Re: [Libguestfs] Libguestfs question

I see. Libguestfs could be useful here because it can remove layers of complexity -- such as partitions, LVs, encryption -- allowing a file carving tool to work directly on the filesystem. Such a tool would have to be added to the API, and the only one I'm familiar with (PhotoRec) is highly interactive and thus not really suitable as-is for integrating with the libguestfs API. If there is a file carving tool which works as a library or non-interactive command line tool, that would be better suited.

VMware doesn't really have anything to do with it - the guest operating system uses its normal method for deleting files, and those can be recovered using ordinary tools (eg. ext2undelete, ntfsundelete). You just need to add those tools into the libguestfs API. See this page for a guide to adding new APIs: http://libguestfs.org/guestfs.3.html#extending_libguestfs Actually ext2undelete and ntfsundelete are both on the todo list, and have been for some time. Rich.