What is a .ova file?
Open Virtual Appliance · Disk image · DMTF (OVF standard) · 2009 (OVF 1.0)
An .ova file is a complete virtual machine packed as one archive: a tar file containing an .ovf descriptor, the virtual disks and a manifest. Import it into VirtualBox, VMware or another hypervisor and the VM appears ready to run.
What is a .ova file used for?
OVA is the single-file form of the DMTF's Open Virtualization Format: the .ovf XML file describes the hardware (CPU, memory, network), the .vmdk or .vhd files carry the disks, and tar binds them in a defined order. Appliance vendors ship products this way.
Portability has limits: hypervisors interpret OVF hardware differently, so imports sometimes need adjusted settings (network adapters are the classic one). VirtualBox and VMware both import and export OVA directly.
How to open a .ova file
The .ova format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .ova file.
Windows
- VirtualBox (import appliance)
- VMware Workstation
- 7-Zip (inspect as tar)
macOS
- VirtualBox
- VMware Fusion
- tar (inspect)
Linux
- VirtualBox
- virt-manager (after conversion)
- tar (inspect)
How to convert a .ova file
You can convert a .ova file to ovf (extract), vmdk/vhd (extract disks), qcow2 (via qemu-img) using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
.ova file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .ova file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for OVA. For a full breakdown, see the OVA file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 75 73 74 61 72 | 257 | tar archive (ustar) containing OVF + disks |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .ova file?
An .ova file is a complete virtual machine packed as one archive: a tar file containing an .ovf descriptor, the virtual disks and a manifest. Import it into VirtualBox, VMware or another hypervisor and the VM appears ready to run.
How do I open an .ova file?
Import it: File > Import Appliance in VirtualBox, or Open in VMware. To just look inside, extract it with tar or 7-Zip, since an OVA is a tar archive.
What is the difference between .ova and .ovf?
.ovf is the XML descriptor (usually alongside separate disk files); .ova is the whole set, descriptor plus disks plus manifest, packed into a single tar archive.
Why does my OVA import fail?
Commonly a hardware mismatch or a strict manifest check. Retry with the hypervisor's compatibility option, or extract the OVA and import the .ovf directly after adjusting it.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: