.qcow QEMU QCOW disk image
Other formats
| MIME type | application/x-qemu-disk |
|---|---|
| Description | QEMU QCOW disk image |
| Acronym | QCOW – QEMU Copy On Write |
| Category | Other formats |
| Signature (magic bytes) | 51 46 49 (QFI) |
| Other extensions | .qcow2 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a .qcow file?
A .qcow file is a “QEMU QCOW disk image” (MIME type application/x-qemu-disk). QCOW stands for QEMU Copy On Write.
How do I open a .qcow file?
With the program that created the file. On Linux, xdg-mime query default with the MIME type shows the default application, and xdg-open opens the file with it.
How can you tell a genuine .qcow file?
By the bytes at the start of the file, the signature (magic bytes): 51 46 49 (QFI). On Linux and macOS, file --mime-type example.qcow checks the real type regardless of the extension.
Which MIME type belongs to .qcow?
The MIME type is application/x-qemu-disk. In the Apache web server: AddType application/x-qemu-disk .qcow; in nginx: types { application/x-qemu-disk qcow; }.