kpartx

creates device mapper entries for the partitions within a disk image or block

TLDR

Add partition mappings and print them

$ kpartx -av [whole_disk.img]

Delete partition mappings

$ kpartx -d [whole_disk.img]

List partition mappings

$ kpartx -l [whole_disk.img]

kpartx creates device mapper entries for the partitions within a disk image or block device. This allows individual partitions to be accessed as separate block devices, enabling mounting and manipulation.When adding mappings, kpartx creates entries like /dev/mapper/loop0p1, /dev/mapper/loop0p2, etc., corresponding to each partition found in the image.

PARAMETERS

-a

Add partition mappings

-d

Delete partition mappings

-l

List partition mappings without adding them

-v

Verbose output

-s

Sync mode (wait for udev to update)

-f

Force creation of mappings

INSTALL

sudo apt install kpartx

sudo dnf install kpartx

sudo apk add kpartx

sudo zypper install kpartx

CAVEATS

Requires root privileges. Device mapper and loop device support must be enabled in the kernel. Mappings should be removed before detaching loop devices.

HISTORY

kpartx is part of the multipath-tools package. It was developed to simplify working with partitioned disk images, particularly useful for virtual machine images and system administration tasks.