VM Weaver

Upload · Convert · Serve · Write VM disk images — all from one tool.

VM Weaver is a terminal-based utility for Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+) that handles the full lifecycle of VM disk image management: upload files to a server via SFTP/SCP/rsync, convert between formats (VMDK, QCOW2, VHD, VDI, RAW, and more), serve them for download over HTTP, or write them directly to a physical disk — no manual dd needed.

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  ║     Upload · Convert · Serve · Write VM Disk Images                      ║
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Features

Feature	Description
Format conversion	VMDK ↔ QCOW2 ↔ VHD ↔ VDI ↔ RAW ↔ QED via qemu-img
RAW size control	Choose full, sparse (thin-provisioned), or trimmed output to save disk space
Write to disk	Convert and write directly to a physical disk — replaces manual dd workflows
HTTP server	Serve converted images for download over the network in one click
Upload guide	Built-in instructions for SFTP, SCP, rsync, and WinSCP
Global install	Registers vm-weaver in /usr/local/bin so you can run it from any directory
Dependency installer	One-command setup installs all required packages

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Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04 or later (Debian-based)
• bash 4.0+
• sudo access (for package installation and disk writes)

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Installation

Quick install (one command)

git clone https://github.com/SamNdirangu/vm-weaver.git
cd vm-weaver
sudo bash scripts/vm_weaver.sh --install

This will:

1. Install all required packages (qemu-utils, openssh-server, python3, rsync, pv, etc.)
2. Create the ~/vm_disks working directory
3. Register vm-weaver in /usr/local/bin so you can call it from anywhere

Manual install (no git)

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SamNdirangu/vm-weaver/main/scripts/vm_weaver.sh
chmod +x vm_weaver.sh
sudo ./vm_weaver.sh --install

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Usage

Interactive menu

vm-weaver

Launches a full interactive terminal menu with all options.

Command-line flags

vm-weaver [option]

  --install,  -i    First-time setup: install deps & register globally
  --check,    -c    Check qemu-img version and supported formats
  --serve,    -s    Start HTTP download server immediately
  --write,    -w    Write a disk image to a physical disk
  --convert,  -C    Convert a disk image (interactive)
  --help,     -h    Show help

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Workflow examples

Convert a VMDK to QCOW2 for KVM

vm-weaver --convert
# Follow prompts: select source → select qcow2 → optionally enable compression

Convert to RAW and save space

When converting to RAW, VM Weaver offers three options:

Option	Description
Full raw	Exact byte-for-byte copy. Maximum compatibility.
Sparse (thin)	Skips empty/zero blocks. Same logical size, smaller on disk.
Trim to used data	Truncates the file to the last used byte. Smallest possible output.

RAW images without any trimming can be as large as the virtual disk size (e.g. a 100 GB VM = 100 GB RAW file). Using sparse or trim can reduce this dramatically for VMs that aren't fully utilized.

Write an image directly to a physical disk

vm-weaver --write

Or from within the menu (option 4), or automatically after a conversion.

VM Weaver will:

1. List all available physical disks with sizes and model names
2. Flag your system/boot disk with a [SYSTEM DISK!] warning
3. Require you to type YES to confirm before writing
4. Unmount any mounted partitions on the target disk
5. Write the image using dd with a live progress bar (pv if installed)
6. Run sync to flush all writes

This replaces the manual workflow of:

# Old way — manual
qemu-img convert -O raw input.vmdk output.raw
sudo dd if=output.raw of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

The resulting disk can be detached from the host and attached to another VM as a data disk, or used for bare-metal boots.

Serve converted images for download

vm-weaver --serve
# Outputs direct HTTP download links for all converted files

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Configuration

VM Weaver uses environment variables for configuration — no config file needed:

Variable	Default	Description
VM_DISK_DIR	~/vm_disks	Root directory for disk images
HTTP_PORT	8080	Port used by the HTTP download server

Example — use a custom directory and port:

VM_DISK_DIR=/mnt/storage/vms HTTP_PORT=9000 vm-weaver

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Supported formats

Format	Extension	Notes
QEMU Copy-On-Write v2	.qcow2	Native KVM/QEMU format, supports snapshots and compression
VMware	.vmdk	VMware Workstation / ESXi
Virtual Hard Disk	.vhd	Hyper-V, Azure
VirtualBox	.vdi	VirtualBox native
Raw	.raw / .img	Bare-metal compatible, works with dd and direct disk writes
QEMU Enhanced Disk	.qed	Lightweight QEMU format

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License

GNU General Public License v3.0