vboxmanage
VirtualBox command-line management interface
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
vboxmanage command [options]
DESCRIPTION
vboxmanage is the command-line interface for Oracle VirtualBox, providing complete control over virtual machine creation, configuration, and operation. It exposes every feature available in the graphical interface and many that are only accessible from the command line.The tool uses subcommands for different operations: createvm and modifyvm for setup, startvm and controlvm for runtime management, snapshot for state saving, and list for querying registered objects. Most configuration changes via modifyvm require the VM to be powered off. VMs can be identified by name or UUID.
PARAMETERS
list
List objects.startvm
Start VM.controlvm
Control running VM.createvm
Create VM.modifyvm
Modify settings.snapshot
Snapshot operations.showvminfo
Display VM configuration details.clonevm
Clone an existing VM.storagectl
Manage storage controllers.storageattach
Attach storage media to a VM.sharedfolder
Manage shared folders between host and guest.guestcontrol
Execute commands within guest OS.--type TYPE
Start type (gui, headless, separate).-q, --nologo
Suppress logo output for scripting.--machinereadable
Machine-parsable output format.
CAVEATS
VirtualBox must be installed. Most modifyvm changes require the VM to be powered off. Guest Additions must be installed for advanced features like shared folders and guest control.
