virtualbox

virtualbox [OPTIONS] [<vmname> | --startvm <vmname> | --startheadlessvm <vmname>]

--startvm
    Starts the specified virtual machine in a regular GUI window. If the VM is already running, it brings the window to the foreground.

--startheadlessvm
    Starts the specified virtual machine in headless mode. The VM runs in the background without a graphical interface, suitable for server environments or remote access.

--seamless
    Starts the GUI in seamless mode, where guest windows appear directly on the host desktop.

--fullscreen
    Starts the GUI in full-screen mode, where the guest display takes over the entire host screen.

--minimize
    Starts the GUI minimized to the taskbar/dock.

--debug
    Enables debug logging for the VirtualBox process.


    When provided without `--startvm` or `--startheadlessvm`, it attempts to start the specified VM in the default (GUI) mode.

The `virtualbox` command launches the Oracle VM VirtualBox application, a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise and home use. It allows users to create and run "guest" operating systems (such as Windows, Linux, Solaris, or macOS) inside "host" operating systems. The `virtualbox` command primarily invokes the graphical user interface (GUI), providing a user-friendly way to manage virtual machines, configure their settings (like CPU, RAM, storage, network adapters), and interact with running guests. While the GUI is excellent for interactive use, the underlying VirtualBox engine is highly configurable and extensible, supporting features like snapshots, cloning, shared folders, and remote display. For more advanced command-line operations and automation, the `VBoxManage` utility is typically employed.

The `virtualbox` command itself is primarily designed to launch the graphical user interface (GUI) for VirtualBox. While it offers some basic options to start VMs, it lacks the extensive command-line functionality for managing, configuring, or scripting VirtualBox operations. For advanced command-line control, including VM creation, modification, snapshots, network settings, and other administrative tasks, the separate `VBoxManage` utility is the dedicated tool and should be used instead.

For all serious command-line management, scripting, and automation of VirtualBox, the `VBoxManage` command is indispensable. It provides a comprehensive set of subcommands for creating, modifying, cloning, snapshotting, and controlling virtual machines, as well as managing network settings, storage, and other VirtualBox properties.

VirtualBox Guest Additions are a set of device drivers and system applications that are installed inside a virtual machine to improve performance and usability. They enable features like seamless mouse pointer integration, shared folders between host and guest, better video resolution support, and time synchronization.

Virtual machines can be started in "headless" mode using the `--startheadlessvm` option. In this mode, the VM runs without a graphical window, consuming fewer host resources and making it ideal for server workloads or when the VM is accessed remotely via technologies like RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) or SSH.

VirtualBox was originally developed by Innotek GmbH, a German software company, and first released in 2007. Sun Microsystems acquired Innotek in 2008, bringing VirtualBox under its umbrella. Following Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010, VirtualBox became part of Oracle's product portfolio. Throughout its history, VirtualBox has maintained both a proprietary Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL) version and an open-source version (VirtualBox OSE, now simply "VirtualBox" under GPLv3) providing a robust, free, and cross-platform virtualization solution. Its development has focused on ease of use, broad host/guest OS support, and feature richness.

VBoxManage(1), qemu-system-x86_64(1), virsh(1), kvm(1)