Where Does QEMU Store Disk Images and Config?
QEMU libvirt images in /var/lib plus per-VM XML and qemu.conf paths.
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QEMU through libvirt stores disk images in a default storage pool with per-VM XML definitions and driver configs beside them. User-session VMs split from system VMs across different trees.
Check storage pools with virsh before hunting raw files. Images outside pools still run but miss SELinux labels and pool bookkeeping.
Where QEMU stores this, by platform
/var/lib/libvirt/images
Default system storage pool for qcow2 and raw images. Per-VM XML lives in /etc/libvirt/qemu with driver config in /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf. Session VMs use ~/.config/libvirt and ~/.local/share/libvirt instead. List pools with virsh pool-list.
%USERPROFILE%\.config\libvirt
Windows QEMU and libvirt ports keep session configs under the user profile. Image locations follow whatever storage pool path was configured at VM creation.
Frequently asked questions
Where are libvirt VM definitions?
Per-VM XML in /etc/libvirt/qemu for system VMs and user config trees for session VMs above. Images stay in the pool path referenced by each XML.
Can I move the default QEMU image pool?
Yes by defining a new storage pool and migrating volumes. Update each VM XML to the new path or guests fail to boot.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.