vboxmanage-showvminfo

Show information about a particular virtual machine

$ VBoxManage showvminfo [vm_name|uuid]

$ VBoxManage showvminfo --details [vm_name|uuid]

$ VBoxManage showvminfo --machinereadable [vm_name|uuid]

$ VBoxManage showvminfo --password-id [password_id] [vm_name|uuid]

$ VBoxManage showvminfo --password [path/to/password_file] [vm_name|uuid]

$ VBoxManage showvminfo --log [vm_name|uuid]

vboxmanage showvminfo <uuid|name> [--machinereadable]

uuid|name
    Specifies the virtual machine by its unique identifier (UUID) or its registered name. This is a mandatory argument.

--machinereadable
    Outputs the VM information in a key-value pair format (e.g., name="myVM"), which is ideal for scripting and automated parsing. Without this option, the output is formatted for human readability.

The vboxmanage showvminfo command is a crucial utility within the Oracle VM VirtualBox ecosystem, designed to retrieve and display extensive configuration and runtime details about a specific virtual machine. It provides a comprehensive overview, including the VM's current state (e.g., running, powered off, saved), its hardware settings (e.g., RAM, CPU count, network adapters, storage controllers), connected media, snapshot tree, guest additions status, and more. This command is invaluable for administrators and users needing to inspect VM configurations, troubleshoot issues, or programmatically extract information for scripting and automation tasks. By default, it outputs human-readable information, but it can also generate machine-readable output suitable for parsing by scripts.

The output of showvminfo can be very extensive, especially for complex VM configurations or those with many snapshots.
Ensure the VirtualBox environment is properly set up and the VBoxManage command is in your system's PATH.
If the VM name contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double quotes (e.g., "My VM Name").

The output of showvminfo includes a vast array of details, such as:
General information: Name, UUID, OS type, state.
Hardware details: RAM, VRAM, CPU count, chipset, features (VT-x/AMD-V), I/O APIC, HPET.
Storage controllers and attached disks.
Network adapters: Type, MAC address, attachment mode (NAT, Bridged, Host-only).
USB controllers and devices.
Shared folders.
Snapshot tree.
Guest Additions status.
Clipboard mode, drag and drop mode.

To show detailed info for a VM named 'UbuntuDev':

vboxmanage showvminfo "UbuntuDev"

To get machine-readable info for a VM with a specific UUID:

vboxmanage showvminfo 01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef --machinereadable

The VBoxManage command-line interface, including showvminfo, has been a core component of Oracle VM VirtualBox since its early versions. It provides a robust, cross-platform way to interact with VirtualBox, paralleling the functionality of the graphical user interface. Over time, the command has evolved to include more detailed information and options, reflecting the growing complexity and feature set of VirtualBox itself, but its fundamental purpose of displaying VM details has remained consistent.

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