libguestfs-tools.conf(5)

📦
version 1.61.3 · 14 versions
, in centos-stream 10

💅 libguestfs-tools.conf — the vibe check

okay so this is the libguestfs-tools.conf(5) page, sitting pretty under the Virtualization Support umbrella, and it's literally just the manual for a lil config file. that's it. that's the whole thing. but bestie it's a powerful lil config file so let's get into it 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

libguestfs-tools.conf — the configuration file for guestfish, guestmount, and virt-rescue. that's the trio. the squad. the main characters 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

the places this file can live, in all their glory:

/etc/libguestfs-tools.conf
$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/libguestfs/libguestfs-tools.conf
$HOME/.libguestfs-tools.rc
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/libguestfs/libguestfs-tools.conf

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so libguestfs-tools.conf (or $HOME/.libguestfs-tools.rc if you're feeling old-school) changes the defaults for these programs only — not everything, just these three celebrities:

and rn there's literally only one setting this file controls. one. single. setting. iconic minimalism tbh. but if you add it (or uncomment it):

read_only = true;

then those programs act like someone typed --ro on the command line. slay. you can use this to make the programs safe against accidental modification of a live guest — and honestly? kind of a vibe. users would have to explicitly add the --rw flag if they actually wanna modify guests. no accidental chaos. no "oops I deleted the disk" energy 💀

⚠️ it's not the default because it's not backwards compatible. that's the tradeoff, bestie. know it, own it.

also see "OPENING DISKS FOR READ AND WRITE" in guestfish(1) if you wanna go deeper.

🫶 the semicolon is required. like, REQUIRED required. do not forget the semicolon. the semicolon is not optional. the semicolon is the moment.

this file is parsed by the libconfig library. for more info about the format, see: http://www.hyperrealm.com/libconfig/libconfig_manual.html

🦋 FILE LOCATION 🦋

the order the config files get read in — by importance, most important first:

  • $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/libguestfs/libguestfs-tools.conf (where $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is $HOME/.config if it's not set)
  • $HOME/.libguestfs-tools.rc
  • $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/libguestfs/libguestfs-tools.conf (where $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS means any of the directories in that environment variable, or just /etc/xdg if it's not set)
  • /etc/libguestfs-tools.conf

so what this means is: local users can override the system configuration by copying the config file (or just creating it fresh) into $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/libguestfs/libguestfs-tools.conf. you get to be the main character of your own config 🌈

/etc/libguestfs-tools.conf and $HOME/.libguestfs-tools.rc are the old non-XDG paths — they're read purely for compatibility. legacy icons, still got love for them 💜

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Richard W.M. Jones ("rjones at redhat dot com") — the legend, the icon, the moment. periodt ✨

Copyright (C) 2011-2025 Red Hat Inc.

💅 LICENSE 💅

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.

(translation: it's free, it's open, it's GPL, no warranty, no cap 🫶)

🐛 BUGS 🐛

found a bug? first of all, relatable. second of all:

to get a list of bugs against libguestfs, use this link: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/buglist.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools

to report a new bug against libguestfs, use this link: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/enter_bug.cgi?component=libguestfs&product=Virtualization+Tools

when reporting a bug, please supply — all of these, don't skip, they need the whole picture:

  • The version of libguestfs.
  • Where you got libguestfs (eg. which Linux distro, compiled from source, etc)
  • Describe the bug accurately and give a way to reproduce it.
  • Run libguestfs-test-tool(1) and paste the complete, unedited output into the bug report. complete. unedited. do not trim it. do not get cute with it. the whole thing 🙈

and that's the page, bestie 🌟 this was written from libguestfs-1.61.3, dated 2026-09-16, and it's the libguestfs-tools.conf(5) manual — now go forth and configure responsibly, and do NOT forget that semicolon 💖

📦 where this page comes from