4 Ways to Extract and Copy Files from an ISO Image in Linux

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04, Debian 13, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 and 10, RHEL 9 and 10

An ISO image is a copy of a CD, DVD or installer. To get files out of it, for example a driver, a kickstart file or packages from an installation DVD, you can mount it or unpack it. We tested all four methods below on AlmaLinux 9 with the same test image.

Method 1: mount it (read-only, no extra software)

mkdir -p /mnt/iso
mount -o loop,ro image.iso /mnt/iso
ls /mnt/iso
cp -r /mnt/iso/folder /root/
umount /mnt/iso

The ISO appears as a read-only folder. This needs root and works on every distribution.

Method 2: 7-Zip (no root needed)

apt install 7zip                                     # Ubuntu, Debian
dnf install epel-release && dnf install 7zip          # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux
7z x image.iso -o/root/iso-files                      # extract everything
7z x image.iso -o/root/iso-files path/in/iso/file.txt  # one file
7z l image.iso                                        # list contents

Note that there is no space between -o and the folder.

Method 3: bsdtar

apt install libarchive-tools     # Ubuntu, Debian (provides bsdtar)
dnf install bsdtar               # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, RHEL
mkdir -p /root/iso-files
bsdtar -xf image.iso -C /root/iso-files

bsdtar reads ISO images like a tar archive, so -t lists the contents and you can name single files to extract.

Method 4: xorriso

xorriso -osirrox on -indev image.iso -extract / /root/iso-files

xorriso is the tool used to build ISO images, and it also extracts them, including Rock Ridge file names and permissions. Install it with apt install xorriso or dnf install xorriso.

Tips

• Files copied from a mounted ISO are often read-only. Make them writable with chmod -R u+w /root/iso-files.
• To check that an ISO is not damaged, compare its checksum with the one the publisher lists: sha256sum image.iso.

Official documentation: mount manual page and GNU xorriso.