kpartx

Add partition mappings and print them

$ kpartx -av [whole_disk.img]

$ kpartx -d [whole_disk.img]

$ kpartx -l [whole_disk.img]

kpartx [options] device

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.

-a

Add partition mappings

Delete partition mappings

List partition mappings without adding them

Verbose output

Sync mode (wait for udev to update)

Force creation of mappings

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

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.

losetup(8), dmsetup(8), mount(8)