpage.
1402 To create a single partition occupying the whole disk, you would
1403 pass C<lines> as a single element list, when the single element being
1404 the string C<,> (comma).
1406 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1408 B<This command is dangerous. Without careful use you
1409 can easily destroy all your data>.
1413 struct guestfs_stat *guestfs_stat (guestfs_h *handle,
1416 Returns file information for the given C<path>.
1418 This is the same as the C<stat(2)> system call.
1420 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_stat *>
1421 (see L<stat(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1422 or NULL if there was an error.
1423 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
1425 =head2 guestfs_statvfs
1427 struct guestfs_statvfs *guestfs_statvfs (guestfs_h *handle,
1430 Returns file system statistics for any mounted file system.
1431 C<path> should be a file or directory in the mounted file system
1432 (typically it is the mount point itself, but it doesn't need to be).
1434 This is the same as the C<statvfs(2)> system call.
1436 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_statvfs *>
1437 (see L<statvfs(2)> and E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1438 or NULL if there was an error.
1439 I<The caller must call C<free> after use>.
1441 =head2 guestfs_strings
1443 char **guestfs_strings (guestfs_h *handle,
1446 This runs the L<strings(1)> command on a file and returns
1447 the list of printable strings found.
1449 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1450 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1451 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1453 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
1454 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
1457 =head2 guestfs_strings_e
1459 char **guestfs_strings_e (guestfs_h *handle,
1460 const char *encoding,
1463 This is like the C<guestfs_strings> command, but allows you to
1464 specify the encoding.
1466 See the L<strings(1)> manpage for the full list of encodings.
1468 Commonly useful encodings are C<l> (lower case L) which will
1469 show strings inside Windows/x86 files.
1471 The returned strings are transcoded to UTF-8.
1473 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1474 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1475 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1477 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
1478 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
1483 int guestfs_sync (guestfs_h *handle);
1485 This syncs the disk, so that any writes are flushed through to the
1486 underlying disk image.
1488 You should always call this if you have modified a disk image, before
1491 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1493 =head2 guestfs_tar_in
1495 int guestfs_tar_in (guestfs_h *handle,
1496 const char *tarfile,
1497 const char *directory);
1499 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarfile> (an
1500 I<uncompressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
1502 To upload a compressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tgz_in>.
1504 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1506 =head2 guestfs_tar_out
1508 int guestfs_tar_out (guestfs_h *handle,
1509 const char *directory,
1510 const char *tarfile);
1512 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
1513 it to local file C<tarfile>.
1515 To download a compressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tgz_out>.
1517 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1519 =head2 guestfs_tgz_in
1521 int guestfs_tgz_in (guestfs_h *handle,
1522 const char *tarball,
1523 const char *directory);
1525 This command uploads and unpacks local file C<tarball> (a
1526 I<gzip compressed> tar file) into C<directory>.
1528 To upload an uncompressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tar_in>.
1530 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1532 =head2 guestfs_tgz_out
1534 int guestfs_tgz_out (guestfs_h *handle,
1535 const char *directory,
1536 const char *tarball);
1538 This command packs the contents of C<directory> and downloads
1539 it to local file C<tarball>.
1541 To download an uncompressed tarball, use C<guestfs_tar_out>.
1543 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1545 =head2 guestfs_touch
1547 int guestfs_touch (guestfs_h *handle,
1550 Touch acts like the L<touch(1)> command. It can be used to
1551 update the timestamps on a file, or, if the file does not exist,
1552 to create a new zero-length file.
1554 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1556 =head2 guestfs_tune2fs_l
1558 char **guestfs_tune2fs_l (guestfs_h *handle,
1559 const char *device);
1561 This returns the contents of the ext2, ext3 or ext4 filesystem
1562 superblock on C<device>.
1564 It is the same as running C<tune2fs -l device>. See L<tune2fs(8)>
1565 manpage for more details. The list of fields returned isn't
1566 clearly defined, and depends on both the version of C<tune2fs>
1567 that libguestfs was built against, and the filesystem itself.
1569 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of
1570 strings, or NULL if there was an error.
1571 The array of strings will always have length C<2n+1>, where
1572 C<n> keys and values alternate, followed by the trailing NULL entry.
1573 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1575 =head2 guestfs_umount
1577 int guestfs_umount (guestfs_h *handle,
1578 const char *pathordevice);
1580 This unmounts the given filesystem. The filesystem may be
1581 specified either by its mountpoint (path) or the device which
1582 contains the filesystem.
1584 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1586 =head2 guestfs_umount_all
1588 int guestfs_umount_all (guestfs_h *handle);
1590 This unmounts all mounted filesystems.
1592 Some internal mounts are not unmounted by this call.
1594 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1596 =head2 guestfs_upload
1598 int guestfs_upload (guestfs_h *handle,
1599 const char *filename,
1600 const char *remotefilename);
1602 Upload local file C<filename> to C<remotefilename> on the
1605 C<filename> can also be a named pipe.
1607 See also C<guestfs_download>.
1609 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1611 =head2 guestfs_vgcreate
1613 int guestfs_vgcreate (guestfs_h *handle,
1614 const char *volgroup,
1615 char * const* const physvols);
1617 This creates an LVM volume group called C<volgroup>
1618 from the non-empty list of physical volumes C<physvols>.
1620 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1622 =head2 guestfs_vgremove
1624 int guestfs_vgremove (guestfs_h *handle,
1625 const char *vgname);
1627 Remove an LVM volume group C<vgname>, (for example C<VG>).
1629 This also forcibly removes all logical volumes in the volume
1632 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1636 char **guestfs_vgs (guestfs_h *handle);
1638 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
1639 of the L<vgs(8)> command.
1641 This returns a list of just the volume group names that were
1642 detected (eg. C<VolGroup00>).
1644 See also C<guestfs_vgs_full>.
1646 This function returns a NULL-terminated array of strings
1647 (like L<environ(3)>), or NULL if there was an error.
1648 I<The caller must free the strings and the array after use>.
1650 =head2 guestfs_vgs_full
1652 struct guestfs_lvm_vg_list *guestfs_vgs_full (guestfs_h *handle);
1654 List all the volumes groups detected. This is the equivalent
1655 of the L<vgs(8)> command. The "full" version includes all fields.
1657 This function returns a C<struct guestfs_lvm_vg_list *>
1658 (see E<lt>guestfs-structs.hE<gt>),
1659 or NULL if there was an error.
1660 I<The caller must call C<guestfs_free_lvm_vg_list> after use>.
1662 =head2 guestfs_wait_ready
1664 int guestfs_wait_ready (guestfs_h *handle);
1666 Internally libguestfs is implemented by running a virtual machine
1669 You should call this after C<guestfs_launch> to wait for the launch
1672 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1674 =head2 guestfs_write_file
1676 int guestfs_write_file (guestfs_h *handle,
1678 const char *content,
1681 This call creates a file called C<path>. The contents of the
1682 file is the string C<content> (which can contain any 8 bit data),
1683 with length C<size>.
1685 As a special case, if C<size> is C<0>
1686 then the length is calculated using C<strlen> (so in this case
1687 the content cannot contain embedded ASCII NULs).
1689 I<NB.> Owing to a bug, writing content containing ASCII NUL
1690 characters does I<not> work, even if the length is specified.
1691 We hope to resolve this bug in a future version. In the meantime
1692 use C<guestfs_upload>.
1694 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.
1696 Because of the message protocol, there is a transfer limit
1697 of somewhere between 2MB and 4MB. To transfer large files you should use
1702 int guestfs_zero (guestfs_h *handle,
1703 const char *device);
1705 This command writes zeroes over the first few blocks of C<device>.
1707 How many blocks are zeroed isn't specified (but it's I<not> enough
1708 to securely wipe the device). It should be sufficient to remove
1709 any partition tables, filesystem superblocks and so on.
1711 This function returns 0 on success or -1 on error.