How to Extract Files from a VHD (Hyper-V) Disk Image on macOS
VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) is Microsoft's virtual disk format, used by Hyper-V, Azure, and Windows Virtual PC. If you've received a VHD file or need to extract data from a Windows virtual machine on your Mac, you'll need specialized tools.
The default way to open VHD files on macOS
Tool: 7zz via Homebrew (third-party)
$ 7zz x disk.vhdSteps
- Install 7-Zip via Homebrew: brew install 7zip
- Run: 7zz x disk.vhd
Extract individual files from a VHD archive
The default macOS tools extract everything — there's no way to pick individual files. MacPacker lets you browse VHD archive contents, preview files, and extract only what you need — without unpacking the entire archive.
A better way: open VHD files with MacPacker
MacPacker is a free, open-source macOS archive manager that supports VHD and 30+ other formats. Unlike the default tools, MacPacker lets you:
- Browse archive contents like a folder
- Preview files with Quick Look without extracting
- Extract individual files via drag and drop
- Navigate nested archives (archives within archives)
- Enjoy a native SwiftUI interface that feels right at home on macOS
Get MacPacker
v0.15.1 · macOS 14+$ brew install --cask macpackerApp Store updates may lag a few days behind direct downloads due to Apple review.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open a VHD file on Mac?
macOS cannot open VHD files natively. Use MacPacker to browse the virtual disk's filesystem and extract files. Alternatively: brew install 7zip && 7zz x disk.vhd
Related formats
VHDX is the newer version of Microsoft's VHD format with support for larger disks and improved resilience.
VMDK is VMware's virtual disk format. Contains the filesystem of a virtual machine.
VDI is VirtualBox's native virtual disk format. Contains the filesystem of a VirtualBox virtual machine.
QCOW2 is QEMU's disk image format with copy-on-write support, snapshots, and compression. Used in KVM/QEMU virtualization.