Clonezilla creates disk images in various formats depending on the chosen options. The most common formats are:

• Partclone images (.ntfs-ptcl, .ext4-ptcl, etc.)
• Raw disk images (.img)
• Compressed archives (.gz, .bz2)

For partclone images, you'll need partclone utilities:

sudo apt-get install partclone
partclone.restore -s /path/to/image.ntfs-ptcl -o /dev/loop0 -r
sudo mount -o ro /dev/loop0 /mnt/clonezilla

For raw images, use standard loop mounting:

sudo losetup -fP /path/to/image.img
sudo mount /dev/loop0p1 /mnt/clonezilla

For gzipped images, use a combination of tools:

zcat image.ntfs-ptcl.gz | partclone.restore -o /dev/loop0 -r -O -
sudo mount /dev/loop0 /mnt/clonezilla

Clonezilla actually includes a hidden file browser mode:

sudo clonezilla -b -s /path/to/images -d /mnt/extract

Here's a Python script to automate extraction from mounted images:

import os
import shutil
import subprocess

def extract_from_clonezilla(image_path, target_file, output_dir):
    # Create temporary mount point
    temp_mount = "/tmp/clonezilla_mount"
    os.makedirs(temp_mount, exist_ok=True)
    
    try:
        # Mount the image
        subprocess.run(["sudo", "mount", "-o", "ro", image_path, temp_mount], check=True)
        
        # Find and copy the target file
        for root, dirs, files in os.walk(temp_mount):
            if target_file in files:
                src = os.path.join(root, target_file)
                shutil.copy2(src, output_dir)
                return True
                
    finally:
        # Clean up
        subprocess.run(["sudo", "umount", temp_mount], quiet=True)
        os.rmdir(temp_mount)
    
    return False

If your Clonezilla image is encrypted, you'll need to decrypt first:

sudo cryptsetup open --type luks /path/to/image.img clonezilla_decrypted
sudo mount /dev/mapper/clonezilla_decrypted /mnt/clonezilla

• Always mount images as read-only (-o ro) to prevent accidental modifications
• Clean up mount points after extraction to avoid system clutter
• For Windows images, you may need additional tools like ntfs-3g

Clonezilla creates disk images in specialized formats (like partclone or dd) that aren't directly browsable through conventional file managers. While perfect for full system recovery, this presents a hurdle when you need just one misconfigured Apache config file or that critical Python script from yesterday's backup.

The most flexible approach involves mounting the image as a virtual filesystem. Here's how to handle common Clonezilla formats:

# For partclone images (most common Clonezilla format)
sudo losetup -f --show sda1.ext4-ptcl-img
sudo partclone.restore -s /dev/loop0 -o /mnt/temp_mount -b

# For raw dd images
sudo mount -o loop,ro sda1.dd-img /mnt/temp_mount

Using partclone_restore Directly

For quick checks without mounting:

partclone.restore -s backup.img -L - | grep "important_file.conf"

Windows Users Solution

Try these tools for NTFS partitions:

# Using 7-Zip with plugin
7z l backup.img
# Or with OSFMount for GUI access

Here's a Python script to automate finding and extracting files:

import subprocess
import os

def extract_from_clonezilla(image_path, target_file, output_dir):
    temp_mount = "/mnt/temp_clonezilla"
    os.makedirs(temp_mount, exist_ok=True)
    
    try:
        subprocess.run(["sudo", "mount", "-o", "loop,ro", image_path, temp_mount], check=True)
        found_files = []
        for root, _, files in os.walk(temp_mount):
            if target_file in files:
                src = os.path.join(root, target_file)
                dst = os.path.join(output_dir, target_file)
                subprocess.run(["sudo", "cp", src, dst])
                found_files.append(dst)
        return found_files
    finally:
        subprocess.run(["sudo", "umount", temp_mount], check=True)

For LUKS-encrypted Clonezilla backups, first decrypt:

sudo cryptsetup luksOpen backup.img clonezilla_decrypted
sudo mount /dev/mapper/clonezilla_decrypted /mnt/temp_mount

When working with large images:

• Use ionice -c 3 for low-priority I/O
• Consider pv for progress monitoring
• For network storage, first copy locally