Table of Contents
When running VBoxManage without parameters or when supplying an
invalid command line, the below syntax diagram will be shown. Note that the
output will be slightly different depending on the host platform; when in
doubt, check the output of VBoxManage for
the commands available on your particular host.
Usage:
VBoxManage [-v|-version] print version number and exit
VBoxManage -nologo ... suppress the logo
VBoxManage -convertSettings ... allow to auto-convert settings files
VBoxManage -convertSettingsBackup ... allow to auto-convert settings files
but create backup copies before
VBoxManage -convertSettingsIgnore ... allow to auto-convert settings files
but don't explicitly save the results
VBoxManage list vms|runningvms|ostypes|hostdvds|hostfloppies|
hostifs|hostinfo|hdds|dvds|floppies|
usbhost|usbfilters|systemproperties
VBoxManage showvminfo <uuid>|<name>
[-details]
[-statistics]
[-machinereadable]
VBoxManage registervm <filename>
VBoxManage unregistervm <uuid>|<name>
[-delete]
VBoxManage createvm -name <name>
[-register]
[-basefolder <path> | -settingsfile <path>]
[-uuid <uuid>]
VBoxManage modifyvm <uuid|name>
[-name <name>]
[-ostype <ostype>]
[-memory <memorysize>]
[-vram <vramsize>]
[-acpi on|off]
[-ioapic on|off]
[-pae on|off]
[-hwvirtex on|off|default]
[-nestedpaging on|off]
[-monitorcount <number>]
[-bioslogofadein on|off]
[-bioslogofadeout on|off]
[-bioslogodisplaytime <msec>]
[-bioslogoimagepath <imagepath>]
[-biosbootmenu disabled|menuonly|messageandmenu]
[-biossystemtimeoffset <msec>]
[-biospxedebug on|off]
[-boot<1-4> none|floppy|dvd|disk|net>]
[-hd<a|b|d> none|<uuid>|<filename>]
[-idecontroller PIIX3|PIIX4]
[-dvd none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive>]
[-dvdpassthrough on|off]
[-floppy disabled|empty|<uuid>|
<filename>|host:<drive>]
[-nic<1-N> none|null|nat|hostif|intnet]
[-nictype<1-N> Am79C970A|Am79C973]
[-cableconnected<1-N> on|off]
[-nictrace<1-N> on|off]
[-nictracefile<1-N> <filename>]
[-nicspeed<1-N> <kbps>]
[-hostifdev<1-N> none|<devicename>]
[-intnet<1-N> <network name>]
[-natnet<1-N> <network>|default]
[-macaddress<1-N> auto|<mac>]
[-uart<1-N> off|<I/O base> <IRQ>]
[-uartmode<1-N> disconnected|
server <pipe>|
client <pipe>|
<devicename>]
[-gueststatisticsinterval <seconds>]
[-tapsetup<1-N> none|<application>]
[-tapterminate<1-N> none|<application>]
[-audio none|null|dsound|solaudio|oss|coreaudio]
[-audiocontroller ac97|sb16]
[-clipboard disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|
bidirectional]
[-vrdp on|off]
[-vrdpport default|<port>]
[-vrdpaddress <host>]
[-vrdpauthtype null|external|guest]
[-vrdpmulticon on|off]
[-vrdpreusecon on|off]
[-usb on|off]
[-usbehci on|off]
[-snapshotfolder default|<path>]
VBoxManage startvm <uuid>|<name>
[-type gui|vrdp]
VBoxManage controlvm <uuid>|<name>
pause|resume|reset|poweroff|savestate|
acpipowerbutton|acpisleepbutton|
keyboardputscancode <hex> [<hex> ...]|
setlinkstate<1-4> on|off |
usbattach <uuid>|<address> |
usbdetach <uuid>|<address> |
dvdattach none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive> |
floppyattach none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive> |
setvideomodehint <xres> <yres> <bpp> [display]|
setcredentials <username> <password> <domain>
[-allowlocallogon <yes|no>]
VBoxManage discardstate <uuid>|<name>
VBoxManage adoptstate <uuid>|<name> <state_file>
VBoxManage snapshot <uuid>|<name>
take <name> [-desc <desc>] |
discard <uuid>|<name> |
discardcurrent -state|-all |
edit <uuid>|<name>|-current
[-newname <name>]
[-newdesc <desc>] |
showvminfo <uuid>|<name>
VBoxManage registerimage disk|dvd|floppy <filename>
[-type normal|immutable|writethrough] (disk only)
VBoxManage unregisterimage disk|dvd|floppy <uuid>|<filename>
VBoxManage showvdiinfo <uuid>|<filename>
VBoxManage createvdi -filename <filename>
-size <megabytes>
[-static]
[-comment <comment>]
[-register]
[-type normal|writethrough] (default: normal)
VBoxManage modifyvdi <uuid>|<filename>
compact
VBoxManage clonevdi <uuid>|<filename> <outputfile>
VBoxManage convertdd [-static] <filename> <outputfile>
VBoxManage convertdd [-static] stdin <outputfile> <bytes>
VBoxManage addiscsidisk -server <name>|<ip>
-target <target>
[-port <port>]
[-lun <lun>]
[-encodedlun <lun>]
[-username <username>]
[-password <password>]
[-comment <comment>]
VBoxManage createhostif <name>
VBoxManage removehostif <uuid>|<name>
VBoxManage getextradata global|<uuid>|<name>
<key>|enumerate
VBoxManage setextradata global|<uuid>|<name>
<key>
[<value>] (no value deletes key)
VBoxManage setproperty vdifolder default|<folder> |
machinefolder default|<folder> |
vrdpauthlibrary default|<library> |
websrvauthlibrary default|null|<library> |
hwvirtexenabled yes|no
loghistorycount <value>
VBoxManage usbfilter add <index,0-N>
-target <uuid>|<name>|global
-name <string>
-action ignore|hold (global filters only)
[-active yes|no] (yes)
[-vendorid <XXXX>] (null)
[-productid <XXXX>] (null)
[-revision <IIFF>] (null)
[-manufacturer <string>] (null)
[-product <string>] (null)
[-remote yes|no] (null, VM filters only)
[-serialnumber <string>] (null)
[-maskedinterfaces <XXXXXXXX>]
VBoxManage usbfilter modify <index,0-N>
-target <uuid>|<name>|global
[-name <string>]
[-action ignore|hold] (global filters only)
[-active yes|no]
[-vendorid <XXXX>|""]
[-productid <XXXX>|""]
[-revision <IIFF>|""]
[-manufacturer <string>|""]
[-product <string>|""]
[-remote yes|no] (null, VM filters only)
[-serialnumber <string>|""]
[-maskedinterfaces <XXXXXXXX>]
VBoxManage usbfilter remove <index,0-N>
-target <uuid>|<name>|global
VBoxManage sharedfolder add <vmname>|<uuid>
-name <name> -hostpath <hostpath>
[-transient] [-readonly]
VBoxManage sharedfolder remove <vmname>|<uuid>
-name <name> [-transient]
VBoxManage vmstatistics <vmname>|<uuid> [-reset]
[-pattern <pattern>] [-descriptions]
VBoxManage metrics list [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]] (comma-separated)
VBoxManage metrics setup
[-period <seconds>]
[-samples <count>]
[*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]]
VBoxManage metrics query [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]]
VBoxManage metrics collect
[-period <seconds>]
[-samples <count>]
[-list]
[-detach]
[*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]]
Each time VBoxManage is invoked, only one command can be executed. However, a command might support several subcommands which then can be invoked in one single call. The following sections provide detailed reference information on the different commands.
The list command gives relevant
information about your system and information about VirtualBox's current
settings.
The following subcommands are available with
VBoxManage list:
vms,
hdds,
dvds and
floppies all give you information
about virtual machines and virtual disk images currently registered
in VirtualBox, including all their settings, the unique identifiers
(UUIDs) associated with them by VirtualBox and all files associated
with them.
ostypes lists all guest
operating systems presently known to VirtualBox, along with the
identifiers used to refer to them with the
modifyvm command.
hostdvds,
hostfloppies and
hostifs, respectively, list DVD,
floppy and host networking interfaces on the host, along with the
name used to access them from within VirtualBox.
hostusb supplies information
about USB devices attached to the host, notably information useful
for constructing USB filters and whether they are currently in use
by the host.
usbfilters lists all global
USB filters registered with VirtualBox -- that is, filters for
devices which are accessible to all virtual machines -- and displays
the filter parameters.
systemproperties displays
some global VirtualBox settings, such as minimum and maximum guest
RAM and virtual hard disk size, folder settings and the current
authentication library in use.