libguestfs vs WinCDEmu
libguestfs
libguestfs.orgWinCDEmu
wincdemu.sysprogs.orgSide by side
| Figure | libguestfs | WinCDEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Virtual Drive Software | 8.7 (#3) | 7.1 (#20) |
| Purpose | libguestfs is a library and set of tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images. | WinCDEmu is an open-source CD/DVD/BD emulator for mounting optical disc images in Windows Explorer. |
| Support | Users can ask questions on the libguestfs mailing list or IRC channel #guestfs on Libera Chat; Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers are directed to Red Hat Support. | The maker says the free product does not come with technical support and directs users with questions or problems to its forum. |
Plans
In their own words
libguestfs
libguestfs is a free library and toolset for working with virtual machine disk images. It can inspect and edit guest files, script changes, create or resize images, make backups, clone virtual machines and build them. The project says it can access almost any disk image, including those from VMware and Hyper-V, and images created by VMware, KVM, qemu, VirtualBox, Xen and other hypervisors; libvirt is not required. Its command-line tools include guestfish, a scriptable shell, and virt-rescue, an interactive rescue shell. The C library has bindings for many languages, with examples for C/C++, Erlang, Go, Java, Lua, OCaml, Perl, Python and Ruby. Guest filesystems are accessed through a Linux kernel in a qemu virtual machine, usually as a non-root user; sVirt with libvirt and SELinux can also be used. It runs on many Linux distributions and Mac OS X, while some virt tools have been ported to Windows. Non-Linux systems may require compiling from source and porting.
WinCDEmu
WinCDEmu is a free, open-source Windows utility for mounting CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc images in Windows Explorer. It supports ISO, CUE, NRG, MDS/MDF, CCD, and IMG files, with mounting available by double-clicking an image or using a context-menu drive-letter option. The program supports data, DVD-video, and BD-video images and allows an unlimited number of virtual drives. It can create ISO images from an Explorer context menu. An installed copy integrates with Explorer, while the portable edition avoids installation but must be started manually and lacks Explorer integration. Listed systems include Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, 2008, Vista, 2003, and XP, including 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Windows 2000 is not directly supported. Installation requires administrator rights and confirmation of the WinCDEmu driver. The free plan costs nothing; technical support is directed to the forum.