How to run a VirtualBox VM from command line?
I want to know how to start a VirtualBox Virtual Machine (VM) from the command line (using Windows 7) as well as shut it down with the operating system.
What is an easy way to achieve this?
Solution 1:
Here's the command I run from a shortcut I have on my desktop. This should work from a command line as well.
"C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" startvm <NameOfVMHere>
Of course, this is based on typical system defaults. Any given system might have moved the Program Files folder or installed VirtualBox to a custom location.
Solution 2:
vboxmanage is the way to go
vboxmanage startvm "winxppro Clone"
man vboxmanage or documentation can be found here
While (<vm> your vm name)
-
vboxmanage controlvm <vm> savestatesaves the current status -
vboxmanage controlvm <vm> resumeresumes the previous saved state -
vboxmanage controlvm <vm> poweroffplugs off your machine cable
Solution 3:
I will try to elaborate on @Philippe answer:
Try adding -- before the startvm
The command: vboxmanage startvm <machine_name> will start the server which name is "machine_name".
For example if you have a machine that called UbuntuServer then the command will look like so: vboxmanage --startvm UbuntuServer
Note vboxmanage should be in you path to run this command. Add if to your path if not (on my mac it was added with the installation of virtual box.
Solution 4:
In Windows 10, you can start a Ubuntu VM using:
C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe startvm Ubuntu
where Ubuntu is the name of the VirtualBox VM
To shut down the VM use:
C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe controlvm Ubuntu poweroff
You can also use other commands with controlvm such as pause, resume, reset, poweroff, savestate to achieve different actions.
Solution 5:
I started a VM in this way:
VirtualBox.exe --comment "Ubuntu 16" --startvm "96852e73-a304-4357-b7ef-440913601f3f"
It starts headless I think.. no gui shown.. Now I wish to see the GUI of that VM from the HOST... is it possible?