Open QCOW2 files in your browser
The disk of QEMU and KVM, of Proxmox, UTM on Macs and most Linux cloud images. Open one right here, see its partitions and open the files you need. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your disk opens like a folder, each volume's files listed on the left, with a map of its partitions and what the disk holds beside them.
- A map of the disk • Every partition to scale
- Every volume as a folder • Files open at once
- Verify • SHA-256, SHA-1 or MD5
- Export • Save as ZIP or Extract all
About QCOW2
QCOW2 is QEMU's own disk, and so the disk of KVM, Proxmox, libvirt, GNOME Boxes and UTM on Macs. Linux distributions publish their cloud images as QCOW2, and the older QCOW, its first version, still turns up.
It stores the disk in clusters, 64 KB by default, only once they're written, so it grows as the disk fills. Clusters can be compressed with zlib or zstd, and a disk can sit on a backing file, a base image it only keeps the changes from.
Filepeek reads it with 7-Zip compiled to WebAssembly and draws the disk as a map, each partition to scale with its file system and space used, its volumes as folders. Drop a disk with its backing file and it opens as the disk they add up to.
QEMU copy on write disk
.qcow2 • .qcow
Format
- MIME type
- application/x-qemu-disk
- Made by
- QEMU
Inside the file
- Clusters
- 64 KB by default
- Compression
- zlib or zstd
- Inside
- GPT or MBR, ext4, NTFS, FAT
- Backing files
- A base image it adds to
Opens in every browser
No browser opens a QCOW2: they download it. Filepeek opens it as a folder of its partitions in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Questions
How do I open a QCOW2 without QEMU?
Drop it on this page or choose Peek a QCOW2. The disk shows as a map of its partitions, each volume as a folder, and the file you pick opens right away.
What about a disk with a backing file?
It only holds the changes since its base image. Pick or drop both files together and Filepeek opens the disk with the changes in.
Can it open a cloud image?
Yes. Ubuntu and Debian cloud images open as a map of their partitions, the EFI one and the system, with every file of their ext4 system.
Which file systems open?
ext2 to ext4, NTFS, FAT, exFAT, HFS+ and APFS, plus Linux LVM volumes. XFS and Btrfs partitions show on the map but their files don't list.
Is my disk uploaded?
No. It opens inside your browser and never leaves your device, however big it is.