---
id: dissect-volume
version: "3.18"
license: AGPL-3.0-or-later
license_treatment: agpl
maintenance: active
---

# dissect.volume — A Dissect module implementing a parser for different disk volume and partition systems, for example LVM2, GPT and MBR

License: agpl · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 92.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

dissect.volume is a parser library for disk volume and partition systems, part of the Dissect framework. It reads and interprets the metadata structures of common partitioning schemes—LVM2, GPT, and MBR—to expose partition information programmatically. The package is built on top of dissect.cstruct and dissect.util, providing low-level binary parsing of partition tables and volume metadata.

Typically used in digital forensics, disk analysis, and system administration workflows where you need to programmatically understand disk layout without relying on OS-level tools. It requires Python 3.10 or later and installs with minimal dependencies, making it suitable for integration into analysis pipelines or forensic tooling.

Use it for:

- Forensic analysis: parse disk images to extract partition structure and identify volumes.
- Disk imaging tools: integrate partition parsing into backup or cloning utilities.
- System administration: programmatically enumerate and analyze partition schemes.
- Malware analysis: examine disk artifacts in isolated environments.
- Data recovery: reconstruct partition information from damaged disk headers.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Parses disk volume and partition systems including LVM2, GPT, and MBR to extract partition metadata and structure.

Yes, if you need to parse disk partitions programmatically in a forensics or system analysis context. The low install friction, active maintenance, and production-stable status make it reliable. However, the AGPL-3.0-or-later license requires careful review if you plan to use it in proprietary software.

## Install

pip install dissect-volume
uv add dissect-volume
poetry add dissect-volume

## Installing dissect.volume

Before you install: Low friction install with only two runtime dependencies (dissect.cstruct, dissect.util). Actively maintained with recent commits and production-stable status.

License in practice: Released under AGPL-3.0-or-later; use in proprietary software requires careful licensing review or source code disclosure obligations.

Quickstart:

pip install dissect.volume

import dissect.volume
# Parse partition metadata from a volume object

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package supports parsing additional volume systems beyond LVM2, GPT, and MBR.
- Performance characteristics when parsing very large or complex partition tables.
- Whether dissect.volume is typically used standalone or primarily as part of the larger dissect framework.

## Package facts

- License: AGPL-3.0-or-later (agpl)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 92.0K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

disk partition parser, volume system analysis, LVM2 GPT MBR parser, partition table reader, volume metadata extraction, disk structure analysis, partition forensics, forensics, disk-analysis, binary-parsing

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