Mount VHDx images in Linux

I needed some files from WSL and I am on Linux right now. Did I restart? nope! Instead, Geeked out and found that we can mount WSL images which are `.vhdx` files without much effort.

First, Install guestmount:

#Debian, Ubuntu, etc
sudo apt install libguestfs-tools

#Fedora, CentOs, etc
sudo dnf install libguestfs

Create a folder to mount and set user permission:

mkdir /mnt/wslImage
chown username:username /mnt/wslImage

Export this ENV to prevent permission errors:

export LIBGUESTFS_BACKEND=direct

Next, We need to find the path of the image. Mount C:\ partition from Windows in Linux and go to this folder:

/c/Users/USERNAME/AppData/Local/Packages/

Now search for a folder with your installed distribution name, I have Ubuntu installed, So:

CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu_79rhkp1fndgsc

This was the folder that Ububnu was in. Next, Open the folder and you can find vhdx file in LocalState folder under the Ubuntu folder.

Then run this command to mount:

$ guestmount --add file.vhdx --ro /mnt/wslImage -m /dev/sda

# - file.vhdx: filename
# - /dev/sda: the disk you wan't to mount it

If you had any issues, First open this link and search for the error, And if can’t find anything, Search it on Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, etc.

Enjoy!