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title: Resize an existing virtual disk
description:
published: true
date: 2026-05-08T09:03:28.700Z
date: 2026-05-08T09:34:59.946Z
tags:
editor: markdown
dateCreated: 2021-11-13T11:41:29.087Z
---
# Resize a disk
# Resize a virtual disk
## Background
A virtual machine's disk may have to be resized, typically due to lack of space. This page explains how to do so.
## Usage for Linux guests
> In-place expansion is not supported. A new disk of the desired size has to be created.
## Preparation
### Shut down virtual machine
> Please ensure that the virtual machine using the virtual disk to be resized is turned off
{.is-warning}
Let's assume that you wish to increase the size of the virtual machine called *guest*.
- List virtual machines running on your host
```
# virsh list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
1 guest running
```
- Shutdown the *guest* virtual machine
```
# virsh shutdown guest
```
- Ensure that the virtual machine is fully shut off
```
# virsh list --all
Id Name State
----------------------------------------------------
1 guest shut off
```
It is now safe to proceed to the next step
### Backup existing disk
It is advisable to make a backup first.
- Navigate to the correct directory
```
# cd /var/lib/libvirt/images
```
- Make a copy of the virtual disk image
```
# cp guest.img backup_guest.img
```
## Linux guests
> In-place expansion is not supported. A new disk of the desired size has to be created, and then swap with the former disk.
{.is-info}
* Navigate to the location that contains the existing image
- Navigate to the location that contains the existing image
```
cd /var/lib/libvirt/images
# cd /var/lib/libvirt/images
```
* Create a new blank disk image of the desired size
Use the following command to create a disk of 20 GB called `guest_20G.img`.
- Create a new blank 20 GB disk called `guest_20G.img`
```
qemu-img create -f raw guest_20G.img 20G
# qemu-img create -f raw guest_20G.img 20G
```
* Identify the filesystem layout of the existing disk `guest.img`
- Identify the filesystem layout of the existing disk `guest.img`, which is ext4-based
```
# virt-filesystems -a -l -h guest.img
# virt-filesystems -a guest.img -l -h
Name Type VFS Label Size Parent
/dev/vda1 filesystem vfat EFI 133935104 -
/dev/vda2 filesystem ext4 boot 366869504 -
/dev/vda3 filesystem ext4 root 9933475840 -
/dev/vda1 filesystem vfat EFI 1.3G -
/dev/vda2 filesystem ext4 boot 3.6G -
/dev/vda3 filesystem ext4 root 10G -
```
One can tell that the root partition is located under `/dev/vda3`. This is the one that will need to be expanded.
- Another output for a btrfs-based filesystem
* Copy the formet old data to the new disk and expand the root partition of the said disk
```
# virt-filesystems -a bazzite-desktop.img -l -h
Name Type VFS Label Size Parent
/dev/sda1 filesystem vfat - 599M -
/dev/sda2 filesystem ext4 bazzite_xboot 1.9G -
/dev/sda3 filesystem btrfs bazzite 37G -
btrfsvol:/dev/sda3/root filesystem btrfs bazzite - -
btrfsvol:/dev/sda3/home filesystem btrfs bazzite - -
btrfsvol:/dev/sda3/var filesystem btrfs bazzite - -
```
Thanks to the label on the ext4-based based image, one can tell that the root partition is `/dev/vda3`. This is the one that will need to be expanded. For the btrfs example, the root partition `/dev/sda3`as shown by `btrfsvol:/dev/sda3/root`
* Copy the former old data to the new disk and expand the root partition of the said disk
> This command is capable of expanding different kinds of filesystems, including `ext4` and `btrfs`
{.is-info}
The command takes the new empty disk as last argument.
> Data could be erased if you mix argument!
{.is-warning}
```
# virt-resize --expand /dev/vda3 guest.img guest_20G.img
```
* Review the changes
* Review changes
```
[ 0.0] Examining guest_20G.img