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dissect-hypervisor

library3.21pypypi✓ verified 89d ago

A Dissect module implementing parsers for various hypervisor disk, backup and configuration files (e.g., ESX, Hyper-V, QEMU, VirtualBox). Current version: 3.21. Released as part of the Dissect ecosystem with regular updates.

database devops

pip install dissect-hypervisor

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗docs ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · DISSECT-HYPERVISOR

dissect-hypervisor

databasepythonv3.21

Install

1.8s avg

Import

447ms

Disk

18MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v3.21 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.474s · 20.1MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.8s · import 0.420s · 20MB

18MB installed

● package 18MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

vhdx

✓ from dissect.hypervisor import vhdx

✗ from dissect_hypervisor import vhdx

The package name uses underscores, but imports use dot notation under dissect.hypervisor

esx

✓ from dissect.hypervisor import esx

qemu

✓ from dissect.hypervisor import qemu

vbox

✓ from dissect.hypervisor import vbox

Basic usage to open a VHDX file and list its streams.

from dissect.hypervisor import vhdx # Open a VHDX file with open('disk.vhdx', 'rb') as f: vhdx_file = vhdx.VHDX(f) print('VHDX version:', vhdx_file.header.signature) for stream in vhdx_file.streams(): print('Stream:', stream.type)

dissect.hypervisor --version

Debug

Known issues

breakingIn dissect-hypervisor 3.0+, the import path changed from dissect.hypervisor to a flat module structure. Old imports like `from dissect_hypervisor import esx` will break.

fix

Use the new dot notation: `from dissect.hypervisor import esx`.

affects: >=3.0

gotchaThe VHDX parser requires the file to be opened in 'rb' mode, and it does not handle compressed or differencing disks automatically.

fix

Ensure you open the file with `open(path, 'rb')` and handle parent VHDX files separately for differencing disks.

affects: all

deprecatedThe `vhd` module (for legacy VHD files) is deprecated; use `vhdx` for newer formats.

fix

Migrate from `from dissect.hypervisor import vhd` to `from dissect.hypervisor import vhdx` for VHDX files. For old VHD, keep using `vhd` but expect removal.

affects: <3.20

breakingPython 3.9 and below are not supported. Requires Python >= 3.10.

fix

Upgrade to Python 3.10 or higher.

affects: >=3.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'dissect.hypervisor'

The package is not installed or the import path is wrong (e.g., using dissect_hypervisor).

fix

Install with `pip install dissect-hypervisor` and import using `from dissect.hypervisor import vhdx`

AttributeError: module 'dissect.hypervisor' has no attribute 'vhdx'

The import is incorrect; likely you imported the package but not the submodule.

fix

Use `from dissect.hypervisor import vhdx`

dissect.hypervisor.vhdx.VHDX does not support differencing disks

The VHDX parser only handles fixed or dynamic disks, not differencing (parent-child) chains.

fix

Merge the differencing disk into a parent first using external tools, or locate the parent VHDX and parse independently.

Upgrade

Version history

3.21latest on PyPI · released Feb 24, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

dissect.cstructrequiredCore dependency for structure parsing

dissect.volumerequiredUsed for disk volume handling

dissect.targetoptionalRequired for integration with Dissect target framework

Agent activity

11 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/fox-it/dissect.hypervisor ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/dissect-hypervisor/ ↗

homepagehttps://dissect.tools ↗

docshttps://docs.dissect.tools/en/latest/projects/dissect.hypervisor ↗