Should you need to access container’s content directly, upload files to or download files from a container on AHV there is a simple guide with few things to remember:

Do not delete any data from the container via WinSCP or any similar tool. Appropriate Prism or CVM command line workflows should be leveraged for doing the cleanup if needed. Deleting VM disk files directly from Nutanix container may affect Acropolis service, which can result in inability to manage user VMs.

How to upload VM disk files from your workstation to Nutanix container

1. Using WinSCP, connect to a CVM using SFTP protocol and port 2222 using Prism element credentials.
2. Enable the option to show hidden files by going to Options > Preferences > Panels and then selecting the “Show hidden files”  option under the common settings.
3. Select desired Nutanix container and upload file.

How to download VM disk files from Nutanix container to your workstation

1. Power off user VM, which disks will be exported, to avoid data corruption.
2. Using WinSCP, connect to a CVM using SFTP protocol and port 2222 using Prism element credentials.
3. Enable the option to show hidden files by going to Options > Preferences > Panels and then selecting the “Show hidden files”  option under the common settings.
4. Navigate to the path that was found in Step 1. You can download required files from Nutanix container to your local PC now.

For further details as well as some caveats please refer to KB-3577