The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Specification describes an open format for the packaging and distribution of software to be run in virtual machines.

OVF introduces the OVF file format for software packages containing the OVF descriptor, OVF manifest, certificate, disk images and possibly other resource files. The OVF specification prescribes the syntax of the OVF descriptor, envelope, virtual hardware description, metadata, internationalization bundles, and the contents of the application’s runtime environment.