diff --git a/include/libvirt/libvirt.h.in b/include/libvirt/libvirt.h.in
index 4292736f8a..157bef2045 100644
--- a/include/libvirt/libvirt.h.in
+++ b/include/libvirt/libvirt.h.in
@@ -2581,6 +2581,8 @@ typedef enum {
                                                           remembering it */
     VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_HALT        = (1 << 3), /* Stop running guest
                                                           after snapshot */
+    VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_DISK_ONLY   = (1 << 4), /* disk snapshot, not
+                                                          system checkpoint */
 } virDomainSnapshotCreateFlags;
 
 /* Take a snapshot of the current VM state */
diff --git a/src/esx/esx_driver.c b/src/esx/esx_driver.c
index 18edc454fd..f1102eac32 100644
--- a/src/esx/esx_driver.c
+++ b/src/esx/esx_driver.c
@@ -4226,6 +4226,12 @@ esxDomainSnapshotCreateXML(virDomainPtr domain, const char *xmlDesc,
         return NULL;
     }
 
+    if (def->ndisks) {
+        ESX_ERROR(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED, "%s",
+                  _("disk snapshots not supported yet"));
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
     if (esxVI_LookupVirtualMachineByUuidAndPrepareForTask
           (priv->primary, domain->uuid, NULL, &virtualMachine,
            priv->parsedUri->autoAnswer) < 0 ||
diff --git a/src/libvirt.c b/src/libvirt.c
index b29779ef7d..89d1539e7e 100644
--- a/src/libvirt.c
+++ b/src/libvirt.c
@@ -15643,6 +15643,12 @@ error:
  * running after the snapshot.  This flag is invalid on transient domains,
  * and is incompatible with VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_REDEFINE.
  *
+ * If @flags includes VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_DISK_ONLY, then the
+ * snapshot will be limited to the disks described in @xmlDesc, and no
+ * VM state will be saved.  For an active guest, the disk image may be
+ * inconsistent (as if power had been pulled), and specifying this
+ * with the VIR_DOMAIN_SNAPSHOT_CREATE_HALT flag risks data loss.
+ *
  * Returns an (opaque) virDomainSnapshotPtr on success, NULL on failure.
  */
 virDomainSnapshotPtr
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index d1c8659fcb..3a68862f5d 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -8899,6 +8899,12 @@ qemuDomainSnapshotCreateXML(virDomainPtr domain,
     if (!qemuDomainSnapshotIsAllowed(vm))
         goto cleanup;
 
+    if (def->ndisks) {
+        qemuReportError(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED, "%s",
+                        _("disk snapshots not supported yet"));
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
     if (!(snap = virDomainSnapshotAssignDef(&vm->snapshots, def)))
         goto cleanup;
     def = NULL;
diff --git a/src/vbox/vbox_tmpl.c b/src/vbox/vbox_tmpl.c
index cbe34e8f5e..0e4364f67e 100644
--- a/src/vbox/vbox_tmpl.c
+++ b/src/vbox/vbox_tmpl.c
@@ -5661,6 +5661,12 @@ vboxDomainSnapshotCreateXML(virDomainPtr dom,
     if (!(def = virDomainSnapshotDefParseString(xmlDesc, NULL, 0, 0)))
         goto cleanup;
 
+    if (def->ndisks) {
+        vboxError(VIR_ERR_CONFIG_UNSUPPORTED, "%s",
+                  _("disk snapshots not supported yet"));
+        goto cleanup;
+    }
+
     vboxIIDFromUUID(&domiid, dom->uuid);
     rc = VBOX_OBJECT_GET_MACHINE(domiid.value, &machine);
     if (NS_FAILED(rc)) {