diff --git a/lib/launch-unix.c b/lib/launch-unix.c
index 4794a7b13..993b83601 100644
--- a/lib/launch-unix.c
+++ b/lib/launch-unix.c
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@
 static int
 launch_unix (guestfs_h *g, void *datav, const char *sockpath)
 {
+  error (g,
+	 "launch: In RHEL, only the 'libvirt' or 'direct' method is supported.\n"
+	 "In particular, \"libguestfs live\" is not supported.");
+  return -1;
+
+#if 0
   int r, daemon_sock = -1;
   struct sockaddr_un addr;
   uint32_t size;
@@ -106,6 +112,7 @@ launch_unix (guestfs_h *g, void *datav, const char *sockpath)
     g->conn = NULL;
   }
   return -1;
+#endif
 }
 
 static int