user_VBoxManage.xml@ 62560

Last change on this file since 62560 was 62378, checked in by vboxsync, 9 years ago
bugref:6417 further checkins - VboxManage controlvm..
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1	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2	<!--
3	user_VBoxManage.xml:
4	VBoxManage documentation for the user manual.
5
6	This XML document is also be used for generating the help text
7	built into VBoxManage as well as manpages (hacking in progress).
8
9	Copyright (C) 2006-2015 Oracle Corporation
10
11	This file is part of VirtualBox Open Source Edition (OSE), as
12	available from http://www.virtualbox.org. This file is free software;
13	you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
14	General Public License (GPL) as published by the Free Software
15	Foundation, in version 2 as it comes in the "COPYING" file of the
16	VirtualBox OSE distribution. VirtualBox OSE is distributed in the
17	hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY of any kind.
18	-->
19	<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
20	"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
21	<chapter id="vboxmanage">
22	<title>VBoxManage</title>
23
24	<sect1>
25	<title>Introduction</title>
26
27	<para>As briefly mentioned in <xref linkend="frontends" />, VBoxManage is
28	the command-line interface to VirtualBox. With it, you can completely
29	control VirtualBox from the command line of your host operating system.
30	VBoxManage supports all the features that the graphical user interface
31	gives you access to, but it supports a lot more than that. It exposes
32	really all the features of the virtualization engine, even those that
33	cannot (yet) be accessed from the GUI.</para>
34
35	<para>You will need to use the command line if you want to</para>
36
37	<para><itemizedlist>
38	<listitem>
39	<para>use a different user interface than the main GUI (for example,
40	VBoxSDL or the VBoxHeadless server);</para>
41	</listitem>
42
43	<listitem>
44	<para>control some of the more advanced and experimental
45	configuration settings for a VM.</para>
46	</listitem>
47	</itemizedlist></para>
48
49	<para>There are two main things to keep in mind when using
50	<computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput>: First,
51	<computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> must always be used with a
52	specific "subcommand", such as "list" or "createvm" or "startvm". All the
53	subcommands that <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> supports are
54	described in detail in <xref linkend="vboxmanage" />.</para>
55
56	<para>Second, most of these subcommands require that you specify a
57	particular virtual machine after the subcommand. There are two ways you
58	can do this:</para>
59
60	<itemizedlist>
61	<listitem>
62	<para>You can specify the VM name, as it is shown in the VirtualBox
63	GUI. Note that if that name contains spaces, then you must enclose the
64	entire name in double quotes (as it is always required with command
65	line arguments that contain spaces).</para>
66
67	<para>For example:<screen>VBoxManage startvm "Windows XP"</screen></para>
68	</listitem>
69
70	<listitem>
71	<para>You can specify the UUID, which is the internal unique
72	identifier that VirtualBox uses to refer to the virtual machine.
73	Assuming that the aforementioned VM called "Windows XP" has the UUID
74	shown below, the following command has the same effect as the
75	previous:<screen>VBoxManage startvm 670e746d-abea-4ba6-ad02-2a3b043810a5</screen></para>
76	</listitem>
77	</itemizedlist>
78
79	<para>You can type <computeroutput>VBoxManage list vms</computeroutput> to
80	have all currently registered VMs listed with all their settings,
81	including their respective names and UUIDs.</para>
82
83	<para>Some typical examples of how to control VirtualBox from the command
84	line are listed below:</para>
85
86	<itemizedlist>
87	<listitem>
88	<para>To create a new virtual machine from the command line and
89	immediately register it with VirtualBox, use
90	<computeroutput>VBoxManage createvm</computeroutput> with the
91	<computeroutput>--register</computeroutput> option,<footnote>
92	<para>For details, see <xref
93	linkend="vboxmanage-createvm" />.</para>
94	</footnote> like this:</para>
95
96	<screen>$ VBoxManage createvm --name "SUSE 10.2" --register
97	VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version @VBOX_VERSION_MAJOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_MINOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_BUILD@
98	(C) 2005-@VBOX_C_YEAR@ @VBOX_VENDOR@
99	All rights reserved.
100
101	Virtual machine 'SUSE 10.2' is created.
102	UUID: c89fc351-8ec6-4f02-a048-57f4d25288e5
103	Settings file: '/home/username/.config/VirtualBox/Machines/SUSE 10.2/SUSE 10.2.xml'</screen>
104
105	<para>As can be seen from the above output, a new virtual machine has
106	been created with a new UUID and a new XML settings file.</para>
107	</listitem>
108
109	<listitem>
110	<para>To show the configuration of a particular VM, use
111	<computeroutput>VBoxManage showvminfo</computeroutput>; see <xref
112	linkend="vboxmanage-showvminfo" /> for details and an example.</para>
113	</listitem>
114
115	<listitem>
116	<para>To change settings while a VM is powered off, use
117	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>, e.g. as
118	follows:<screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "Windows XP" --memory 512</screen></para>
119
120	<para>For details, see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm" />.</para>
121	</listitem>
122
123	<listitem>
124	<para>To change the storage configuration (e.g. to add a storage
125	controller and then a virtual disk), use <computeroutput>VBoxManage
126	storagectl</computeroutput> and <computeroutput>VBoxManage
127	storageattach</computeroutput>; see <xref
128	linkend="vboxmanage-storagectl" /> and <xref
129	linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" /> for details.</para>
130	</listitem>
131
132	<listitem>
133	<para>To control VM operation, use one of the following:<itemizedlist>
134	<listitem>
135	<para>To start a VM that is currently powered off, use
136	<computeroutput>VBoxManage startvm</computeroutput>; see <xref
137	linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" /> for details.</para>
138	</listitem>
139
140	<listitem>
141	<para>To pause or save a VM that is currently running or change
142	some of its settings, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage
143	controlvm</computeroutput>; see <xref
144	linkend="vboxmanage-controlvm" /> for details.</para>
145	</listitem>
146	</itemizedlist></para>
147	</listitem>
148	</itemizedlist>
149	</sect1>
150
151	<sect1>
152	<title>Commands overview</title>
153
154	<para>When running VBoxManage without parameters or when supplying an
155	invalid command line, the below syntax diagram will be shown. Note that
156	the output will be slightly different depending on the host platform; when
157	in doubt, check the output of <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput>
158	for the commands available on your particular host.</para>
159
160	<xi:include href="../user_VBoxManage_CommandsOverview.xml" xpointer="xpointer(/sect1/*)"
161	xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />
162
163	<para>Each time VBoxManage is invoked, only one command can be executed.
164	However, a command might support several subcommands which then can be
165	invoked in one single call. The following sections provide detailed
166	reference information on the different commands.</para>
167	</sect1>
168
169	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-general">
170	<title>General options</title>
171	<para>
172	<itemizedlist>
173	<listitem>
174	<para><computeroutput>--version</computeroutput>: show the version of
175	this tool and exit.</para>
176	</listitem>
177	<listitem>
178	<para><computeroutput>--nologo</computeroutput>: suppress the output
179	of the logo information (useful for scripts)</para>
180	</listitem>
181	<listitem>
182	<para><computeroutput>--settingspw</computeroutput>: specifiy a settings
183	password</para>
184	</listitem>
185	<listitem>
186	<para><computeroutput>--settingspwfile</computeroutput>: specify a file
187	containing the settings password.</para>
188	</listitem>
189	</itemizedlist>
190	The settings password is used for certain settings which need to be
191	stored encrypted for security reasons. At the moment, the only encrypted
192	setting is the iSCSI initiator secret (see
193	<xref linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" /> for details). As long as no
194	settings password is specified, this information is stored in
195	<emphasis role="bold">plain text</emphasis>. After using the
196	<computeroutput>--settingspw\|--settingspwfile</computeroutput> option
197	once, it must be always used, otherwise the encrypted setting cannot
198	be unencrypted.
199	</para>
200	</sect1>
201
202	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-list">
203	<title>VBoxManage list</title>
204
205	<para>The <computeroutput>list</computeroutput> command gives relevant
206	information about your system and information about VirtualBox's current
207	settings.</para>
208
209	<para>The following subcommands are available with
210	<computeroutput>VBoxManage list</computeroutput>: <itemizedlist>
211	<listitem>
212	<para><computeroutput>vms</computeroutput> lists all virtual
213	machines currently registered with VirtualBox. By default this
214	displays a compact list with each VM's name and UUID; if you also
215	specify <computeroutput>--long</computeroutput> or
216	<computeroutput>-l</computeroutput>, this will be a detailed list as
217	with the <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput> command (see
218	below).</para>
219	</listitem>
220
221	<listitem>
222	<para><computeroutput>runningvms</computeroutput> lists all
223	currently running virtual machines by their unique identifiers
224	(UUIDs) in the same format as with
225	<computeroutput>vms</computeroutput>.</para>
226	</listitem>
227
228	<listitem>
229	<para><computeroutput>ostypes</computeroutput> lists all guest
230	operating systems presently known to VirtualBox, along with the
231	identifiers used to refer to them with the
232	<computeroutput>modifyvm</computeroutput> command.</para>
233	</listitem>
234
235	<listitem>
236	<para><computeroutput>hostdvds</computeroutput>,
237	<computeroutput>hostfloppies</computeroutput>, respectively, list
238	DVD, floppy, bridged networking and host-only networking interfaces
239	on the host, along with the name used to access them from within
240	VirtualBox.</para>
241	</listitem>
242
243	<listitem>
244	<para><computeroutput>bridgedifs</computeroutput>,
245	<computeroutput>hostonlyifs</computeroutput> and
246	<computeroutput>dhcpservers</computeroutput>, respectively, list
247	bridged network interfaces, host-only network interfaces and DHCP
248	servers currently available on the host. Please see <xref
249	linkend="networkingdetails" /> for details on these.</para>
250	</listitem>
251
252	<listitem>
253	<para><computeroutput>hostinfo</computeroutput> displays information
254	about the host system, such as CPUs, memory size and operating
255	system version.</para>
256	</listitem>
257
258	<listitem>
259	<para><computeroutput>hostcpuids</computeroutput> dumps the CPUID
260	parameters for the host CPUs. This can be used for a more fine
261	grained analyis of the host's virtualization capabilities.</para>
262	</listitem>
263
264	<listitem>
265	<para><computeroutput>hddbackends</computeroutput> lists all known
266	virtual disk back-ends of VirtualBox. For each such format (such as
267	VDI, VMDK or RAW), this lists the back-end's capabilities and
268	configuration.</para>
269	</listitem>
270
271	<listitem>
272	<para><computeroutput>hdds</computeroutput>,
273	<computeroutput>dvds</computeroutput> and
274	<computeroutput>floppies</computeroutput> all give you information
275	about virtual disk images currently in use by VirtualBox, including
276	all their settings, the unique identifiers (UUIDs) associated with
277	them by VirtualBox and all files associated with them. This is the
278	command-line equivalent of the Virtual Media Manager; see <xref
279	linkend="vdis" />.</para>
280	</listitem>
281
282	<listitem>
283	<para><computeroutput>usbhost</computeroutput> supplies information
284	about USB devices attached to the host, notably information useful
285	for constructing USB filters and whether they are currently in use
286	by the host.</para>
287	</listitem>
288
289	<listitem>
290	<para><computeroutput>usbfilters</computeroutput> lists all global
291	USB filters registered with VirtualBox -- that is, filters for
292	devices which are accessible to all virtual machines -- and displays
293	the filter parameters.</para>
294	</listitem>
295
296	<listitem>
297	<para><computeroutput>systemproperties</computeroutput> displays
298	some global VirtualBox settings, such as minimum and maximum guest
299	RAM and virtual hard disk size, folder settings and the current
300	authentication library in use.</para>
301	</listitem>
302
303	<listitem>
304	<para><computeroutput>extpacks</computeroutput> displays all
305	VirtualBox extension packs currently installed; see <xref
306	linkend="intro-installing" /> and <xref
307	linkend="vboxmanage-extpack" /> for more information.</para>
308	</listitem>
309	</itemizedlist></para>
310	</sect1>
311
312	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-showvminfo">
313	<title>VBoxManage showvminfo</title>
314
315	<para>The <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput> command shows
316	information about a particular virtual machine. This is the same
317	information as <computeroutput>VBoxManage list vms --long</computeroutput>
318	would show for all virtual machines.</para>
319
320	<para>You will get information that resembles the following example.</para>
321
322	<para><screen>$ VBoxManage showvminfo "Windows XP"
323	VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version @VBOX_VERSION_MAJOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_MINOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_BUILD@
324	(C) 2005-@VBOX_C_YEAR@ @VBOX_VENDOR@
325	All rights reserved.
326
327	Name: Windows XP
328	Guest OS: Other/Unknown
329	UUID: 1bf3464d-57c6-4d49-92a9-a5cc3816b7e7
330	Config file: /home/username/.config/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP/Windows XP.xml
331	Memory size: 512MB
332	VRAM size: 12MB
333	Number of CPUs: 2
334	Boot menu mode: message and menu
335	Boot Device (1): DVD
336	Boot Device (2): HardDisk
337	Boot Device (3): Not Assigned
338	Boot Device (4): Not Assigned
339	ACPI: on
340	IOAPIC: on
341	...
342	</screen></para>
343	</sect1>
344
345	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-registervm">
346	<title>VBoxManage registervm / unregistervm</title>
347
348	<para>The <computeroutput>registervm</computeroutput> command allows you
349	to import a virtual machine definition in an XML file into VirtualBox. The
350	machine must not conflict with one already registered in VirtualBox and it
351	may not have any hard or removable disks attached. It is advisable to
352	place the definition file in the machines folder before registering
353	it.<note>
354	<para>When creating a new virtual machine with
355	<computeroutput>VBoxManage createvm</computeroutput> (see below), you
356	can directly specify the <computeroutput>--register</computeroutput>
357	option to avoid having to register it separately.</para>
358	</note></para>
359
360	<para>The <computeroutput>unregistervm</computeroutput> command
361	unregisters a virtual machine. If
362	<computeroutput>--delete</computeroutput> is also specified, the following
363	files will automatically be deleted as well:<orderedlist>
364	<listitem>
365	<para>all hard disk image files, including differencing files, which
366	are used by the machine and not shared with other machines;</para>
367	</listitem>
368
369	<listitem>
370	<para>saved state files that the machine created, if any (one if the
371	machine was in "saved" state and one for each online
372	snapshot);</para>
373	</listitem>
374
375	<listitem>
376	<para>the machine XML file and its backups;</para>
377	</listitem>
378
379	<listitem>
380	<para>the machine log files, if any;</para>
381	</listitem>
382
383	<listitem>
384	<para>the machine directory, if it is empty after having deleted all
385	the above.</para>
386	</listitem>
387	</orderedlist></para>
388	</sect1>
389
390	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-createvm">
391	<title>VBoxManage createvm</title>
392
393	<para>This command creates a new XML virtual machine definition
394	file.</para>
395
396	<para>The <computeroutput>--name <name></computeroutput> parameter
397	is required and must specify the name of the machine. Since this name is
398	used by default as the file name of the settings file (with the extension
399	<computeroutput>.xml</computeroutput>) and the machine folder (a subfolder
400	of the <computeroutput>.config/VirtualBox/Machines</computeroutput> folder - this folder name may vary depending on the operating system and the version of VirtualBox which you are using), it
401	must conform to your host operating system's requirements for file name
402	specifications. If the VM is later renamed, the file and folder names will
403	change automatically.</para>
404
405	<para>However, if the <computeroutput>--basefolder
406	<path></computeroutput> option is used, the machine folder will be
407	named <computeroutput><path></computeroutput>. In this case, the
408	names of the file and the folder will not change if the virtual machine is
409	renamed.</para>
410
411	<para>By default, this command only creates the XML file without
412	automatically registering the VM with your VirtualBox installation. To
413	register the VM instantly, use the optional
414	<computeroutput>--register</computeroutput> option, or run
415	<computeroutput>VBoxManage registervm</computeroutput> separately
416	afterwards.</para>
417	</sect1>
418
419	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm">
420	<title>VBoxManage modifyvm</title>
421
422	<para>This command changes the properties of a registered virtual machine
423	which is not running. Most of the properties that this command makes
424	available correspond to the VM settings that VirtualBox graphical user
425	interface displays in each VM's "Settings" dialog; these were described in
426	<xref linkend="BasicConcepts" />. Some of the more advanced settings,
427	however, are only available through the
428	<computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> interface.</para>
429
430	<para>These commands require that the machine is powered off (neither
431	running nor in "saved" state). Some machine settings can also be changed
432	while a machine is running; those settings will then have a corresponding
433	subcommand with the <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm</computeroutput>
434	subcommand (see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-controlvm" />).</para>
435
436	<sect2>
437	<title>General settings</title>
438
439	<para>The following general settings are available through
440	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>:<itemizedlist>
441	<listitem>
442	<para><computeroutput>--name <name></computeroutput>: This
443	changes the VM's name and possibly renames the internal virtual
444	machine files, as described with <computeroutput>VBoxManage
445	createvm</computeroutput> above.</para>
446	</listitem>
447
448	<listitem>
449	<para><computeroutput>--groups <group>, ...</computeroutput>:
450	This changes the group membership of a VM. Groups always start with
451	a <computeroutput>/</computeroutput> and can be nested. By default
452	VMs are in group <computeroutput>/</computeroutput>.</para>
453	</listitem>
454
455	<listitem>
456	<para><computeroutput>--description <desc></computeroutput>:
457	This changes the VM's description, which is a way to record details
458	about the VM in a way which is meaningful for the user. The GUI
459	interprets HTML formatting, the command line allows arbitrary
460	strings potentially containing multiple lines.</para>
461	</listitem>
462
463	<listitem>
464	<para><computeroutput>--ostype <ostype></computeroutput>:
465	This specifies what guest operating system is supposed to run in
466	the VM. To learn about the various identifiers that can be used
467	here, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
468	ostypes</computeroutput>.</para>
469	</listitem>
470
471	<listitem>
472	<para><computeroutput>--iconfile <filename></computeroutput>:
473	This specifies the absolute path on the host file system for the VirtualBox
474	icon to be displayed in the VM.</para>
475	</listitem>
476
477	<listitem>
478	<para><computeroutput>--memory <memorysize></computeroutput>: This sets the amount of RAM,
479	in MB, that the virtual machine should allocate for itself from
480	the host. See the remarks in <xref linkend="gui-createvm" /> for
481	more information.</para>
482	</listitem>
483
484	<listitem>
485	<para><computeroutput>--pagefusion on\|off</computeroutput>:
486	Enables/disables (default) the Page Fusion feature.
487	The Page Fusion feature minimises memory duplication between VMs with similar
488	configurations running on the same host.
489	See <xref linkend="guestadd-pagefusion" /> for details.</para>
490	</listitem>
491
492	<listitem>
493	<para><computeroutput>--vram <vramsize></computeroutput>:
494	This sets the amount of RAM that the virtual graphics card should
495	have. See <xref linkend="settings-display" /> for details.</para>
496	</listitem>
497
498	<listitem>
499	<para><computeroutput>--acpi on\|off</computeroutput>;
500	<computeroutput>--ioapic on\|off</computeroutput>: These two
501	determine whether the VM should have ACPI and I/O APIC support,
502	respectively; see <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" /> for
503	details.</para>
504	</listitem>
505
506	<listitem>
507	<para><computeroutput>--pciattach <host PCI address [@ guest PCI bus address]></computeroutput>:
508	Attaches a specified PCI network controller on the host to a PCI bus (can specify) on the guest.
509	See <xref linkend="pcipassthrough" /> for details. </para>
510	</listitem>
511
512	<listitem>
513	<para><computeroutput>--pcidetach <host PCI address></computeroutput>:
514	Detaches a specified PCI network controller on the host from the attached PCI bus on the guest.
515	See <xref linkend="pcipassthrough" /> for details. </para>
516	</listitem>
517
518	<listitem>
519	<para><computeroutput>--hardwareuuid
520	<uuid></computeroutput>: The UUID presented to the guest via
521	memory tables (DMI/SMBIOS), hardware and guest properties. By
522	default this is the same as the VM uuid. Useful when cloning a VM.
523	Teleporting takes care of this automatically.</para>
524	</listitem>
525
526	<listitem>
527	<para><computeroutput>--cpus <cpucount></computeroutput>:
528	This sets the number of virtual CPUs for the virtual machine (see
529	<xref linkend="settings-processor" />). If CPU hot-plugging is
530	enabled (see below), this then sets the
531	<emphasis>maximum</emphasis> number of virtual CPUs that can be
532	plugged into the virtual machines.</para>
533	</listitem>
534
535	<listitem>
536	<para><computeroutput>--cpuhotplug on\|off</computeroutput>: This
537	enables CPU hot-plugging. When enabled, virtual CPUs can be added
538	to and removed from a virtual machine while it is running. See
539	<xref linkend="cpuhotplug" /> for more information.</para>
540	</listitem>
541
542	<listitem>
543	<para><computeroutput>--plugcpu\|unplugcpu
544	<id></computeroutput>: If CPU hot-plugging is enabled (see
545	above), this adds a virtual CPU to the virtual machines (or
546	removes one). <computeroutput><id></computeroutput>
547	specifies the index of the virtual CPU to be added or removed and
548	must be a number from 0 to the maximum no. of CPUs configured with
549	the <computeroutput>--cpus</computeroutput> option. CPU 0 can
550	never be removed.</para>
551	</listitem>
552
553	<listitem>
554	<para><computeroutput>--cpuexecutioncap
555	<1-100></computeroutput>: This setting controls how much cpu
556	time a virtual CPU can use. A value of 50 implies a single virtual
557	CPU can use up to 50% of a single host CPU.</para>
558	</listitem>
559
560	<listitem>
561	<para><computeroutput>--pae on\|off</computeroutput>: This
562	enables/disables PAE (see <xref
563	linkend="settings-processor" />).</para>
564	</listitem>
565
566	<listitem>
567	<para><computeroutput>--longmode on\|off</computeroutput>: This
568	enables/disables long mode (see <xref
569	linkend="settings-processor" />).</para>
570	</listitem>
571
572	<listitem>
573	<para><computeroutput>--cpu-profile <host\|intel 80[86\|286\|386]></computeroutput>:
574	Indicate the use of a profile for guest cpu emulation. Specify either one based
575	on the host system CPU (host), or one from a number of older Intel
576	Micro-architectures - 8086, 80286, 80386.</para>
577	</listitem>
578
579	<listitem>
580	<para><computeroutput>--hpet on\|off</computeroutput>: This
581	enables/disables a High Precision Event Timer (HPET) which can
582	replace the legacy system timers. This is turned off by default.
583	Note that Windows supports a HPET only from Vista onwards.</para>
584	</listitem>
585
586	<listitem>
587	<para><computeroutput>--hwvirtex on\|off</computeroutput>: This
588	enables or disables the use of hardware virtualization extensions
589	(Intel VT-x or AMD-V) in the processor of your host system; see
590	<xref linkend="hwvirt" />.</para>
591	</listitem>
592
593	<listitem>
594	<para><computeroutput>--triplefaultreset on\|off</computeroutput>:
595	This setting allows to reset the guest instead of triggering a
596	Guru Meditation. Some guests raise a triple fault to reset the
597	CPU so sometimes this is desired behavior. Works only for non-SMP
598	guests.</para>
599	</listitem>
600
601	<listitem>
602	<para><computeroutput>--apic on\|off</computeroutput>:
603	This setting enables(default)/disables IO APIC. With
604	I/O APIC, operating systems can use more than 16 interrupt
605	requests (IRQs) thus avoiding IRQ sharing for improved
606	reliability. See <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />.</para>
607	</listitem>
608
609	<listitem>
610	<para><computeroutput>--x2apic on\|off</computeroutput>:
611	This setting enables(default)/disables CPU x2APIC support.
612	CPU x2APIC support helps operating systems run more efficiently on high
613	core count configurations, and optimizes interrupt
614	distribution in virtualized environments. Disable when using host/guest
615	operating systems incompatible with x2APIC support.</para>
616	</listitem>
617
618	<listitem>
619	<para><computeroutput>--paravirtprovider
620	none\|default\|legacy\|minimal\|hyperv\|kvm</computeroutput>: This
621	setting specifies which paravirtualization interface to provide to
622	the guest operating system. Specifying
623	<computeroutput>none</computeroutput> explicitly turns off exposing
624	any paravirtualization interface. The option
625	<computeroutput>default</computeroutput>, will pick an appropriate
626	interface depending on the guest OS type while starting the VM.
627	This is the default option chosen while creating new VMs. The
628	<computeroutput>legacy</computeroutput> option is chosen for VMs
629	which were created with older VirtualBox versions and will pick a
630	paravirtualization interface while starting the VM with VirtualBox
631	5.0 and newer. The <computeroutput>minimal</computeroutput> provider
632	is mandatory for Mac OS X guests, while
633	<computeroutput>kvm</computeroutput> and
634	<computeroutput>hyperv</computeroutput> are recommended for Linux
635	and Windows guests respectively. These options are explained in
636	detail under <xref linkend="gimproviders" />.</para>
637	</listitem>
638
639	<listitem>
640	<para><computeroutput>--paravirtdebug <key=value>
641	[,<key=value> ...]</computeroutput>: This setting specifies debugging
642	options specific to the paravirtualization provider
643	configured for this VM. Please refer to the provider specific
644	options under <xref linkend="gimdebug" /> for a list of supported
645	key-value pairs for each provider.</para>
646	</listitem>
647
648	<listitem>
649	<para><computeroutput>--nestedpaging on\|off</computeroutput>: If
650	hardware virtualization is enabled, this additional setting
651	enables or disables the use of the nested paging feature in the
652	processor of your host system; see <xref
653	linkend="hwvirt" />.</para>
654	</listitem>
655
656	<listitem>
657	<para><computeroutput>--largepages on\|off</computeroutput>: If
658	hardware virtualization <emphasis>and</emphasis> nested paging are
659	enabled, for Intel VT-x only, an additional performance
660	improvement of up to 5% can be obtained by enabling this setting.
661	This causes the hypervisor to use large pages to reduce TLB use
662	and overhead.</para>
663	</listitem>
664
665	<listitem>
666	<para><computeroutput>--vtxvpid on\|off</computeroutput>: If
667	hardware virtualization is enabled, for Intel VT-x only, this
668	additional setting enables or disables the use of the tagged TLB
669	(VPID) feature in the processor of your host system; see <xref
670	linkend="hwvirt" />.</para>
671	</listitem>
672
673	<listitem>
674	<para><computeroutput>--vtxux on\|off</computeroutput>: If
675	hardware virtualization is enabled, for Intel VT-x only, this
676	setting enables or disables the use of the unrestricted guest mode
677	feature for executing your guest.</para>
678	</listitem>
679
680	<listitem>
681	<para><computeroutput>--accelerate3d on\|off</computeroutput>: This
682	enables, if the Guest Additions are installed, whether hardware 3D
683	acceleration should be available; see <xref
684	linkend="guestadd-3d" />.</para>
685	</listitem>
686
687	<listitem>
688	<para><computeroutput>--accelerate2dvideo on\|off</computeroutput>:
689	This enables, if the Guest Additions are installed, whether 2D video
690	acceleration should be available; see <xref
691	linkend="guestadd-2d" />.</para>
692	</listitem>
693
694	<listitem>
695	<para><computeroutput>--chipset piix3\|ich9</computeroutput>:
696	By default VirtualBox emulates an Intel PIIX3 chipset. Usually there
697	is no reason to change the default setting unless it is required to
698	relax some of its constraints; see <xref
699	linkend="settings-motherboard" />.</para>
700	</listitem>
701
702	<listitem>
703	<para>You can influence the BIOS logo that is displayed when a
704	virtual machine starts up with a number of settings. Per default,
705	a VirtualBox logo is displayed.</para>
706
707	<para>With <computeroutput>--bioslogofadein
708	on\|off</computeroutput> and <computeroutput>--bioslogofadeout
709	on\|off</computeroutput>, you can determine whether the logo should
710	fade in and out, respectively.</para>
711
712	<para>With <computeroutput>--bioslogodisplaytime
713	<msec></computeroutput> you can set how long the logo should
714	be visible, in milliseconds.</para>
715
716	<para>With <computeroutput>--bioslogoimagepath
717	<imagepath></computeroutput> you can, if you are so
718	inclined, replace the image that is shown, with your own logo. The
719	image must be an uncompressed 256 color BMP file without color
720	space information (Windows 3.0 format). The image must not be
721	bigger than 640 x 480.</para>
722	</listitem>
723
724	<listitem>
725	<para><computeroutput>--biosbootmenu
726	disabled\|menuonly\|messageandmenu</computeroutput>: This specifies
727	whether the BIOS allows the user to select a temporary boot
728	device. <computeroutput>menuonly</computeroutput> suppresses the
729	message, but the user can still press F12 to select a temporary
730	boot device.</para>
731	</listitem>
732
733	<listitem>
734	<para><computeroutput>--nicbootprio<1-N>
735	<priority></computeroutput>: This specifies the order in which
736	NICs are tried for booting over the network (using PXE). The
737	priority is an integer in the 0 to 4 range. Priority 1 is the
738	highest, priority 4 is low. Priority 0, which is the default unless
739	otherwise specified, is the lowest.
740	</para>
741	<para> Note that this option only has effect when the Intel PXE boot
742	ROM is used.
743	</para>
744	</listitem>
745
746	<listitem>
747	<para><computeroutput>--biospxedebug on\|off</computeroutput>:
748	This option enables additional debugging output when using the
749	Intel PXE boot ROM. The output will be written to the release log
750	file (<xref linkend="collect-debug-info" />.</para>
751	</listitem>
752
753	<listitem>
754	<para><computeroutput>--boot<1-4>
755	none\|floppy\|dvd\|disk\|net</computeroutput>: This specifies the boot
756	order for the virtual machine. There are four "slots", which the
757	VM will try to access from 1 to 4, and for each of which you can
758	set a device that the VM should attempt to boot from.</para>
759	</listitem>
760
761	<listitem>
762	<para><computeroutput>--rtcuseutc on\|off</computeroutput>: This
763	option lets the real-time clock (RTC) operate in UTC time (see
764	<xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />).</para>
765	</listitem>
766
767	<listitem>
768	<para><computeroutput>--graphicscontroller none\|vboxvga\|vmsvga</computeroutput>: This
769	option specifies use of a graphics controller, and type chosen from vboxvga or vmsvga.
770	<xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />).</para>
771	</listitem>
772
773	<listitem>
774	<para><computeroutput>--biossystemtimeoffset <ms></computeroutput>:
775	This allows you to set a fixed time offset of the guest relative to
776	the host time. The offset is specified in milliseconds. If the offset
777	is positive the guest time runs ahead the host time.</para>
778	</listitem>
779
780	<listitem>
781	<para><computeroutput>--snapshotfolder
782	default\|<path></computeroutput>: This allows you to specify
783	the folder in which snapshots will be kept for a virtual
784	machine.</para>
785	</listitem>
786
787	<listitem>
788	<para><computeroutput>--firmware bios\|efi\|efi32\|efi64</computeroutput>:
789	Specifies which firmware to be used to boot the VM:
790	Available options are BIOS, or one of the EFI options: efi, efi32 or efi64.
791	Use EFI options with care.</para>
792	</listitem>
793
794	<listitem>
795	<para><computeroutput>--guestmemoryballoon
796	<size></computeroutput> sets the default size of the guest
797	memory balloon, that is, memory allocated by the VirtualBox Guest
798	Additions from the guest operating system and returned to the
799	hypervisor for re-use by other virtual machines.
800	<computeroutput><size></computeroutput> must be specified in
801	megabytes. The default size is 0 megabytes. For details,
802	see <xref linkend="guestadd-balloon" />.</para>
803	</listitem>
804
805	<listitem>
806	<para><computeroutput>--defaultfrontend
807	default\|<name></computeroutput>: This allows you to specify
808	the default frontend which will be used when starting this VM; see
809	<xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" /> for details.</para>
810	</listitem>
811	</itemizedlist></para>
812	</sect2>
813
814	<sect2>
815	<title>Networking settings</title>
816
817	<para>The following networking settings are available through
818	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>. With all these
819	settings, the decimal number directly following the option name ("1-N"
820	in the list below) specifies the virtual network adapter whose settings
821	should be changed.<itemizedlist>
822	<listitem>
823	<para><computeroutput>--nic<1-N>
824	none\|null\|nat\|natnetwork\|bridged\|intnet\|hostonly\|generic</computeroutput>:
825	With this, you can set, for each of the VM's virtual network cards,
826	what type of networking should be available. They can be not
827	present (<computeroutput>none</computeroutput>), not connected to
828	the host (<computeroutput>null</computeroutput>), use network
829	address translation (<computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>),
830	use the new network address translation engine
831	(<computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>),
832	bridged networking (<computeroutput>bridged</computeroutput>) or
833	communicate with other virtual machines using internal networking
834	(<computeroutput>intnet</computeroutput>), host-only networking
835	(<computeroutput>hostonly</computeroutput>), or access rarely used
836	sub-modes (<computeroutput>generic</computeroutput>).
837	These options correspond
838	to the modes which are described in detail in <xref
839	linkend="networkingmodes" />.</para>
840	</listitem>
841
842	<listitem>
843	<para><computeroutput>--nicpromisc<1-N>
844	deny\|allow-vms\|allow-all</computeroutput>:
845	This allows you, for each of the VM's virtual network cards, to
846	specify how the promiscious mode is handled. This setting is only
847	relevant for bridged networking.
848	<computeroutput>deny</computeroutput> (default setting) hides
849	any traffic not intended for this VM.
850	<computeroutput>allow-vms</computeroutput> hides all host
851	traffic from this VM but allows the VM to see traffic from/to other
852	VMs.
853	<computeroutput>allow-all</computeroutput> removes this
854	restriction completely.</para>
855	</listitem>
856
857	<listitem>
858	<para><computeroutput>--nictype<1-N>
859	Am79C970A\|Am79C973\|82540EM\|82543GC\|82545EM\|virtio</computeroutput>:
860	This allows you, for each of the VM's virtual network cards, to
861	specify which networking hardware VirtualBox presents to the
862	guest; see <xref linkend="nichardware" />.</para>
863	</listitem>
864
865	<listitem>
866	<para><computeroutput>--cableconnected<1-N>
867	on\|off</computeroutput>: This allows you to temporarily disconnect
868	a virtual network interface, as if a network cable had been pulled
869	from a real network card. This might be useful for resetting
870	certain software components in the VM.</para>
871	</listitem>
872
873	<listitem>
874	<para>With the "nictrace" options, you can optionally trace
875	network traffic by dumping it to a file, for debugging
876	purposes.</para>
877
878	<para>With <computeroutput>--nictrace<1-N>
879	on\|off</computeroutput>, you can enable network tracing for a
880	particular virtual network card.</para>
881
882	<para>If enabled, you must specify with
883	<computeroutput>--nictracefile<1-N>
884	<filename></computeroutput> what file the trace should be
885	logged to.</para>
886	</listitem>
887
888	<listitem>
889	<para><computeroutput>--natnet<1-N>
890	<network>\|default</computeroutput>:
891	If the networking type is set to <computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>
892	(not <computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>) then this
893	setting specifies the IP address range to be used for
894	this network. See <xref linkend="changenat" /> for an
895	example.</para>
896	</listitem>
897
898	<listitem>
899	<para><computeroutput>--nat-network<1-N> <network
900	name></computeroutput>: If the networking type is set to
901	<computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput> (not
902	<computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>) then this setting specifies
903	the name of the NAT network this adapter is connected to.</para>
904	</listitem>
905
906	<listitem>
907	<para><computeroutput>--bridgeadapter<1-N>
908	none\|<devicename></computeroutput>: If bridged networking
909	has been enabled for a virtual network card (see the
910	<computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above; otherwise
911	this setting has no effect), use this option to specify which host
912	interface the given virtual network interface will use. For
913	details, please see <xref linkend="network_bridged" />.</para>
914	</listitem>
915
916	<listitem>
917	<para><computeroutput>--hostonlyadapter<1-N>
918	none\|<devicename></computeroutput>: If host-only networking
919	has been enabled for a virtual network card (see the
920	<computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option
921	above; otherwise this setting has no effect), use this option to
922	specify which host-only networking interface the given virtual
923	network interface will use. For details, please see <xref
924	linkend="network_hostonly" />.</para>
925	</listitem>
926
927	<listitem>
928	<para><computeroutput>--intnet<1-N>
929	network</computeroutput>: If internal networking has been enabled
930	for a virtual network card (see the
931	<computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above; otherwise
932	this setting has no effect), use this option to specify the name
933	of the internal network (see <xref
934	linkend="network_internal" />).</para>
935	</listitem>
936
937	<listitem>
938	<para><computeroutput>--macaddress<1-N>
939	auto\|<mac></computeroutput>: With this option you can set
940	the MAC address of a particular network adapter on the VM. Normally, each
941	network adapter is assigned a random address by VirtualBox at
942	VM creation.</para>
943	</listitem>
944
945	<listitem>
946	<para><computeroutput>--mouse <ps2\|usb\|usbtablet\|usbmultitouch></computeroutput>:
947	Specifies the mode of the mouse to be used in the VM. Available options are: ps2, usb,
948	usbtablet, usbmultitouch.
949	</para>
950	</listitem>
951
952	<listitem>
953	<para><computeroutput>--keyboard <ps2\|usb></computeroutput>:
954	Specifies the mode of the keyboard to be used in the VM. Available options are: ps2, usb.
955	</para>
956	</listitem>
957
958	<listitem>
959	<para><computeroutput>--nicgenericdrv<1-N>
960	<backend driver></computeroutput>: If generic networking has been
961	enabled for a virtual network card (see the
962	<computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above; otherwise
963	this setting has no effect), this mode allows you to access
964	rarely used networking sub-modes, such as VDE network or UDP Tunnel.
965	</para>
966	</listitem>
967
968	<listitem>
969	<para><computeroutput>--nicproperty<1-N>
970	<paramname>="paramvalue"</computeroutput>:
971	This option, in combination with "nicgenericdrv" allows you to
972	pass parameters to rarely-used network backends.</para><para>
973	Those parameters are backend engine-specific, and are different
974	between UDP Tunnel and the VDE backend drivers. For example,
975	please see <xref linkend="network_udp_tunnel" />.
976	</para>
977	</listitem>
978
979	<listitem>
980	<para><computeroutput>--nicspeed<1-N> <kbps></computeroutput>:
981	If generic networking has been enabled for a virtual network card (see the
982	<computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above; otherwise
983	this setting has no effect), this mode enables access
984	to rarely used networking sub-modes, such as VDE network or UDP Tunnel.
985	This option specifies the throughput rate in KBytes/sec.
986	</para>
987	</listitem>
988	</itemizedlist></para>
989
990	<sect3>
991	<title>NAT Networking settings.</title>
992
993	<para>The following NAT networking settings are available through
994	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>. With all these
995	settings, the decimal number directly following the option name ("1-N"
996	in the list below) specifies the virtual network adapter whose
997	settings should be changed.<itemizedlist>
998	<listitem>
999	<para><computeroutput>--natpf<1-N>
1000	[<name>],tcp\|udp,[<hostip>],<hostport>,[<guestip>],
1001	<guestport></computeroutput>: This option defines a NAT
1002	port-forwarding rule (please see <xref linkend="natforward" />
1003	for details).</para>
1004	</listitem>
1005
1006	<listitem>
1007	<para><computeroutput>--natpf<1-N> delete
1008	<name></computeroutput>: This option deletes a NAT
1009	port-forwarding rule (please see <xref linkend="natforward" />
1010	for details).</para>
1011	</listitem>
1012
1013	<listitem>
1014	<para><computeroutput>--nattftpprefix<1-N>
1015	<prefix></computeroutput>: This option defines a prefix
1016	for the built-in TFTP server, i.e. where the boot file is
1017	located (please see <xref linkend="nat-tftp" /> and <xref
1018	linkend="nat-adv-tftp" /> for details).</para>
1019	</listitem>
1020
1021	<listitem>
1022	<para><computeroutput>--nattftpfile<1-N>
1023	<bootfile></computeroutput>: This option defines the TFT
1024	boot file (please see <xref linkend="nat-adv-tftp" /> for
1025	details).</para>
1026	</listitem>
1027
1028	<listitem>
1029	<para><computeroutput>--nattftpserver<1-N>
1030	<tftpserver></computeroutput>: This option defines the
1031	TFTP server address to boot from (please see <xref
1032	linkend="nat-adv-tftp" /> for details).</para>
1033	</listitem>
1034
1035	<listitem>
1036	<para><computeroutput>--nattbindip<1-N>
1037	<ip;></computeroutput>: VirtualBox's NAT engine normally routes
1038	TCP/IP packets through the default interface assigned by the host's
1039	TCP/IP stack. Use this option to instruct the NAT engine to bind
1040	to a specified IP address instead. (Please see <xref
1041	linkend="nat-adv-settings" /> for details).</para>
1042	</listitem>
1043
1044	<listitem>
1045	<para><computeroutput>--natdnspassdomain<1-N>
1046	on\|off</computeroutput>: This option specifies whether the
1047	built-in DHCP server passes the domain name for network name
1048	resolution.</para>
1049	</listitem>
1050
1051	<listitem>
1052	<para><computeroutput>--natdnsproxy<1-N>
1053	on\|off</computeroutput>: This option makes the NAT engine proxy
1054	all guest DNS requests to the host's DNS servers (please see
1055	<xref linkend="nat-adv-dns" /> for details).</para>
1056	</listitem>
1057
1058	<listitem>
1059	<para><computeroutput>--natdnshostresolver<1-N>
1060	on\|off</computeroutput>: This option makes the NAT engine use
1061	the host's resolver mechanisms to handle DNS requests (please
1062	see <xref linkend="nat-adv-dns" /> for details).</para>
1063	</listitem>
1064
1065	<listitem>
1066	<para><computeroutput>--natsettings<1-N>
1067	[<mtu>],[<socksnd>],[<sockrcv>],[<tcpsnd>],
1068	[<tcprcv>]</computeroutput>: This option controls several
1069	NAT settings (please see <xref linkend="nat-adv-settings" /> for
1070	details).</para>
1071	</listitem>
1072
1073	<listitem>
1074	<para><computeroutput>--nataliasmode<1-N>
1075	default\|[log],[proxyonly],[sameports]</computeroutput>: This
1076	option defines behaviour of NAT engine core: log - enables
1077	logging, proxyonly - switches of aliasing mode makes NAT
1078	transparent, sameports enforces NAT engine to send packets via
1079	the same port as they originated on, default - disable all
1080	mentioned modes above . (please see <xref
1081	linkend="nat-adv-alias" /> for details).</para>
1082	</listitem>
1083	</itemizedlist></para>
1084	</sect3>
1085	</sect2>
1086
1087	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-other">
1088	<title>Miscellaneous settings</title>
1089
1090	<para>The following other hardware settings, such as serial port, audio,
1091	clipboard, drag and drop, monitor and USB settings are available through
1092	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>:<itemizedlist>
1093	<listitem>
1094	<para><computeroutput>--uart<1-N> off\|<I/O base>
1095	<IRQ></computeroutput>: With this option you can configure
1096	virtual serial ports for the VM; see <xref
1097	linkend="serialports" /> for an introduction.</para>
1098	</listitem>
1099
1100	<listitem>
1101	<para><computeroutput>--uartmode<1-N>
1102	<arg></computeroutput>: This setting controls how VirtualBox
1103	connects a given virtual serial port (previously configured with
1104	the <computeroutput>--uartX</computeroutput> setting, see above)
1105	to the host on which the virtual machine is running. As described
1106	in detail in <xref linkend="serialports" />, for each such port,
1107	you can specify <computeroutput><arg></computeroutput> as
1108	one of the following options:<itemizedlist>
1109	<listitem>
1110	<para><computeroutput>disconnected</computeroutput>: Even
1111	though the serial port is shown to the guest, it has no
1112	"other end" -- like a real COM port without a cable.</para>
1113	</listitem>
1114
1115	<listitem>
1116	<para><computeroutput>server
1117	<pipename></computeroutput>: On a Windows host, this
1118	tells VirtualBox to create a named pipe on the host named
1119	<computeroutput><pipename></computeroutput> and
1120	connect the virtual serial device to it. Note that Windows
1121	requires that the name of a named pipe begin with
1122	<computeroutput>\\.\pipe\</computeroutput>.</para>
1123
1124	<para>On a Linux host, instead of a named pipe, a local
1125	domain socket is used.</para>
1126	</listitem>
1127
1128	<listitem>
1129	<para><computeroutput>client
1130	<pipename></computeroutput>: This operates just like
1131	<computeroutput>server ...</computeroutput>, except that the
1132	pipe (or local domain socket) is not created by VirtualBox,
1133	but assumed to exist already.</para>
1134	</listitem>
1135
1136	<listitem>
1137	<para><computeroutput>tcpserver
1138	<port></computeroutput>: This
1139	tells VirtualBox to create a TCP socket on the host with TCP
1140	<computeroutput><port></computeroutput> and
1141	connect the virtual serial device to it. Note that UNIX-like
1142	systems require ports over 1024 for normal users.</para>
1143	</listitem>
1144
1145	<listitem>
1146	<para><computeroutput>tcpclient
1147	<hostname:port></computeroutput>: This operates just like
1148	<computeroutput>tcpserver ...</computeroutput>, except that the
1149	TCP socket is not created by VirtualBox,
1150	but assumed to exist already.</para>
1151	</listitem>
1152
1153	<listitem>
1154	<para><computeroutput><devicename></computeroutput>:
1155	If, instead of the above, the device name of a physical
1156	hardware serial port of the host is specified, the virtual
1157	serial port is connected to that hardware port. On a Windows
1158	host, the device name will be a COM port such as
1159	<computeroutput>COM1</computeroutput>; on a Linux host, the
1160	device name will look like
1161	<computeroutput>/dev/ttyS0</computeroutput>. This allows you
1162	to "wire" a real serial port to a virtual machine.</para>
1163	</listitem>
1164	</itemizedlist></para>
1165	</listitem>
1166
1167	<listitem>
1168	<para><computeroutput>--lptmode<1-N>
1169	<Device></computeroutput>:
1170	Specifies the Device Name of the parallel port that
1171	the Parallel Port feature will be using. Use this
1172	<emphasis>before</emphasis> <computeroutput>--lpt</computeroutput>.
1173	This feature is host operating system specific.</para>
1174	</listitem>
1175
1176	<listitem>
1177	<para><computeroutput>--lpt<1-N>
1178	<I/O base> <IRQ></computeroutput>:
1179	Specifies the I/O address of the parallel port and the IRQ
1180	number that the Parallel Port feature will be using. Use this
1181	<emphasis>after</emphasis>
1182	<computeroutput>--lptmod</computeroutput>. I/O base address and IRQ are
1183	the values that guest sees i.e. the values avalable under guest Device Manager.</para>
1184	</listitem>
1185
1186	<listitem>
1187	<para><computeroutput>--audio none\|null\|oss\|alsa\|pulse</computeroutput>: With
1188	this option, you can set whether the VM should have audio
1189	support, and if so - which type.</para>
1190	</listitem>
1191
1192	<listitem>
1193	<para><computeroutput>--audiocontroller ac97\|hda\|sb16</computeroutput>: With
1194	this option, you can specify the audio controller to be used with this VM.
1195	</para>
1196	</listitem>
1197
1198	<listitem>
1199	<para><computeroutput>--audiocodec stac9700\|ad1980\|stac9221\|sb16</computeroutput>: With
1200	this option, you can specify the audio codec to be used with this VM.
1201	</para>
1202	</listitem>
1203
1204	<listitem>
1205	<para><computeroutput>--clipboard
1206	disabled\|hosttoguest\|guesttohost\|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
1207	With this setting, you can select if and how the guest or host
1208	operating system's clipboard should be shared with the host or guest;
1209	see <xref linkend="generalsettings" />. This requires that the Guest
1210	Additions be installed in the virtual machine.</para>
1211	</listitem>
1212
1213	<listitem>
1214	<para><computeroutput>--draganddrop
1215	disabled\|hosttoguest\|guesttohost\|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
1216	With this setting, you can select the current drag and drop mode
1217	being used between the host and the virtual machine;
1218	see <xref linkend="guestadd-dnd" />. This requires that the Guest
1219	Additions be installed in the virtual machine.</para>
1220	</listitem>
1221
1222	<listitem>
1223	<para><computeroutput>--monitorcount
1224	<count></computeroutput>: This enables multi-monitor
1225	support; see <xref linkend="settings-display" />.</para>
1226	</listitem>
1227
1228	<listitem>
1229	<para><computeroutput>--usb on\|off</computeroutput>: This option
1230	enables or disables the VM's virtual USB controller; see <xref
1231	linkend="settings-usb" /> for details.</para>
1232	</listitem>
1233
1234	<listitem>
1235	<para><computeroutput>--usbehci on\|off</computeroutput>: This
1236	option enables or disables the VM's virtual USB 2.0 controller;
1237	see <xref linkend="settings-usb" /> for details.</para>
1238	</listitem>
1239
1240	<listitem>
1241	<para><computeroutput>--usbxhci on\|off</computeroutput>: This
1242	option enables or disables the VM's virtual USB 3.0 controller;
1243	see <xref linkend="settings-usb" /> for details.</para>
1244	</listitem>
1245	<!-- @todo r=andy Document tracing-* commands -->
1246	</itemizedlist></para>
1247
1248	</sect2>
1249
1250	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-videocap">
1251	<title>Video Capture settings</title>
1252
1253	<para>The following settings for changing video recording parameters are
1254	available through <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>.
1255	<itemizedlist>
1256	<listitem>
1257	<para><computeroutput>--videocap on\|off</computeroutput>:
1258	This option enables or disables recording a VM session into a WebM/VP8
1259	file. If this option is enabled, recording will start when the VM
1260	session is started.</para>
1261	</listitem>
1262	<listitem>
1263	<para><computeroutput>--videocapscreens all\|<screen ID>
1264	[<screen ID> ...]</computeroutput>: This option allows to specify which screens of
1265	the VM are being recorded. Each screen is recorded into a separate file.</para>
1266	</listitem>
1267	<listitem>
1268	<para><computeroutput>--videocapfile <filename></computeroutput>:
1269	This option sets the filename VirtualBox uses to save the recorded content.
1270	</para>
1271	</listitem>
1272	<listitem>
1273	<para><computeroutput>--videocapres <width>x<height></computeroutput>:
1274	This option sets the resolution (in pixels) of the recorded video.</para>
1275	</listitem>
1276	<listitem>
1277	<para><computeroutput>--videocaprate <rate></computeroutput>:
1278	This option sets the bitrate in kilobits (kb) per second. Increasing this
1279	value makes the video look better for the cost of an increased file size.</para>
1280	</listitem>
1281	<listitem>
1282	<para><computeroutput>--videocapfps <fps></computeroutput>:
1283	This option sets the maximum number of frames per second (FPS) to be
1284	recorded. Frames with a higher frequency will be skipped. Reducing this
1285	value increases the number of skipped frames and reduces the file size.</para>
1286	</listitem>
1287	<listitem>
1288	<para><computeroutput>--videocapmaxtime <ms></computeroutput>:
1289	This option sets the maximum time in milliseconds the video capturing
1290	will be enabled since activation. The capturing stops when the defined
1291	time interval has elapsed. If this value is zero the capturing is not
1292	limited by time.</para>
1293	</listitem>
1294	<listitem>
1295	<para><computeroutput>--videocapmaxsize <MB></computeroutput>:
1296	This option limits the maximum size of the captured video file (in MB).
1297	The capturing stops when the file size has reached the specified size. If
1298	this value is zero the capturing will not be limited by file size.</para>
1299	</listitem>
1300	<listitem>
1301	<para><computeroutput>--videocapopts <key=value>
1302	[,<key=value> ...]</computeroutput>:
1303	This format can be used to specify additional video capturing options.
1304	These options only are for advanced users and must be specified in a
1305	comma-separated key=value format, e.g.
1306	<computeroutput>foo=bar,a=b</computeroutput>.
1307	</para>
1308	</listitem>
1309	</itemizedlist></para>
1310
1311	</sect2>
1312
1313	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde">
1314	<title>Remote machine settings</title>
1315
1316	<para>The following settings that affect remote machine behavior are
1317	available through <computeroutput>VBoxManage
1318	modifyvm</computeroutput>:<itemizedlist>
1319	<listitem>
1320	<para><computeroutput>--vrde on\|off</computeroutput>:
1321	This enables or disables the VirtualBox remote desktop extension
1322	(VRDE) server.</para>
1323	</listitem>
1324
1325	<!-- @todo r=andy Document vrdeproperty -->
1326
1327	<listitem>
1328	<para><computeroutput>--vrdeextpack default\|<name></computeroutput>:
1329	Allows to specify the library to use for to access the VM
1330	remotely. The default is to use the RDP code which is part of the
1331	Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack.</para>
1332	</listitem>
1333
1334	<listitem>
1335	<para><computeroutput>--vrdeport
1336	default\|<ports></computeroutput>: A port or a range of ports
1337	the VRDE server can bind to; "default" or "0" means port 3389, the
1338	standard port for RDP. You can specify a comma-separated list of
1339	ports or ranges of ports. Use a dash between two port numbers to
1340	specify a range. The VRDE server will bind to <emphasis
1341	role="bold">one</emphasis> of available ports from the specified
1342	list. Only one machine can use a given port at a time. For
1343	example, the option <computeroutput> --vrdeport
1344	5000,5010-5012</computeroutput> will tell the server to bind to
1345	one of following ports: 5000, 5010, 5011 or 5012.</para>
1346	</listitem>
1347
1348	<listitem>
1349	<para><computeroutput>--vrdeaddress <IP
1350	address></computeroutput>: The IP address of the host network
1351	interface the VRDE server will bind to. If specified, the server
1352	will accept connections only on the specified host network
1353	interface.</para>
1354	<para>The setting can be used to specify whether the VRDP server
1355	should accept either IPv4 or IPv6 or both connections:
1356	<itemizedlist>
1357	<listitem>
1358	<para>only IPv4: <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress "0.0.0.0"
1359	</computeroutput></para>
1360	</listitem>
1361	<listitem>
1362	<para>only IPv6: <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress "::"
1363	</computeroutput></para>
1364	</listitem>
1365	<listitem>
1366	<para>both IPv6 and IPv4 (default): <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress ""
1367	</computeroutput></para>
1368	</listitem>
1369	</itemizedlist></para>
1370	</listitem>
1371
1372	<listitem>
1373	<para><computeroutput>--vrdeauthtype
1374	null\|external\|guest</computeroutput>: This allows you to choose
1375	whether and how authorization will be performed; see <xref
1376	linkend="vbox-auth" /> for details.</para>
1377	</listitem>
1378
1379	<listitem>
1380	<para><computeroutput>--vrdeauthlibrary
1381	default\|<name></computeroutput>: This allos to set the
1382	library used for RDP authentication, see <xref lang=""
1383	linkend="vbox-auth" /> for details.</para>
1384	</listitem>
1385
1386	<listitem>
1387	<para><computeroutput>--vrdemulticon on\|off</computeroutput>: This
1388	enables multiple connections to the same VRDE server, if the
1389	server supports this feature; see <xref lang=""
1390	linkend="vrde-multiconnection" />.</para>
1391	</listitem>
1392
1393	<listitem>
1394	<para><computeroutput>--vrdereusecon on\|off</computeroutput>: This
1395	specifies the VRDE server behavior when multiple connections are
1396	disabled. When this option is enabled, the server will allow a new
1397	client to connect and will drop the existing connection. When this
1398	option is disabled (this is the default setting), a new connection
1399	will not be accepted if there is already a client connected to the
1400	server.</para>
1401	</listitem>
1402
1403	<listitem>
1404	<para><computeroutput>--vrdevideochannel on\|off</computeroutput>:
1405	This enables video redirection, if it is supported by the VRDE
1406	server; see <xref lang="" linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.</para>
1407	</listitem>
1408
1409	<listitem>
1410	<para><computeroutput>--vrdevideochannelquality
1411	<percent></computeroutput>: Sets the image quality for video
1412	redirection; see <xref lang=""
1413	linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.</para>
1414	</listitem>
1415	</itemizedlist></para>
1416	</sect2>
1417
1418	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport">
1419	<title>Teleporting settings</title>
1420
1421	<para>With the following commands for <computeroutput>VBoxManage
1422	modifyvm</computeroutput> you can configure a machine to be a target for
1423	teleporting. See <xref linkend="teleporting" /> for an
1424	introduction.<itemizedlist>
1425	<listitem>
1426	<para><computeroutput>--teleporter on\|off</computeroutput>: With
1427	this setting you turn on or off whether a machine waits for a
1428	teleporting request to come in on the network when it is started.
1429	If "on", when the machine is started, it does not boot the virtual
1430	machine as it would normally; instead, it then waits for a
1431	teleporting request to come in on the port and address listed with
1432	the next two parameters.</para>
1433	</listitem>
1434
1435	<listitem>
1436	<para><computeroutput>--teleporterport
1437	<port></computeroutput>, <computeroutput>--teleporteraddress
1438	<address></computeroutput>: these must be used with
1439	--teleporter and tell the virtual machine on which port and
1440	address it should listen for a teleporting request from another
1441	virtual machine. <computeroutput><port></computeroutput> can
1442	be any free TCP/IP port number (e.g. 6000);
1443	<computeroutput><address></computeroutput> can be any IP
1444	address or hostname and specifies the TCP/IP socket to bind to.
1445	The default is "0.0.0.0", which means any address.</para>
1446	</listitem>
1447
1448	<listitem>
1449	<para><computeroutput>--teleporterpassword
1450	<password></computeroutput>: if this optional argument is
1451	given, then the teleporting request will only succeed if the
1452	source machine specifies the same password as the one given with
1453	this command.</para>
1454	</listitem>
1455
1456	<listitem>
1457	<para><computeroutput>--teleporterpasswordfile
1458	<password></computeroutput>: if this optional argument is
1459	given, then the teleporting request will only succeed if the
1460	source machine specifies the same password as the one specified
1461	in the file give with this command. Use <computeroutput>stdin</computeroutput>
1462	to read the password from stdin.</para>
1463	</listitem>
1464
1465	<listitem>
1466	<para><computeroutput>--cpuid <leaf> <eax> <ebx>
1467	<ecx> <edx></computeroutput>: Advanced users can use
1468	this command before a teleporting operation to restrict the
1469	virtual CPU capabilities that VirtualBox presents to the guest
1470	operating system. This must be run on both the source and the
1471	target machines involved in the teleporting and will then modify
1472	what the guest sees when it executes the
1473	<computeroutput>CPUID</computeroutput> machine instruction. This
1474	might help with misbehaving applications that wrongly assume that
1475	certain CPU capabilities are present. The meaning of the
1476	parameters is hardware dependent; please refer to the AMD or Intel
1477	processor manuals.</para>
1478	</listitem>
1479	</itemizedlist></para>
1480	</sect2>
1481
1482	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-debugging">
1483	<title>Debugging settings</title>
1484
1485	<para>The following settings are only relevant for low-level VM
1486	debugging. Regular users will never need these settings.<itemizedlist>
1487	<listitem>
1488	<para><computeroutput>--tracing-enabled on\|off</computeroutput>:
1489	Enable the tracebuffer. This consumes some memory for the tracebuffer
1490	and adds extra overhead.</para>
1491	</listitem>
1492	<listitem>
1493	<para><computeroutput>--tracing-config <config-string></computeroutput>:
1494	Allows to configure tracing. In particular this defines which group of
1495	tracepoints are enabled.</para>
1496	</listitem>
1497	<listitem>
1498	<para><computeroutput>--tracing-allow-vm-access on\|off</computeroutput>:
1499	Enables/disables(default) VM access to the tracebuffer.</para>
1500	</listitem>
1501	</itemizedlist>
1502	</para>
1503	</sect2>
1504
1505	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-usbcardreader">
1506	<title>USB card reader settings</title>
1507
1508	<para>The following setting defines access to a USB Card Reader by the guest environment.
1509	USB card readers are typically used for accessing data on memory cards such as
1510	CompactFlash (CF), Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC).</para>
1511	<itemizedlist>
1512	<listitem>
1513	<para><computeroutput>--usbcardreader on\|off</computeroutput>:
1514	Enables/disables the USB card reader interface.</para>
1515	</listitem>
1516	</itemizedlist>
1517	</sect2>
1518
1519	<sect2 id="vboxmanage-autostart">
1520	<title>Auto starting VMs during host system boot</title>
1521
1522	<para>These settings configure the VM autostart feature,
1523	which automatically starts the VM at host system boot-up.
1524	Note that there are pre-requisities that need to be addressed before using this feature.
1525	See <xref lang="" linkend="autostart" /> for more details.</para>
1526	<itemizedlist>
1527	<listitem>
1528	<para><computeroutput>--autostart on\|off</computeroutput>:
1529	Enables/disables VM autostart at host system boot-up, using specified user name.</para>
1530	</listitem>
1531	<listitem>
1532	<para><computeroutput>--autostart-delay <seconds></computeroutput>:
1533	Specifies a delay (seconds) following host system boot-up, before VM autostarts.</para>
1534	</listitem>
1535	</itemizedlist>
1536	</sect2>
1537	</sect1>
1538
1539	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-clonevm">
1540	<title>VBoxManage clonevm</title>
1541
1542	<para>This command creates a full or linked copy of an existing virtual
1543	machine.</para>
1544
1545	<para>The <computeroutput>clonevm</computeroutput> subcommand takes at
1546	least the name of the virtual machine which should be cloned. The following
1547	additional settings can be used to further configure the clone VM
1548	operation:</para>
1549
1550	<itemizedlist>
1551	<listitem>
1552	<para><computeroutput>--snapshot <uuid>\|<name></computeroutput>:
1553	Select a specific snapshot where the clone operation should refer
1554	to. Default is referring to the current state.</para>
1555	</listitem>
1556	<listitem>
1557	<para><computeroutput>--mode machine\|machineandchildren\|all</computeroutput>:
1558	Selects the cloning mode of the operation. If
1559	<computeroutput>machine</computeroutput> is selected (the default),
1560	the current state of the VM without any snapshots is cloned. In the
1561	<computeroutput>machineandchildren</computeroutput> mode the snapshot
1562	provided by <computeroutput>--snapshot</computeroutput> and all
1563	child snapshots are cloned. If <computeroutput>all</computeroutput>
1564	is the selected mode all snapshots and the current state are cloned.
1565	</para>
1566	</listitem>
1567	<listitem>
1568	<para><computeroutput>--options link\|keepallmacs\|keepnatmacs\|keepdisknames</computeroutput>:
1569	Allows additional fine tuning of the clone operation. The first
1570	option defines that a linked clone should be created, which is
1571	only possible for a machine clone from a snapshot. The next two
1572	options allow to define how the MAC addresses of every virtual
1573	network card should be handled. They can either be reinitialized
1574	(the default), left unchanged
1575	(<computeroutput>keepallmacs</computeroutput>) or left unchanged
1576	when the network type is NAT
1577	(<computeroutput>keepnatmacs</computeroutput>). If you add
1578	<computeroutput>keepdisknames</computeroutput> all new disk images
1579	are called like the original ones, otherwise they are
1580	renamed.</para>
1581	</listitem>
1582	<listitem>
1583	<para><computeroutput>--name <name></computeroutput>: Select a
1584	new name for the new virtual machine. Default is "Original Name
1585	Clone".</para>
1586	</listitem>
1587	<listitem>
1588	<para><computeroutput>--basefolder <basefolder></computeroutput>:
1589	Select the folder where the new virtual machine configuration should
1590	be saved in.</para>
1591	</listitem>
1592	<listitem>
1593	<para><computeroutput>--uuid <uuid></computeroutput>:
1594	Select the UUID the new VM should have. This id has to be unique in
1595	the VirtualBox instance this clone should be registered. Default is
1596	creating a new UUID.</para>
1597	</listitem>
1598	<listitem>
1599	<para><computeroutput>--register</computeroutput>:
1600	Automatically register the new clone in this VirtualBox
1601	installation. If you manually want to register the new VM later, see
1602	<xref linkend="vboxmanage-registervm" /> for instructions how to do
1603	so.</para>
1604	</listitem>
1605	</itemizedlist>
1606	</sect1>
1607
1608	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-import">
1609	<title>VBoxManage import</title>
1610
1611	<para>This command imports a virtual appliance in OVF format by copying
1612	the virtual disk images and creating virtual machines in VirtualBox. See
1613	<xref linkend="ovf" /> for an introduction to appliances.</para>
1614
1615	<para>The <computeroutput>import</computeroutput> subcommand takes at
1616	least the path name of an OVF file as input and expects the disk images,
1617	if needed, in the same directory as the OVF file. A lot of additional
1618	command-line options are supported to control in detail what is being
1619	imported and modify the import parameters, but the details depend on the
1620	content of the OVF file.</para>
1621
1622	<para>It is therefore recommended to first run the import subcommand with
1623	the <computeroutput>--dry-run</computeroutput> or
1624	<computeroutput>-n</computeroutput> option. This will then print a
1625	description of the appliance's contents to the screen how it would be
1626	imported into VirtualBox, together with the optional command-line options
1627	to influence the import behavior.</para>
1628
1629	<para>As an example, here is the screen output with a sample appliance
1630	containing a Windows XP guest:<screen>VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf --dry-run
1631	Interpreting WindowsXp.ovf...
1632	OK.
1633	Virtual system 0:
1634	0: Suggested OS type: "WindowsXP"
1635	(change with "--vsys 0 --ostype <type>"; use "list ostypes" to list all)
1636	1: Suggested VM name "Windows XP Professional_1"
1637	(change with "--vsys 0 --vmname <name>")
1638	3: Number of CPUs: 1
1639	(change with "--vsys 0 --cpus <n>")
1640	4: Guest memory: 956 MB (change with "--vsys 0 --memory <MB>")
1641	5: Sound card (appliance expects "ensoniq1371", can change on import)
1642	(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore")
1643	6: USB controller
1644	(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 6 --ignore")
1645	7: Network adapter: orig bridged, config 2, extra type=bridged
1646	8: Floppy
1647	(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 8 --ignore")
1648	9: SCSI controller, type BusLogic
1649	(change with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --scsitype {BusLogic\|LsiLogic}";
1650	disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --ignore")
1651	10: IDE controller, type PIIX4
1652	(disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --ignore")
1653	11: Hard disk image: source image=WindowsXp.vmdk,
1654	target path=/home/user/disks/WindowsXp.vmdk, controller=9;channel=0
1655	(change controller with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --controller <id>";
1656	disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --ignore")</screen></para>
1657
1658	<para>As you can see, the individual configuration items are numbered, and
1659	depending on their type support different command-line options. The import
1660	subcommand can be directed to ignore many such items with a
1661	<computeroutput>--vsys X --unit Y --ignore</computeroutput> option, where
1662	X is the number of the virtual system (zero unless there are several
1663	virtual system descriptions in the appliance) and Y the item number, as
1664	printed on the screen.</para>
1665
1666	<para>In the above example, Item #1 specifies the name of the target
1667	machine in VirtualBox. Items #9 and #10 specify hard disk controllers,
1668	respectively. Item #11 describes a hard disk image; in this case, the
1669	additional <computeroutput>--controller</computeroutput> option indicates
1670	which item the disk image should be connected to, with the default coming
1671	from the OVF file.</para>
1672
1673	<para>You can combine several items for the same virtual system behind the
1674	same <computeroutput>--vsys</computeroutput> option. For example, to
1675	import a machine as described in the OVF, but without the sound card and
1676	without the USB controller, and with the disk image connected to the IDE
1677	controller instead of the SCSI controller, use this:<screen>VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf
1678	--vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore --unit 6 --ignore --unit 11 --controller 10</screen></para>
1679	</sect1>
1680
1681	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-export">
1682	<title>VBoxManage export</title>
1683
1684	<para>This command exports one or more virtual machines from VirtualBox
1685	into a virtual appliance in OVF format, including copying their virtual
1686	disk images to compressed VMDK. See <xref linkend="ovf" /> for an
1687	introduction to appliances.</para>
1688
1689	<para>The <computeroutput>export</computeroutput> command is simple to
1690	use: list the machine (or the machines) that you would like to export to
1691	the same OVF file and specify the target OVF file after an additional
1692	<computeroutput>--output</computeroutput> or
1693	<computeroutput>-o</computeroutput> option. Note that the directory of the
1694	target OVF file will also receive the exported disk images in the
1695	compressed VMDK format (regardless of the original format) and should have
1696	enough disk space left for them.</para>
1697
1698	<para>Beside a simple export of a given virtual machine, you can append
1699	several product information to the appliance file. Use
1700	<computeroutput>--product</computeroutput>,
1701	<computeroutput>--producturl</computeroutput>,
1702	<computeroutput>--vendor</computeroutput>,
1703	<computeroutput>--vendorurl</computeroutput> and
1704	<computeroutput>--version</computeroutput> to specify this additional
1705	information. For legal reasons you may add a license text or the content
1706	of a license file by using the <computeroutput>--eula</computeroutput> and
1707	<computeroutput>--eulafile</computeroutput> option respectively. As with
1708	OVF import, you must use the <computeroutput>--vsys X</computeroutput>
1709	option to direct the previously mentioned options to the correct virtual
1710	machine.</para>
1711
1712	<para>For virtualization products which aren't fully compatible with the
1713	OVF standard 1.0 you can enable a OVF 0.9 legacy mode with the
1714	<computeroutput>--legacy09</computeroutput> option.</para>
1715
1716	<para>To specify options controlling the exact content of the appliance
1717	file, you can use <computeroutput>--options</computeroutput> to request the
1718	creation of a manifest file (encouraged, allows detection of corrupted
1719	appliances on import), the additional export of DVD images, and the
1720	exclusion of MAC addresses. You can specify a list of options, e.g.
1721	<computeroutput>--options manifest,nomacs</computeroutput>. For details,
1722	check the help output of <computeroutput>VBoxManage export</computeroutput>.</para>
1723	</sect1>
1724
1725	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-startvm">
1726	<title>VBoxManage startvm</title>
1727
1728	<para>This command starts a virtual machine that is currently in the
1729	"Powered off" or "Saved" states.</para>
1730
1731	<para>The optional <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput> specifier
1732	determines whether the machine will be started in a window or whether the
1733	output should go through <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>,
1734	with VRDE enabled or not; see <xref linkend="vboxheadless" /> for more
1735	information. The list of types is subject to change, and it's not
1736	guaranteed that all types are accepted by any product variant.</para>
1737
1738	<para>The global or per-VM default value for the VM frontend type will be
1739	taken if the type is not explicitly specified. If none of these are set,
1740	the GUI variant will be started.</para>
1741
1742	<para>The following values are allowed:</para>
1743
1744	<glosslist>
1745	<glossentry>
1746	<glossterm><computeroutput>gui</computeroutput></glossterm>
1747
1748	<glossdef>
1749	<para>Starts a VM showing a GUI window. This is the default.</para>
1750	</glossdef>
1751	</glossentry>
1752
1753	<glossentry>
1754	<glossterm><computeroutput>headless</computeroutput></glossterm>
1755
1756	<glossdef>
1757	<para>Starts a VM without a window for remote display only.</para>
1758	</glossdef>
1759	</glossentry>
1760
1761	<glossentry>
1762	<glossterm><computeroutput>sdl</computeroutput></glossterm>
1763
1764	<glossdef>
1765	<para>Starts a VM with a minimal GUI and limited features.</para>
1766	</glossdef>
1767	</glossentry>
1768
1769	<glossentry>
1770	<glossterm><computeroutput>separate</computeroutput></glossterm>
1771
1772	<glossdef>
1773	<para>Starts a VM with detachable UI (technically it is a headless VM
1774	with user interface in a separate process). This is an experimental
1775	feature as it lacks certain functionality at the moment (e.g. 3D
1776	acceleration will not work).</para>
1777	</glossdef>
1778	</glossentry>
1779	</glosslist>
1780
1781	<note>
1782	<para>If you experience problems with starting virtual machines with
1783	particular frontends and there is no conclusive error information,
1784	consider starting virtual machines directly by running the respective
1785	front-end, as this can give additional error information.</para>
1786	</note>
1787	</sect1>
1788
1789	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-controlvm">
1790	<title>VBoxManage controlvm</title>
1791
1792	<para>The <computeroutput>controlvm</computeroutput> subcommand allows you
1793	to change the state of a virtual machine that is currently running. The
1794	following can be specified:</para>
1795
1796	<para><itemizedlist>
1797	<listitem>
1798	<para><computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm <vm>
1799	pause</computeroutput> temporarily puts a virtual machine on hold,
1800	without changing its state for good. The VM window will be painted
1801	in gray to indicate that the VM is currently paused. (This is
1802	equivalent to selecting the "Pause" item in the "Machine" menu of
1803	the GUI.)</para>
1804	</listitem>
1805
1806	<listitem>
1807	<para>Use <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm <vm>
1808	resume</computeroutput> to undo a previous
1809	<computeroutput>pause</computeroutput> command. (This is equivalent
1810	to selecting the "Resume" item in the "Machine" menu of the
1811	GUI.)</para>
1812	</listitem>
1813
1814	<listitem>
1815	<para><computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm <vm>
1816	reset</computeroutput> has the same effect on a virtual machine as
1817	pressing the "Reset" button on a real computer: a cold reboot of the
1818	virtual machine, which will restart and boot the guest operating
1819	system again immediately. The state of the VM is not saved
1820	beforehand, and data may be lost. (This is equivalent to selecting
1821	the "Reset" item in the "Machine" menu of the GUI.)</para>
1822	</listitem>
1823
1824	<listitem>
1825	<para><computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm <vm>
1826	poweroff</computeroutput> has the same effect on a virtual machine
1827	as pulling the power cable on a real computer. Again, the state of
1828	the VM is not saved beforehand, and data may be lost. (This is
1829	equivalent to selecting the "Close" item in the "Machine" menu of
1830	the GUI or pressing the window's close button, and then selecting
1831	"Power off the machine" in the dialog.)</para>
1832
1833	<para>After this, the VM's state will be "Powered off". From there,
1834	it can be started again; see <xref
1835	linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.</para>
1836	</listitem>
1837
1838	<listitem>
1839	<para><computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm <vm>
1840	savestate</computeroutput> will save the current state of the VM to
1841	disk and then stop the VM. (This is equivalent to selecting the
1842	"Close" item in the "Machine" menu of the GUI or pressing the
1843	window's close button, and then selecting "Save the machine state"
1844	in the dialog.)</para>
1845
1846	<para>After this, the VM's state will be "Saved". From there, it can
1847	be started again; see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.</para>
1848	</listitem>
1849
1850	<listitem>
1851	<para><computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" teleport
1852	--hostname <name> --port <port> [--passwordfile
1853	<file> \| --password <password>]</computeroutput> makes
1854	the machine the source of a teleporting operation and initiates a
1855	teleport to the given target. See <xref linkend="teleporting" /> for
1856	an introduction. If the optional password is specified, it must match
1857	the password that was given to the
1858	<computeroutput>modifyvm</computeroutput> command for the target
1859	machine; see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport" /> for
1860	details.</para>
1861	</listitem>
1862	</itemizedlist></para>
1863
1864	<para>A few extra options are available with
1865	<computeroutput>controlvm</computeroutput> that do not directly affect the
1866	VM's running state:</para>
1867
1868	<itemizedlist>
1869	<!-- @todo r=andy Document keyboardputscancode -->
1870
1871	<listitem>
1872	<para>The <computeroutput>setlinkstate<1-N></computeroutput>
1873	operation connects or disconnects virtual network cables from their
1874	network interfaces.</para>
1875	</listitem>
1876
1877	<listitem>
1878	<para><computeroutput>nic<1-N>
1879	null\|nat\|bridged\|intnet\|hostonly\|generic\|natnetwork[<devicename>]</computeroutput>: With this, you can
1880	set, for each of the VM's virtual network cards, what type of
1881	networking should be available. They can be not connected to the host
1882	(<computeroutput>null</computeroutput>), use network address
1883	translation (<computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>), bridged networking
1884	(<computeroutput>bridged</computeroutput>) or communicate with other
1885	virtual machines using internal networking
1886	(<computeroutput>intnet</computeroutput>) or host-only networking
1887	(<computeroutput>hostonly</computeroutput>) or natnetwork networking
1888	(<computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>) or access to rarely used
1889	sub-modes
1890	(<computeroutput>generic</computeroutput>).
1891	These options correspond to the modes which are described in detail in <xref
1892	linkend="networkingmodes" />.</para>
1893	</listitem>
1894
1895	<listitem>
1896	<para>With the "nictrace" options, you can optionally trace
1897	network traffic by dumping it to a file, for debugging
1898	purposes.</para>
1899
1900	<para>With <computeroutput>nictrace<1-N>
1901	on\|off</computeroutput>, you can enable network tracing for a
1902	particular virtual network card.</para>
1903
1904	<para>If enabled, you must specify with
1905	<computeroutput>--nictracefile<1-N>
1906	<filename></computeroutput> what file the trace should be
1907	logged to.</para>
1908	</listitem>
1909
1910	<listitem>
1911	<para><computeroutput>nicpromisc<1-N>
1912	deny\|allow-vms\|allow-all</computeroutput>:
1913	This allows you, for each of the VM's virtual network cards, to
1914	specify how the promiscious mode is handled. This setting is only
1915	relevant for bridged networking.
1916	<computeroutput>deny</computeroutput> (default setting) hides
1917	any traffic not intended for this VM.
1918	<computeroutput>allow-vms</computeroutput> hides all host
1919	traffic from this VM but allows the VM to see traffic from/to other
1920	VMs.
1921	<computeroutput>allow-all</computeroutput> removes this
1922	restriction completely.</para>
1923	</listitem>
1924
1925	<listitem>
1926	<para><computeroutput>nicproperty<1-N>
1927	<paramname>="paramvalue"</computeroutput>:
1928	This option, in combination with "nicgenericdrv" allows you to
1929	pass parameters to rarely-used network backends.</para><para>
1930	Those parameters are backend engine-specific, and are different
1931	between UDP Tunnel and the VDE backend drivers. For example,
1932	please see <xref linkend="network_udp_tunnel" />.
1933	</para>
1934	</listitem>
1935
1936	<listitem>
1937	<para><computeroutput>natpf<1-N>
1938	[<name>],tcp\|udp,[<hostip>],<hostport>,[<guestip>],
1939	<guestport></computeroutput>: This option defines a NAT
1940	port-forwarding rule (please see <xref linkend="natforward"/>
1941	for details).
1942	</para>
1943	</listitem>
1944
1945	<listitem>
1946	<para><computeroutput>natpf<1-N> delete
1947	<name></computeroutput>: This option deletes a NAT
1948	port-forwarding rule (please see <xref linkend="natforward"/>
1949	for details).</para>
1950	</listitem>
1951
1952	<listitem>
1953	<para>The <computeroutput>guestmemoryballoon<balloon size in MB></computeroutput>
1954	operation changes the size of the guest memory balloon, that is,
1955	memory allocated by the VirtualBox Guest Additions from the guest
1956	operating system and returned to the hypervisor for re-use by other
1957	virtual machines. This must be specified in megabytes. For details,
1958	see <xref linkend="guestadd-balloon" />.</para>
1959	</listitem>
1960
1961	<listitem>
1962	<para><computeroutput>usbattach<uuid\|address> [--capturefile <filename>]</computeroutput></para>
1963	<para>and <computeroutput>usbdetach <uuid\|address> [--capturefile <filename>]</computeroutput>
1964	make host USB devices visible/invisible to the virtual machine on the fly, without the need for
1965	creating filters first. The USB devices can be specified by UUID
1966	(unique identifier) or by address on the host system. Use the --capturefile
1967	option to specify the absolute path of a file for writing activity logging data.</para>
1968
1969	<para>You can use <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
1970	usbhost</computeroutput> to locate this information.</para>
1971	</listitem>
1972
1973	<listitem>
1974	<para><computeroutput>clipboard
1975	disabled\|hosttoguest\|guesttohost\|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
1976	With this setting, you can select if and how the guest or host
1977	operating system's clipboard should be shared with the host or guest;
1978	see <xref linkend="generalsettings" />. This requires that the Guest
1979	Additions be installed in the virtual machine.</para>
1980	</listitem>
1981
1982	<listitem>
1983	<para><computeroutput>draganddrop
1984	disabled\|hosttoguest\|guesttohost\|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
1985	With this setting, you can select the current drag and drop mode
1986	being used between the host and the virtual machine;
1987	see <xref linkend="guestadd-dnd" />. This requires that the Guest
1988	Additions be installed in the virtual machine.</para>
1989	</listitem>
1990
1991	<listitem>
1992	<para><computeroutput>vrde on\|off</computeroutput> lets you enable or
1993	disable the VRDE server, if it is installed.</para>
1994	</listitem>
1995
1996	<listitem>
1997	<para><computeroutput>vrdeport default\|<ports></computeroutput>
1998	changes the port or a range of ports that the VRDE server can bind to;
1999	"default" or "0" means port 3389, the standard port for RDP. For
2000	details, see the description for the
2001	<computeroutput>--vrdeport</computeroutput> option in <xref
2002	linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-other" />.</para>
2003	</listitem>
2004
2005	<listitem>
2006	<para><computeroutput>vrdevideochannelquality
2007	<percent></computeroutput>: Sets the image quality for video
2008	redirection; see <xref lang=""
2009	linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.</para>
2010	</listitem>
2011
2012	<listitem>
2013	<para><computeroutput>setvideomodehint</computeroutput> requests that
2014	the guest system change to a particular video mode. This requires that
2015	the Guest Additions be installed, and will not work for all guest
2016	systems.</para>
2017	</listitem>
2018
2019	<listitem>
2020	<para><computeroutput>screenshotpng</computeroutput> takes a screenshot
2021	of the guest display and saves it in PNG format.</para>
2022	</listitem>
2023
2024	<listitem>
2025	<para><computeroutput>videocap on\|off</computeroutput> enables or disables
2026	recording a VM session into a WebM/VP8 file.</para>
2027	</listitem>
2028
2029	<listitem>
2030	<para><computeroutput>videocapscreens all\|<screen ID>
2031	[<screen ID> ...]]</computeroutput> allows to specify which screens of
2032	the VM are being recorded. This setting
2033	cannot be changed while video capturing is enabled. Each screen is recorded
2034	into a separate file.</para>
2035	</listitem>
2036
2037	<listitem>
2038	<para><computeroutput>videocapfile <file></computeroutput> sets the filename
2039	VirtualBox uses to save the recorded content. This setting cannot be changed
2040	while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2041	</listitem>
2042
2043	<listitem>
2044	<para><computeroutput>videocapres <width> <height></computeroutput>
2045	sets the resolution (in pixels) of the recorded video. This setting cannot be
2046	changed while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2047	</listitem>
2048
2049	<listitem> <!-- @todo r=andy Clarify rate. -->
2050	<para><computeroutput>videocaprate <rate></computeroutput> sets the
2051	bitrate in kilobits (kb) per second. Increasing this value makes the video
2052	look better for the cost of an increased file size. This setting cannot be
2053	changed while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2054	</listitem>
2055
2056	<listitem>
2057	<para><computeroutput>videocapfps <fps></computeroutput> sets the
2058	maximum number of frames per second (FPS) to be recorded. Frames with a
2059	higher frequency will be skipped. Reducing this value increases the number
2060	of skipped frames and reduces the file size. This setting cannot be changed
2061	while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2062	</listitem>
2063
2064	<listitem> <!-- @todo r=andy Clarify time format. -->
2065	<para><computeroutput>videocapmaxtime <ms></computeroutput> sets
2066	the maximum time in milliseconds the video capturing will be enabled
2067	since activation.
2068	The capturing stops when the defined time interval has elapsed. If this
2069	value is zero the capturing is not limited by time. This setting cannot
2070	be changed while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2071	</listitem>
2072
2073	<listitem>
2074	<para><computeroutput>videocapmaxsize <MB></computeroutput> limits
2075	the maximum size of the captured video file (in MB). The capturing stops
2076	when the file size has reached the specified size. If this value is zero
2077	the capturing will not be limited by file size. This setting cannot be
2078	changed while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2079	</listitem>
2080
2081	<listitem>
2082	<para><computeroutput>videocapopts <key=value>[,<key=value> ...]</computeroutput>
2083	can be used to specify additional video capturing options. These options
2084	only are for advanced users and must be specified in a comma-separated
2085	key=value format, e.g. <computeroutput>foo=bar,a=b</computeroutput>.
2086	This setting cannot be changed while video capturing is enabled.</para>
2087	</listitem>
2088
2089	<listitem>
2090	<para>The <computeroutput>setcredentials</computeroutput> operation is
2091	used for remote logons in Windows guests. For details, please refer to
2092	<xref linkend="autologon" />.</para>
2093	</listitem>
2094
2095	<listitem>
2096	<para><computeroutput>teleport --host <name> --port <port></computeroutput>
2097	can be used to configure a VM as a target for teleporting.
2098	<name> specifies the virtual machine name. <port> specifies the port on the
2099	virtual machine which should listen for a teleporting request from another
2100	virtual machine. It can be any free TCP/IP port number (e.g. 6000);
2101	See <xref linkend="teleporting" /> for an introduction.</para>
2102	<itemizedlist>
2103	<listitem>
2104	<para><computeroutput>--maxdowntime <msec></computeroutput>:
2105	Optional - specifies the maximum downtime (millseconds) for the
2106	teleporting target VM.</para>
2107	</listitem>
2108
2109	<listitem>
2110	<para><computeroutput>--password
2111	<password></computeroutput>:
2112	Optional - indicates that the teleporting request will only succeed if the
2113	source machine specifies the same password as the one given with
2114	this command.</para>
2115	</listitem>
2116
2117	<listitem>
2118	<para><computeroutput>--passwordfile
2119	<password file></computeroutput>:
2120	Optional - indicates that the teleporting request will only succeed if the
2121	source machine specifies the same password as the one specified
2122	in the file given with this command. Use <computeroutput>stdin</computeroutput>
2123	to read the password from stdin.</para>
2124	</listitem>
2125	</itemizedlist>
2126	</listitem>
2127
2128	<listitem>
2129	<para><computeroutput>plugcpu\|unplugcpu
2130	<id></computeroutput>: If CPU hot-plugging is enabled, this adds
2131	a virtual CPU to the virtual machines (or removes one).
2132	<computeroutput><id></computeroutput> specifies the index of
2133	the virtual CPU to be added or removed and must be a number from 0
2134	to the maximum no. of CPUs configured. CPU 0 can never be removed.</para>
2135	</listitem>
2136
2137	<listitem>
2138	<para>The <computeroutput>cpuexecutioncap
2139	<1-100></computeroutput>: This operation controls how much cpu
2140	time a virtual CPU can use. A value of 50 implies a single virtual CPU
2141	can use up to 50% of a single host CPU.</para>
2142	</listitem>
2143
2144	<listitem>
2145	<para><computeroutput>webcam
2146	attach <path\|alias> [<key=value>[;<key=value>...]]</computeroutput>: This operation
2147	attaches a webcam to a running VM. Specify the absolute path of the
2148	webcam on the host operating system, or use its alias (obtained by using the command: VBoxManage
2149	list webcams).</para>
2150
2151	<para>Note that alias '.0' means default video input device on the host operating system, '.1', '.2',
2152	etc. mean first, second, etc. video input device. The device order is host-specific.</para>
2153
2154	<para>The optional settings parameter is a ';' delimited list of name/value pairs, enabling configuration
2155	of the emulated webcam device.</para>
2156
2157	<para>The following settings are supported:</para>
2158
2159	<para>MaxFramerate (default no maximum limit) - this specifies the highest rate (Frames/sec) at which
2160	video frames are sent to the guest. Higher frame rates increase CPU load, so this setting can be useful
2161	when there is a need to reduce CPU load. Its default 'value' is "no maximum limit", thus enabling the
2162	guest to use all frame rates supported by the host webcam.</para>
2163
2164	<para>MaxPayloadTransferSize (default 3060 bytes) - this specifies the maximum number of bytes the emulated
2165	webcam can send to the guest in one buffer. The default is used by some webcams. Higher values can
2166	slightly reduce CPU load, if the guest is able to use larger buffers.
2167	Note that higher MaxPayloadTransferSize values may be not supported by some guest operating systems.</para>
2168	</listitem>
2169
2170	<listitem>
2171	<para><computeroutput>webcam
2172	detach <path\|alias></computeroutput>: This operation
2173	detaches a webcam from a running VM. Specify the absolute path of the
2174	webcam on the host, or use its alias (obtained from webcam list below).</para>
2175	<para>Note the points below relating to specific Host Operating Systems:</para>
2176
2177	<para>Windows hosts</para>
2178
2179	<para>When the webcam device is detached from the host, the emulated webcam device
2180	is automatically detached from the guest.</para>
2181
2182	<para>Mac OS X hosts</para>
2183
2184	<para>OS X version 10.7 or newer is required.</para>
2185
2186	<para>When the webcam device is detached from the host, the emulated webcam device remains i
2187	attached to the guest and must be manually detached using the
2188	VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" webcam detach command.</para>
2189
2190	<para>Linux hosts</para>
2191
2192	<para>When the webcam is detached from the host, the emulated webcam device is automatically detached
2193	from the guest only if the webcam is streaming video. If the emulated webcam is inactive, it
2194	should be manually detached using the VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" webcam detach command.</para>
2195	</listitem>
2196
2197	<listitem>
2198	<para><computeroutput>webcam list</computeroutput>: This operation
2199	lists webcams attached to the running VM.
2200	The output is a list of absolute paths or aliases that were used for attaching the webcams
2201	to the VM using the 'webcam attach' command above.
2202	</para>
2203	</listitem>
2204
2205	<listitem>
2206	<para><computeroutput>addencpassword
2207	<id> <password file>\|- [--removeonsuspend <yes\|no>]</computeroutput>: This operation
2208	supplies an encrypted VM specified by <id> with the encryption password to enable a headless start.
2209	Either specify the absolute path of a password file on the host file system: <password file>, or
2210	use a '-' to instruct VBoxManage to prompt the user for the encryption password. </para>
2211
2212	<para><computeroutput>--removeonsuspend <yes\|no></computeroutput> specifies whether to remove/keep
2213	the password from/in VM memory when the VM is suspended. If the VM has been suspended and the password has
2214	been removed, the user needs to resupply the password before the VM can be resumed. This feature is useful
2215	in cases where the user doesn't want the password to be stored in VM memory, and the VM is suspended by a
2216	host suspend event.</para>
2217
2218	<para>Note: On VirtualBox versions 5.0 and later, data stored on hard disk images can be transparently
2219	encrypted for the guest. VirtualBox uses the AES algorithm in XTS mode and supports 128 or 256
2220	bit data encryption keys (DEK). The DEK is stored encrypted in the medium properties, and is
2221	decrypted during VM startup by supplying the encryption password.</para>
2222
2223	<para>The "VBoxManage encryptmedium" operation is used to create a DEK encrypted medium.
2224	See <xref linkend="diskencryption-encryption" />" for details.
2225	When starting an encrypted VM from a VirtualBox GUI app, the user will be prompted for the
2226	encryption password.</para>
2227
2228	<para>For a headless encrypted VM start, use:</para>
2229
2230	<para>VBoxManage startvm "vmname" --type headless</para>
2231
2232	<para>followed by:</para>
2233
2234	<para>VBoxManage "vmname" controlvm "vmname" addencpassword ...</para>
2235
2236	<para>to supply the encryption password required.</para>
2237	</listitem>
2238
2239	<listitem>
2240	<para><computeroutput>removeencpassword <id></computeroutput>: This operation
2241	removes encryption password authorization for password <id> for all encrypted media
2242	attached to the VM.</para>
2243	</listitem>
2244
2245	<listitem>
2246	<para><computeroutput>removeallencpasswords</computeroutput>: This operation
2247	removes encryption password authorization for all passwords for all
2248	encrypted media attached to the VM.</para>
2249	</listitem>
2250
2251	</itemizedlist>
2252	</sect1>
2253
2254	<sect1>
2255	<title>VBoxManage discardstate</title>
2256
2257	<para>This command discards the saved state of a virtual machine which is
2258	not currently running, which will cause its operating system to restart
2259	next time you start it. This is the equivalent of pulling out the power
2260	cable on a physical machine, and should be avoided if possible.</para>
2261	</sect1>
2262
2263	<sect1>
2264	<title>VBoxManage adoptstate</title>
2265
2266	<para>If you have a saved state file (<computeroutput>.sav</computeroutput>)
2267	that is separate from the VM configuration, you can use this command to
2268	"adopt" the file. This will change the VM to saved state and when you
2269	start it, VirtualBox will attempt to restore it from the saved state file
2270	you indicated. This command should only be used in special setups.</para>
2271	</sect1>
2272
2273	<sect1>
2274	<title>VBoxManage snapshot</title>
2275
2276	<para>This command is used to control snapshots from the command line. A
2277	snapshot consists of a complete copy of the virtual machine settings,
2278	copied at the time when the snapshot was taken, and optionally a virtual
2279	machine saved state file if the snapshot was taken while the machine was
2280	running. After a snapshot has been taken, VirtualBox creates differencing
2281	hard disk for each normal hard disk associated with the machine so that
2282	when a snapshot is restored, the contents of the virtual machine's virtual
2283	hard disks can be quickly reset by simply dropping the pre-existing
2284	differencing files.</para>
2285
2286	<screen>VBoxManage snapshot <uuid\|vmname>
2287	take <name> [--description <desc>] [--live]
2288	[--uniquename Number,Timestamp,Space,Force] \|
2289	delete <uuid\|snapname> \|
2290	restore <uuid\|snapname> \|
2291	restorecurrent \|
2292	edit <uuid\|snapname>\|--current
2293	[--name <name>]
2294	[--description <desc>] \|
2295	list [--details\|--machinereadable]
2296	showvminfo <uuid\|snapname></screen>
2297
2298	<para>The <computeroutput>take</computeroutput> operation takes a snapshot
2299	of the current state of the virtual machine. You must supply a name for
2300	the snapshot and can optionally supply a description. The new snapshot is
2301	inserted into the snapshots tree as a child of the current snapshot and
2302	then becomes the new current snapshot. The
2303	<computeroutput>--description</computeroutput> parameter allows to
2304	describe the snapshot. If <computeroutput>--live</computeroutput>
2305	is specified, the VM will not be stopped during the snapshot creation
2306	(live smapshotting).</para>
2307
2308	<para>The <computeroutput>delete</computeroutput> operation deletes a
2309	snapshot (specified by name or by UUID). This can take a while to finish
2310	since the differencing images associated with the snapshot might need to
2311	be merged with their child differencing images.</para>
2312
2313	<para>The <computeroutput>restore</computeroutput> operation will restore
2314	the given snapshot (specified by name or by UUID) by resetting the virtual
2315	machine's settings and current state to that of the snapshot. The previous
2316	current state of the machine will be lost. After this, the given snapshot
2317	becomes the new "current" snapshot so that subsequent snapshots are
2318	inserted under the snapshot from which was restored.</para>
2319
2320	<para>The <computeroutput>restorecurrent</computeroutput> operation is a
2321	shortcut to restore the current snapshot (i.e. the snapshot from which the
2322	current state is derived). This subcommand is equivalent to using the
2323	"restore" subcommand with the name or UUID of the current snapshot, except
2324	that it avoids the extra step of determining that name or UUID.</para>
2325
2326	<para>With the <computeroutput>edit</computeroutput> operation, you can
2327	change the name or description of an existing snapshot.</para>
2328
2329	<para>The <computeroutput>list</computeroutput> operation shows all
2330	snapshots of a virtual machine.</para>
2331
2332	<para>With the <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput> operation, you
2333	can view the virtual machine settings that were stored with an existing
2334	snapshot.</para>
2335	</sect1>
2336
2337	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-closemedium">
2338	<title>VBoxManage closemedium</title>
2339
2340	<para>This commands removes a hard disk, DVD or floppy image from a
2341	VirtualBox media registry.<footnote>
2342	<para>Before VirtualBox 4.0, it was necessary to call VBoxManage
2343	openmedium before a medium could be attached to a virtual machine;
2344	that call "registered" the medium with the global VirtualBox media
2345	registry. With VirtualBox 4.0 this is no longer necessary; media are
2346	added to media registries automatically. The "closemedium" call has
2347	been retained, however, to allow for explicitly removing a medium from
2348	a registry.</para>
2349	</footnote></para>
2350
2351	<screen>VBoxManage closemedium [disk\|dvd\|floppy] <uuid\|filename>
2352	[--delete]</screen>
2353
2354	<para>Optionally, you can request that the image be deleted. You will get
2355	appropriate diagnostics that the deletion failed, however the image will
2356	become unregistered in any case.</para>
2357	</sect1>
2358
2359	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-storageattach">
2360	<title>VBoxManage storageattach</title>
2361
2362	<para>This command attaches/modifies/removes a storage medium connected to
2363	a storage controller that was previously added with the
2364	<computeroutput>storagectl</computeroutput> command (see the previous
2365	section). The syntax is as follows:</para>
2366
2367	<screen>VBoxManage storageattach <uuid\|vmname>
2368	--storagectl <name>
2369	[--port <number>]
2370	[--device <number>]
2371	[--type dvddrive\|hdd\|fdd]
2372	[--medium none\|emptydrive\|additions\|
2373	<uuid>\|<filename>\|host:<drive>\|iscsi]
2374	[--mtype normal\|writethrough\|immutable\|shareable
2375	readonly\|multiattach]
2376	[--comment <text>]
2377	[--setuuid <uuid>]
2378	[--setparentuuid <uuid>]
2379	[--passthrough on\|off]
2380	[--tempeject on\|off]
2381	[--nonrotational on\|off]
2382	[--discard on\|off]
2383	[--hotpluggable on\|off]
2384	[--bandwidthgroup name\|none]
2385	[--forceunmount]
2386	[--server <name>\|<ip>]
2387	[--target <target>]
2388	[--tport <port>]
2389	[--lun <lun>]
2390	[--encodedlun <lun>]
2391	[--username <username>]
2392	[--password <password>]
2393	[--initiator <initiator>]
2394	[--intnet]</screen>
2395
2396	<para>A number of parameters are commonly required; the ones at the end of
2397	the list are required only for iSCSI targets (see below).</para>
2398
2399	<para>The common parameters are:<glosslist>
2400	<glossentry>
2401	<glossterm><computeroutput>uuid\|vmname</computeroutput></glossterm>
2402
2403	<glossdef>
2404	<para>The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.</para>
2405	</glossdef>
2406	</glossentry>
2407
2408	<glossentry>
2409	<glossterm><computeroutput>--storagectl</computeroutput></glossterm>
2410
2411	<glossdef>
2412	<para>Name of the storage controller. Mandatory. The list of the
2413	storage controllers currently attached to a VM can be obtained
2414	with <computeroutput>VBoxManage showvminfo</computeroutput>; see
2415	<xref linkend="vboxmanage-showvminfo" />.</para>
2416	</glossdef>
2417	</glossentry>
2418
2419	<glossentry>
2420	<glossterm><computeroutput>--port</computeroutput></glossterm>
2421
2422	<glossdef>
2423	<para>The number of the storage controller's port which is to be
2424	modified. Mandatory, unless the storage controller has only a
2425	single port.</para>
2426	</glossdef>
2427	</glossentry>
2428
2429	<glossentry>
2430	<glossterm><computeroutput>--device</computeroutput></glossterm>
2431
2432	<glossdef>
2433	<para>The number of the port's device which is to be modified.
2434	Mandatory, unless the storage controller has only a single device
2435	per port.</para>
2436	</glossdef>
2437	</glossentry>
2438
2439	<glossentry>
2440	<glossterm><computeroutput>--type</computeroutput></glossterm>
2441
2442	<glossdef>
2443	<para>Define the type of the drive to which the medium is being
2444	attached/detached/modified. This argument can only be omitted if
2445	the type of medium can be determined from either the medium given
2446	with the <computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput> argument or
2447	from a previous medium attachment.</para>
2448	</glossdef>
2449	</glossentry>
2450
2451	<glossentry>
2452	<glossterm><computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput></glossterm>
2453
2454	<glossdef>
2455	<para>Specifies what is to be attached. The following values are
2456	supported:<itemizedlist>
2457	<listitem>
2458	<para>"none": Any existing device should be removed from the
2459	given slot.</para>
2460	</listitem>
2461
2462	<listitem>
2463	<para>"emptydrive": For a virtual DVD or floppy drive only,
2464	this makes the device slot behaves like a removeable drive
2465	into which no media has been inserted.</para>
2466	</listitem>
2467
2468	<listitem>
2469	<para>"additions": For a virtual DVD drive only, this
2470	attaches the <emphasis>VirtualBox Guest Additions</emphasis>
2471	image to the given device slot.</para>
2472	</listitem>
2473
2474	<listitem>
2475	<para>If a UUID is specified, it must be the UUID of a
2476	storage medium that is already known to VirtualBox (e.g.
2477	because it has been attached to another virtual machine).
2478	See <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" /> for how to list known
2479	media. This medium is then attached to the given device
2480	slot.</para>
2481	</listitem>
2482
2483	<listitem>
2484	<para>If a filename is specified, it must be the full path
2485	of an existing disk image (ISO, RAW, VDI, VMDK or other),
2486	which is then attached to the given device slot.</para>
2487	</listitem>
2488
2489	<listitem>
2490	<para>"host:<drive>": For a virtual DVD or floppy
2491	drive only, this connects the given device slot to the
2492	specified DVD or floppy drive on the host computer.</para>
2493	</listitem>
2494
2495	<listitem>
2496	<para>"iscsi": For virtual hard disks only, this allows for
2497	specifying an iSCSI target. In this case, more parameters
2498	must be given; see below.</para>
2499	</listitem>
2500	</itemizedlist></para>
2501
2502	<para>Some of the above changes, in particular for removeable
2503	media (floppies and CDs/DVDs), can be effected while a VM is
2504	running. Others (device changes or changes in hard disk device
2505	slots) require the VM to be powered off.</para>
2506	</glossdef>
2507	</glossentry>
2508
2509	<glossentry>
2510	<glossterm><computeroutput>--mtype</computeroutput></glossterm>
2511
2512	<glossdef>
2513	<para>Defines how this medium behaves with respect to snapshots
2514	and write operations. See <xref linkend="hdimagewrites" /> for
2515	details.</para>
2516	</glossdef>
2517	</glossentry>
2518
2519	<glossentry>
2520	<glossterm><computeroutput>--comment</computeroutput></glossterm>
2521
2522	<glossdef>
2523	<para>Any description that you want to have stored with this
2524	medium (optional; for example, for an iSCSI target, "Big storage
2525	server downstairs"). This is purely descriptive and not needed for
2526	the medium to function correctly.</para>
2527	</glossdef>
2528	</glossentry>
2529
2530	<glossentry>
2531	<glossterm><computeroutput>--setuuid, --setparentuuid</computeroutput></glossterm>
2532
2533	<glossdef>
2534	<para>Modifies the UUID or parent UUID of a medium before
2535	attaching it to a VM. This is an expert option. Inappropriate use
2536	can make the medium unusable or lead to broken VM configurations
2537	if any other VM is referring to the same media already. The most
2538	frequently used variant is <code>--setuuid ""</code>, which assigns
2539	a new (random) UUID to an image. This is useful to resolve the
2540	duplicate UUID errors if one duplicated an image using file copy
2541	utilities.</para>
2542	</glossdef>
2543	</glossentry>
2544
2545	<glossentry>
2546	<glossterm><computeroutput>--passthrough</computeroutput></glossterm>
2547
2548	<glossdef>
2549	<para>For a virtual DVD drive only, you can enable DVD writing
2550	support (currently experimental; see <xref
2551	linkend="storage-cds" />).</para>
2552	</glossdef>
2553	</glossentry>
2554
2555	<glossentry>
2556	<glossterm><computeroutput>--tempeject</computeroutput></glossterm>
2557
2558	<glossdef>
2559	<para>For a virtual DVD drive only, you can configure the behavior
2560	for guest-triggered medium eject. If this is set to "on", the eject
2561	has only temporary effects. If the VM is powered off and restarted
2562	the originally configured medium will be still in the drive.</para>
2563	</glossdef>
2564	</glossentry>
2565
2566	<glossentry>
2567	<glossterm><computeroutput>--nonrotational</computeroutput></glossterm>
2568
2569	<glossdef>
2570	<para>This switch allows to enable the non-rotational flag for virtual
2571	hard disks. Some guests (i.e. Windows 7+) treat such disks like SSDs
2572	and don't perform disk fragmentation on such media.
2573	</para>
2574	</glossdef>
2575	</glossentry>
2576
2577	<glossentry>
2578	<glossterm><computeroutput>--bandwidthgroup</computeroutput></glossterm>
2579
2580	<glossdef>
2581	<para>Sets the bandwidth group to use for the given device; see
2582	<xref linkend="storage-bandwidth-limit" />.</para>
2583	</glossdef>
2584	</glossentry>
2585
2586	<glossentry>
2587	<glossterm><computeroutput>--forceunmount</computeroutput></glossterm>
2588
2589	<glossdef>
2590	<para>For a virtual DVD or floppy drive only, this forcibly
2591	unmounts the DVD/CD/Floppy or mounts a new DVD/CD/Floppy even if
2592	the previous one is locked down by the guest for reading. Again,
2593	see <xref linkend="storage-cds" /> for details.</para>
2594	</glossdef>
2595	</glossentry>
2596	</glosslist></para>
2597
2598	<para>When "iscsi" is used with the
2599	<computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput> parameter for iSCSI support --
2600	see <xref linkend="storage-iscsi" /> --, additional parameters must or can
2601	be used:<glosslist>
2602	<glossentry>
2603	<glossterm><computeroutput>--server</computeroutput></glossterm>
2604
2605	<glossdef>
2606	<para>The host name or IP address of the iSCSI target;
2607	required.</para>
2608	</glossdef>
2609	</glossentry>
2610
2611	<glossentry>
2612	<glossterm><computeroutput>--target</computeroutput></glossterm>
2613
2614	<glossdef>
2615	<para>Target name string. This is determined by the iSCSI target
2616	and used to identify the storage resource; required.</para>
2617	</glossdef>
2618	</glossentry>
2619
2620	<glossentry>
2621	<glossterm><computeroutput>--tport</computeroutput></glossterm>
2622
2623	<glossdef>
2624	<para>TCP/IP port number of the iSCSI service on the target
2625	(optional).</para>
2626	</glossdef>
2627	</glossentry>
2628
2629	<glossentry>
2630	<glossterm><computeroutput>--lun</computeroutput></glossterm>
2631
2632	<glossdef>
2633	<para>Logical Unit Number of the target resource (optional).
2634	Often, this value is zero.</para>
2635	</glossdef>
2636	</glossentry>
2637
2638	<glossentry>
2639	<glossterm><computeroutput>--username, --password</computeroutput></glossterm>
2640
2641	<glossdef>
2642	<para>Username and password (initiator secret) for target
2643	authentication, if required (optional).<note>
2644	<para>Username and password are stored without
2645	encryption (i.e. in clear text) in the XML machine
2646	configuration file if no settings password is provided.
2647	When a settings password was specified the first time,
2648	the password is stored encrypted.</para>
2649	</note></para>
2650	</glossdef>
2651	</glossentry>
2652
2653	<glossentry>
2654	<glossterm><computeroutput>--intnet</computeroutput></glossterm>
2655
2656	<glossdef>
2657	<para>If specified, connect to the iSCSI target via Internal
2658	Networking. This needs further configuration which is described in
2659	<xref linkend="iscsi-intnet" />.</para>
2660	</glossdef>
2661	</glossentry>
2662	</glosslist></para>
2663	</sect1>
2664
2665	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-storagectl">
2666	<title>VBoxManage storagectl</title>
2667
2668	<para>This command attaches/modifies/removes a storage controller. After
2669	this, virtual media can be attached to the controller with the
2670	<computeroutput>storageattach</computeroutput> command (see the next
2671	section).</para>
2672
2673	<para>The syntax is as follows:</para>
2674
2675	<screen>VBoxManage storagectl <uuid\|vmname>
2676	--name <name>
2677	[--add <ide/sata/scsi/floppy>]
2678	[--controller <LsiLogic\|LSILogicSAS\|BusLogic\|
2679	IntelAhci\|PIIX3\|PIIX4\|ICH6\|I82078\|usb>]
2680	[--portcount <1-30>]
2681	[--hostiocache on\|off]
2682	[--bootable on\|off]
2683	[--rename <name>]
2684	[--remove]</screen>
2685
2686	<para>where the parameters mean: <glosslist>
2687	<glossentry>
2688	<glossterm><computeroutput>uuid\|vmname</computeroutput></glossterm>
2689
2690	<glossdef>
2691	<para>The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.</para>
2692	</glossdef>
2693	</glossentry>
2694
2695	<glossentry>
2696	<glossterm><computeroutput>--name</computeroutput></glossterm>
2697
2698	<glossdef>
2699	<para>Name of the storage controller. Mandatory.</para>
2700	</glossdef>
2701	</glossentry>
2702
2703	<glossentry>
2704	<glossterm><computeroutput>--add</computeroutput></glossterm>
2705
2706	<glossdef>
2707	<para>Define the type of the system bus to which the storage
2708	controller must be connected.</para>
2709	</glossdef>
2710	</glossentry>
2711
2712	<glossentry>
2713	<glossterm><computeroutput>--controller</computeroutput></glossterm>
2714
2715	<glossdef>
2716	<para>Allows to choose the type of chipset being emulated for the
2717	given storage controller.</para>
2718	</glossdef>
2719	</glossentry>
2720
2721	<glossentry>
2722	<glossterm><computeroutput>--portcount</computeroutput></glossterm>
2723
2724	<glossdef>
2725	<para>This determines how many ports the storage controller should
2726	support.</para>
2727	</glossdef>
2728	</glossentry>
2729
2730	<glossentry>
2731	<glossterm><computeroutput>--hostiocache</computeroutput></glossterm>
2732
2733	<glossdef>
2734	<para>Configures the use of the host I/O cache for all disk images
2735	attached to this storage controller. For details, please see <xref
2736	linkend="iocaching" />.</para>
2737	</glossdef>
2738	</glossentry>
2739
2740	<glossentry>
2741	<glossterm><computeroutput>--bootable</computeroutput></glossterm>
2742
2743	<glossdef>
2744	<para>Selects whether this controller is bootable.</para>
2745	</glossdef>
2746	</glossentry>
2747
2748	<glossentry>
2749	<glossterm><computeroutput>--rename</computeroutput></glossterm>
2750
2751	<glossdef>
2752	<para>Sets the name of the storage controller.</para>
2753	</glossdef>
2754	</glossentry>
2755
2756	<glossentry>
2757	<glossterm><computeroutput>--remove</computeroutput></glossterm>
2758
2759	<glossdef>
2760	<para>Removes the storage controller from the VM config.</para>
2761	</glossdef>
2762	</glossentry>
2763	</glosslist></para>
2764	</sect1>
2765
2766	<sect1>
2767	<title>VBoxManage bandwidthctl</title>
2768
2769	<para>This command creates/deletes/modifies/shows bandwidth groups of the given
2770	virtual machine:<screen>VBoxManage bandwidthctl <uuid\|vmname>
2771	add <name> --type disk\|network --limit <megabytes per second>[k\|m\|g\|K\|M\|G] \|
2772	set <name> --limit <megabytes per second>[k\|m\|g\|K\|M\|G] \|
2773	remove <name> \|
2774	list [--machinereadable]</screen></para>
2775
2776	<para>The following subcommands are available:<itemizedlist>
2777	<listitem>
2778	<para><computeroutput>add</computeroutput>, creates a new bandwidth
2779	group of given type.</para>
2780	</listitem>
2781	<listitem>
2782	<para><computeroutput>set</computeroutput>, modifies the limit for an
2783	existing bandwidth group.</para>
2784	</listitem>
2785	<listitem>
2786	<para><computeroutput>remove</computeroutput>, destroys a bandwidth
2787	group.</para>
2788	</listitem>
2789	<listitem>
2790	<para><computeroutput>list</computeroutput>, shows all bandwidth groups
2791	defined for the given VM.</para>
2792	</listitem>
2793	</itemizedlist>
2794	</para>
2795	<para>The parameters mean:<glosslist>
2796	<glossentry>
2797	<glossterm><computeroutput>uuid\|vmname</computeroutput></glossterm>
2798
2799	<glossdef>
2800	<para>The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.</para>
2801	</glossdef>
2802	</glossentry>
2803
2804	<glossentry>
2805	<glossterm><computeroutput>--name</computeroutput></glossterm>
2806
2807	<glossdef>
2808	<para>Name of the bandwidth group. Mandatory.</para>
2809	</glossdef>
2810	</glossentry>
2811
2812	<glossentry>
2813	<glossterm><computeroutput>--type</computeroutput></glossterm>
2814
2815	<glossdef>
2816	<para>Type of the bandwidth group. Mandatory. Two types are
2817	supported: <computeroutput>disk</computeroutput> and
2818	<computeroutput>network</computeroutput>. See
2819	<xref linkend="storage-bandwidth-limit" /> or
2820	<xref linkend="network_bandwidth_limit" /> for a description of a
2821	particular type.</para>
2822	</glossdef>
2823	</glossentry>
2824
2825	<glossentry>
2826	<glossterm><computeroutput>--limit</computeroutput></glossterm>
2827
2828	<glossdef>
2829	<para>Specifies the limit for the given group. Can be changed
2830	while the VM is running. The default unit is megabytes per
2831	second. The unit can be changed by specifying one of the
2832	following suffixes: <computeroutput>k</computeroutput> for kilobits/s, <computeroutput>m</computeroutput> for megabits/s, <computeroutput>g</computeroutput> for gigabits/s, <computeroutput>K</computeroutput> for kilobytes/s, <computeroutput>M</computeroutput> for megabytes/s, <computeroutput>G</computeroutput> for gigabytes/s.</para>
2833	</glossdef>
2834	</glossentry>
2835	</glosslist>
2836	<note>
2837	<para>The network bandwidth limits apply only to the traffic being sent by
2838	virtual machines. The traffic being received by VMs is unlimited.</para>
2839	</note>
2840	<note>
2841	<para>To remove a bandwidth group it must not be referenced by any disks
2842	or adapters in running VM.</para>
2843	</note>
2844	</para>
2845	</sect1>
2846
2847	<sect1>
2848	<title>VBoxManage showhdinfo</title>
2849
2850	<para>This command shows information about a virtual hard disk image,
2851	notably its size, its size on disk, its type and the virtual machines
2852	which use it.<note>
2853	<para>For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
2854	"showvdiinfo" command is also supported and mapped internally to the
2855	"showhdinfo" command.</para>
2856	</note></para>
2857	<para>The disk image must be specified either by its UUID (if the medium
2858	is registered) or by its filename. Registered images can be listed by
2859	<computeroutput>VBoxManage list hdds</computeroutput> (see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />
2860	for more information). A filename must be specified as valid path, either
2861	as an absolute path or as a relative path starting from the current
2862	directory.</para>
2863	</sect1>
2864
2865	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-createvdi">
2866	<title>VBoxManage createhd</title>
2867
2868	<para>This command creates a new virtual hard disk image. The syntax is as
2869	follows:</para>
2870
2871	<screen>VBoxManage createhd --filename <filename>
2872	--size <megabytes>\|--sizebyte <bytes>
2873	[--format VDI\|VMDK\|VHD] (default: VDI)
2874	[--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]</screen>
2875
2876	<para>where the parameters mean:<glosslist>
2877	<glossentry>
2878	<glossterm><computeroutput>--filename</computeroutput></glossterm>
2879
2880	<glossdef>
2881	<para>Allows to choose a file name. Mandatory.</para>
2882	</glossdef>
2883	</glossentry>
2884
2885	<glossentry>
2886	<glossterm><computeroutput>--size</computeroutput></glossterm>
2887
2888	<glossdef>
2889	<para>Allows to define the image capacity, in 1 MiB units.
2890	Mandatory.</para>
2891	</glossdef>
2892	</glossentry>
2893
2894	<glossentry>
2895	<glossterm><computeroutput>--format</computeroutput></glossterm>
2896
2897	<glossdef>
2898	<para>Allows to choose a file format for the output file different
2899	from the file format of the input file.</para>
2900	</glossdef>
2901	</glossentry>
2902
2903	<glossentry>
2904	<glossterm><computeroutput>--variant</computeroutput></glossterm>
2905
2906	<glossdef>
2907	<para>Allows to choose a file format variant for the output file.
2908	It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
2909	combinations are supported, and specifying inconsistent flags will
2910	result in an error message.</para>
2911	</glossdef>
2912	</glossentry>
2913	</glosslist> <note>
2914	<para>For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
2915	"createvdi" command is also supported and mapped internally to the
2916	"createhd" command.</para>
2917	</note></para>
2918	</sect1>
2919
2920	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-modifyvdi">
2921	<title>VBoxManage modifyhd</title>
2922
2923	<para>With the <computeroutput>modifyhd</computeroutput> command, you can
2924	change the characteristics of a disk image after it has been
2925	created:<screen>VBoxManage modifyhd <uuid\|filename>
2926	[--type normal\|writethrough\|immutable\|shareable\|
2927	readonly\|multiattach]
2928	[--autoreset on\|off]
2929	[--property <name=[value]>]
2930	[--compact]
2931	[--resize <megabytes>\|--resizebyte <bytes>]</screen><note>
2932	<para>Despite the "hd" in the subcommand name, the command works with
2933	all disk images, not only hard disks. For compatibility with earlier
2934	versions of VirtualBox, the "modifyvdi" command is also supported and
2935	mapped internally to the "modifyhd" command.</para>
2936	</note></para>
2937
2938	<para>The disk image to modify must be specified either by its UUID
2939	(if the medium is registered) or by its filename. Registered images
2940	can be listed by <computeroutput>VBoxManage list hdds</computeroutput>
2941	(see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" /> for more information).
2942	A filename must be specified as valid path, either as an absolute path
2943	or as a relative path starting from the current directory.</para>
2944	<para>The following options are available:<itemizedlist>
2945	<listitem>
2946	<para>With the <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput> argument, you
2947	can change the type of an existing image between the normal,
2948	immutable, write-through and other modes; see <xref
2949	linkend="hdimagewrites" /> for details.</para>
2950	</listitem>
2951
2952	<listitem>
2953	<para>For immutable (differencing) hard disks only, the
2954	<computeroutput>--autoreset on\|off</computeroutput> option
2955	determines whether the disk is automatically reset on every VM
2956	startup (again, see <xref linkend="hdimagewrites" />). The default
2957	is "on".</para>
2958	</listitem>
2959
2960	<listitem>
2961	<para>With the <computeroutput>--compact</computeroutput> option,
2962	can be used to compact disk images, i.e. remove blocks that only
2963	contains zeroes. This will shrink a dynamically allocated image
2964	again; it will reduce the <emphasis>physical</emphasis> size of the
2965	image without affecting the logical size of the virtual disk.
2966	Compaction works both for base images and for diff images created as
2967	part of a snapshot.</para>
2968
2969	<para>For this operation to be effective, it is required that free
2970	space in the guest system first be zeroed out using a suitable
2971	software tool. For Windows guests, you can use the
2972	<computeroutput>sdelete</computeroutput> tool provided by Microsoft.
2973	Execute <computeroutput>sdelete -z</computeroutput> in the guest to
2974	zero the free disk space before compressing the virtual disk
2975	image. For Linux, use the <code>zerofree</code> utility which
2976	supports ext2/ext3 filesystems. For Mac OS X guests, use the
2977	<code>diskutil secureErase freespace 0 /</code> command line
2978	from an elevated Terminal.</para>
2979
2980	<para>Please note that compacting is currently only available for
2981	VDI images. A similar effect can be achieved by zeroing out free
2982	blocks and then cloning the disk to any other dynamically allocated
2983	format. You can use this workaround until compacting is also
2984	supported for disk formats other than VDI.</para>
2985	</listitem>
2986
2987	<listitem>
2988	<para>The <computeroutput>--resize x</computeroutput> option (where x
2989	is the desired new total space in <emphasis role="bold">megabytes</emphasis>)
2990	allows you to change the capacity of an existing image; this adjusts the
2991	<emphasis>logical</emphasis> size of a virtual disk without affecting
2992	the physical size much.<footnote>
2993	<para>Image resizing was added with VirtualBox 4.0.</para>
2994	</footnote> This currently works only for VDI and VHD formats, and only
2995	for the dynamically allocated variants, and can only be used to expand
2996	(not shrink) the capacity.
2997	For example, if you originally created a 10G disk which is now full,
2998	you can use the <computeroutput>--resize 15360</computeroutput>
2999	command to change the capacity to 15G (15,360MB) without having to create a new
3000	image and copy all data from within a virtual machine. Note however that
3001	this only changes the drive capacity; you will typically next need to use
3002	a partition management tool inside the guest to adjust the main partition
3003	to fill the drive.</para><para>The <computeroutput>--resizebyte x</computeroutput>
3004	option does almost the same thing, except that x is expressed in bytes
3005	instead of megabytes.</para>
3006	</listitem>
3007	</itemizedlist></para>
3008	</sect1>
3009
3010	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-clonevdi">
3011	<title>VBoxManage clonemedium</title>
3012
3013	<para>This command duplicates a virtual disk/DVD/floppy medium to a
3014	new medium (usually an image file) with a new unique identifier (UUID).
3015	The new image can be transferred to another host system or imported into
3016	VirtualBox again using the Virtual Media Manager; see <xref linkend="vdis" />
3017	and <xref linkend="cloningvdis" />. The syntax is as follows:</para>
3018
3019	<screen>VBoxManage clonemedium [disk\|dvd\|floppy] <uuid\|inputfile> <uuid\|outputfile>
3020
3021	[--format VDI\|VMDK\|VHD\|RAW\|<other>]
3022	[--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
3023	[--existing]</screen>
3024
3025
3026	<para>The medium to clone as well as the target image must be described
3027	either by its UUIDs (if the mediums are registered) or by its filename.
3028	Registered images can be listed by <computeroutput>VBoxManage list hdds</computeroutput>
3029	(see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" /> for more information).
3030	A filename must be specified as valid path, either as an absolute path or
3031	as a relative path starting from the current directory.</para>
3032	<para>The following options are available:<glosslist>
3033	<glossentry>
3034	<glossterm><computeroutput>--format</computeroutput></glossterm>
3035
3036	<glossdef>
3037	<para>Allow to choose a file format for the output file different
3038	from the file format of the input file.</para>
3039	</glossdef>
3040	</glossentry>
3041
3042	<glossentry>
3043	<glossterm><computeroutput>--variant</computeroutput></glossterm>
3044
3045	<glossdef>
3046	<para>Allow to choose a file format variant for the output file.
3047	It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
3048	combinations are supported, and specifying inconsistent flags will
3049	result in an error message.</para>
3050	</glossdef>
3051	</glossentry>
3052
3053	<glossentry>
3054	<glossterm><computeroutput>--existing</computeroutput></glossterm>
3055
3056	<glossdef>
3057	<para>Perform the clone operation to an already existing
3058	destination medium. Only the portion of the source medium which
3059	fits into the destination medium is copied. This means if the
3060	destination medium is smaller than the source only a part of it is
3061	copied, and if the destination medium is larger than the source
3062	the remaining part of the destination medium is unchanged.</para>
3063	</glossdef>
3064	</glossentry>
3065	</glosslist> <note>
3066	<para>For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
3067	"clonevdi" and "clonehd" commands are still supported and mapped
3068	internally to the "clonehd disk" command.</para>
3069	</note></para>
3070	</sect1>
3071
3072	<sect1>
3073	<title>VBoxManage convertfromraw</title>
3074
3075	<para>This command converts a raw disk image to a VirtualBox Disk Image
3076	(VDI) file. The syntax is as follows:</para>
3077
3078	<screen>VBoxManage convertfromraw <filename> <outputfile>
3079	[--format VDI\|VMDK\|VHD]
3080	[--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
3081	[--uuid <uuid>]
3082	VBoxManage convertfromraw stdin <outputfile> <bytes>
3083	[--format VDI\|VMDK\|VHD]
3084	[--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
3085	[--uuid <uuid>]</screen>
3086
3087	<para>where the parameters mean:<glosslist>
3088	<glossentry>
3089	<glossterm><computeroutput>--bytes</computeroutput></glossterm>
3090
3091	<glossdef>
3092	<para>The size of the image file, in bytes, provided through
3093	stdin.</para>
3094	</glossdef>
3095	</glossentry>
3096
3097	<glossentry>
3098	<glossterm><computeroutput>--format</computeroutput></glossterm>
3099
3100	<glossdef>
3101	<para>Select the disk image format to create. Default is
3102	VDI.</para>
3103	</glossdef>
3104	</glossentry>
3105
3106	<glossentry>
3107	<glossterm><computeroutput>--variant</computeroutput></glossterm>
3108
3109	<glossdef>
3110	<para>Allow to choose a file format variant for the output file.
3111	It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
3112	combinations are supported, and specifying inconsistent flags will
3113	result in an error message.</para>
3114	</glossdef>
3115	</glossentry>
3116
3117	<glossentry>
3118	<glossterm><computeroutput>--uuid</computeroutput></glossterm>
3119
3120	<glossdef>
3121	<para>Allow to specifiy the UUID of the output file.</para>
3122	</glossdef>
3123	</glossentry>
3124	</glosslist> The second form forces VBoxManage to read the content for
3125	the disk image from standard input (useful for using that command in a
3126	pipe).</para>
3127
3128	<para><note>
3129	<para>For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
3130	"convertdd" command is also supported and mapped internally to the
3131	"convertfromraw" command.</para>
3132	</note></para>
3133	</sect1>
3134
3135	<sect1>
3136	<title>VBoxManage getextradata/setextradata</title>
3137
3138	<para>These commands let you attach and retrieve string data to a virtual
3139	machine or to a VirtualBox configuration (by specifying
3140	<computeroutput>global</computeroutput> instead of a virtual machine
3141	name). You must specify a key (as a text string) to associate the data
3142	with, which you can later use to retrieve it. For example:</para>
3143
3144	<screen>VBoxManage setextradata Fedora5 installdate 2006.01.01
3145	VBoxManage setextradata SUSE10 installdate 2006.02.02</screen>
3146
3147	<para>would associate the string "2006.01.01" with the key installdate for
3148	the virtual machine Fedora5, and "2006.02.02" on the machine SUSE10. You
3149	could retrieve the information as follows:</para>
3150
3151	<screen>VBoxManage getextradata Fedora5 installdate</screen>
3152
3153	<para>which would return</para>
3154
3155	<screen>VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version @VBOX_VERSION_MAJOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_MINOR@.@VBOX_VERSION_BUILD@
3156	(C) 2005-@VBOX_C_YEAR@ @VBOX_VENDOR@
3157	All rights reserved.
3158
3159	Value: 2006.01.01</screen>
3160	<para>To remove a key, the <computeroutput>setextradata</computeroutput>
3161	command must be run without specifying data (only the key), for example:
3162	</para>
3163
3164	<screen>VBoxManage setextradata Fedora5 installdate</screen>
3165
3166	</sect1>
3167
3168	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-setproperty">
3169	<title>VBoxManage setproperty</title>
3170
3171	<para>This command is used to change global settings which affect the
3172	entire VirtualBox installation. Some of these correspond to the settings
3173	in the "Global settings" dialog in the graphical user interface. The
3174	following properties are available:<glosslist>
3175	<glossentry>
3176	<glossterm><computeroutput>machinefolder</computeroutput></glossterm>
3177
3178	<glossdef>
3179	<para>This specifies the default folder in which virtual machine
3180	definitions are kept; see <xref linkend="vboxconfigdata" /> for
3181	details.</para>
3182	</glossdef>
3183	</glossentry>
3184
3185	<glossentry>
3186	<glossterm><computeroutput>hwvirtexclusive</computeroutput></glossterm>
3187	<glossdef><para>This specifies whether VirtualBox will make exclusive use of
3188	the hardware virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) of the
3189	host system's processor; see <xref linkend="hwvirt" />. If you wish to
3190	share these extensions with other hypervisors running at the same time,
3191	you must disable this setting. Doing so has negative performance implications.
3192	</para></glossdef>
3193	</glossentry>
3194
3195	<glossentry>
3196	<glossterm><computeroutput>vrdeauthlibrary</computeroutput></glossterm>
3197
3198	<glossdef>
3199	<para>This specifies which library to use when "external"
3200	authentication has been selected for a particular virtual machine;
3201	see <xref linkend="vbox-auth" /> for details.</para>
3202	</glossdef>
3203	</glossentry>
3204
3205	<glossentry>
3206	<glossterm><computeroutput>websrvauthlibrary</computeroutput></glossterm>
3207
3208	<glossdef>
3209	<para>This specifies which library the web service uses to
3210	authenticate users. For details about the VirtualBox web service,
3211	please refer to the separate VirtualBox SDK reference (see <xref
3212	linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />).</para>
3213	</glossdef>
3214	</glossentry>
3215
3216	<glossentry>
3217	<glossterm><computeroutput>vrdeextpack</computeroutput></glossterm>
3218
3219	<glossdef>
3220	<para>This specifies which library implements the VirtualBox
3221	Remote Desktop Extension.</para>
3222	</glossdef>
3223	</glossentry>
3224
3225	<glossentry>
3226	<glossterm><computeroutput>loghistorycount</computeroutput></glossterm>
3227
3228	<glossdef>
3229	<para>This selects how many rotated (old) VM logs are kept.</para>
3230	</glossdef>
3231	</glossentry>
3232
3233	<glossentry>
3234	<glossterm><computeroutput>autostartdbpath</computeroutput></glossterm>
3235
3236	<glossdef>
3237	<para>This selects the path to the autostart database. See
3238	<xref linkend="autostart" />.</para>
3239	</glossdef>
3240	</glossentry>
3241
3242	<glossentry>
3243	<glossterm><computeroutput>defaultfrontend</computeroutput></glossterm>
3244
3245	<glossdef>
3246	<para>This selects the global default VM frontend setting. See
3247	<xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.</para>
3248	</glossdef>
3249	</glossentry>
3250
3251	<glossentry>
3252	<glossterm><computeroutput>logginglevel</computeroutput></glossterm>
3253
3254	<glossdef>
3255	<para>This configures the VBoxSVC release logging details.<footnote>
3256	<para><ulink url="http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VBoxLogging">http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VBoxLogging</ulink>.</para>
3257	</footnote>
3258	</para>
3259	</glossdef>
3260	</glossentry>
3261	</glosslist></para>
3262	</sect1>
3263
3264	<sect1>
3265	<title>VBoxManage usbfilter add/modify/remove</title>
3266
3267	<para>The <computeroutput>usbfilter</computeroutput> commands are used for
3268	working with USB filters in virtual machines, or global filters which
3269	affect the whole VirtualBox setup. Global filters are applied before
3270	machine-specific filters, and may be used to prevent devices from being
3271	captured by any virtual machine. Global filters are always applied in a
3272	particular order, and only the first filter which fits a device is
3273	applied. So for example, if the first global filter says to hold (make
3274	available) a particular Kingston memory stick device and the second to
3275	ignore all Kingston devices, that memory stick will be available to any
3276	machine with an appropriate filter, but no other Kingston device
3277	will.</para>
3278
3279	<para>When creating a USB filter using <computeroutput>usbfilter
3280	add</computeroutput>, you must supply three or four mandatory parameters.
3281	The index specifies the position in the list at which the filter should be
3282	placed. If there is already a filter at that position, then it and the
3283	following ones will be shifted back one place. Otherwise the new filter
3284	will be added onto the end of the list. The
3285	<computeroutput>target</computeroutput> parameter selects the virtual
3286	machine that the filter should be attached to or use "global" to apply it
3287	to all virtual machines. <computeroutput>name</computeroutput> is a name
3288	for the new filter and for global filters,
3289	<computeroutput>action</computeroutput> says whether to allow machines
3290	access to devices that fit the filter description ("hold") or not to give
3291	them access ("ignore"). In addition, you should specify parameters to
3292	filter by. You can find the parameters for devices attached to your system
3293	using <computeroutput>VBoxManage list usbhost</computeroutput>. Finally,
3294	you can specify whether the filter should be active, and for local
3295	filters, whether they are for local devices, remote (over an RDP
3296	connection) or either.</para>
3297
3298	<para>When you modify a USB filter using <computeroutput>usbfilter
3299	modify</computeroutput>, you must specify the filter by index (see the
3300	output of <computeroutput>VBoxManage list usbfilters</computeroutput> to
3301	find global filter indexes and that of <computeroutput>VBoxManage
3302	showvminfo</computeroutput> to find indexes for individual machines) and
3303	by target, which is either a virtual machine or "global". The properties
3304	which can be changed are the same as for <computeroutput>usbfilter
3305	add</computeroutput>. To remove a filter, use <computeroutput>usbfilter
3306	remove</computeroutput> and specify the index and the target.</para>
3307	</sect1>
3308
3309	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-sharedfolder">
3310	<title>VBoxManage sharedfolder add/remove</title>
3311
3312	<para>This command allows you to share folders on the host computer with
3313	guest operating systems. For this, the guest systems must have a version
3314	of the VirtualBox Guest Additions installed which supports this
3315	functionality.</para>
3316
3317	<para>Shared folders are described in detail in <xref
3318	linkend="sharedfolders" />.</para>
3319	</sect1>
3320
3321	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-guestproperty">
3322	<title>VBoxManage guestproperty</title>
3323
3324	<para>The "guestproperty" commands allow you to get or set properties of a
3325	running virtual machine. Please see <xref linkend="guestadd-guestprops" />
3326	for an introduction. As explained there, guest properties are arbitrary
3327	key/value string pairs which can be written to and read from by either the
3328	guest or the host, so they can be used as a low-volume communication
3329	channel for strings, provided that a guest is running and has the Guest
3330	Additions installed. In addition, a number of values whose keys begin with
3331	"/VirtualBox/" are automatically set and maintained by the Guest
3332	Additions.</para>
3333
3334	<para>The following subcommands are available (where
3335	<computeroutput><vm></computeroutput>, in each case, can either be a
3336	VM name or a VM UUID, as with the other VBoxManage commands):<itemizedlist>
3337	<listitem>
3338	<para><computeroutput>enumerate <vm> [--patterns
3339	<pattern>]</computeroutput>: This lists all the guest
3340	properties that are available for the given VM, including the value.
3341	This list will be very limited if the guest's service process cannot
3342	be contacted, e.g. because the VM is not running or the Guest
3343	Additions are not installed.</para>
3344
3345	<para>If <computeroutput>--patterns <pattern></computeroutput>
3346	is specified, it acts as a filter to only list properties that match
3347	the given pattern. The pattern can contain the following wildcard
3348	characters:<itemizedlist>
3349	<listitem>
3350	<para><computeroutput>*</computeroutput> (asterisk):
3351	represents any number of characters; for example,
3352	"<computeroutput>/VirtualBox*</computeroutput>" would match
3353	all properties beginning with "/VirtualBox".</para>
3354	</listitem>
3355
3356	<listitem>
3357	<para><computeroutput>?</computeroutput> (question mark):
3358	represents a single arbitrary character; for example,
3359	"<computeroutput>fo?</computeroutput>" would match both "foo"
3360	and "for".</para>
3361	</listitem>
3362
3363	<listitem>
3364	<para><computeroutput>\|</computeroutput> (pipe symbol): can be
3365	used to specify multiple alternative patterns; for example,
3366	"<computeroutput>s\|t</computeroutput>" would match anything
3367	starting with either "s" or "t".</para>
3368	</listitem>
3369	</itemizedlist></para>
3370	</listitem>
3371
3372	<listitem>
3373	<para><computeroutput>get <vm> <property>
3374	</computeroutput>: This
3375	retrieves the value of a single property only. If the property
3376	cannot be found (e.g. because the guest is not running), this will
3377	print <screen>No value set!</screen></para>
3378	</listitem>
3379
3380	<listitem>
3381	<para><computeroutput>set <vm> <property> [<value>
3382	[--flags <flags>]]</computeroutput>: This allows you to set a
3383	guest property by specifying the key and value. If
3384	<computeroutput><value></computeroutput> is omitted, the
3385	property is deleted. With <computeroutput>--flags</computeroutput>
3386	you can optionally specify additional behavior (you can combine
3387	several by separating them with commas):<itemizedlist>
3388	<listitem>
3389	<para><computeroutput>TRANSIENT</computeroutput>: the value
3390	will not be stored with the VM data when the VM exits;</para>
3391	</listitem>
3392
3393	<listitem>
3394	<para><computeroutput>TRANSRESET</computeroutput>: the value
3395	will be deleted as soon as the VM restarts and/or exits;</para>
3396	</listitem>
3397
3398	<listitem>
3399	<para><computeroutput>RDONLYGUEST</computeroutput>: the value
3400	can only be changed by the host, but the guest can only read
3401	it;</para>
3402	</listitem>
3403
3404	<listitem>
3405	<para><computeroutput>RDONLYHOST</computeroutput>: reversely,
3406	the value can only be changed by the guest, but the host can
3407	only read it;</para>
3408	</listitem>
3409
3410	<listitem>
3411	<para><computeroutput>READONLY</computeroutput>: a combination
3412	of the two, the value cannot be changed at all.</para>
3413	</listitem>
3414	</itemizedlist></para>
3415	</listitem>
3416
3417	<listitem>
3418	<para><computeroutput>wait <vm> <pattern> --timeout
3419	<timeout></computeroutput>: This waits for a particular value
3420	described by "pattern" to change or to be deleted or created. The
3421	pattern rules are the same as for the "enumerate" subcommand
3422	above.</para>
3423	</listitem>
3424
3425	<listitem>
3426	<para><computeroutput>delete <vm> <property>
3427	</computeroutput>: Deletes a formerly set guest property.
3428	</para></listitem>
3429	</itemizedlist></para>
3430	</sect1>
3431
3432	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-guestcontrol">
3433	<title>VBoxManage guestcontrol</title>
3434
3435	<para>The <computeroutput>guestcontrol</computeroutput> commands enable
3436	control of the guest from the host. Please see <xref
3437	linkend="guestadd-guestcontrol" /> for an introduction.</para>
3438
3439	<para>guestcontrol has two sets of subcommands. The first set requires guest
3440	credentials to be specified, the second does not.</para>
3441
3442	<para>The first set of subcommands is of the form:</para>
3443	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> <sub-command>
3444	[--username <name> ]
3445	[--passwordfile <file> \| --password <password>]
3446	[--domain <domain> ]
3447	[-v\|--verbose] [-q\|quiet] ...
3448	</screen>
3449
3450	<para>The "common-options" are:</para>
3451	<screen>
3452	[--username <name> ]
3453	[--passwordfile <file> \| --password <password>]
3454	[--domain <domain> ]
3455	[-v\|--verbose] [-q\|quiet]
3456	</screen>
3457
3458	<para>Where details of the common options for the first set of subcommands are:
3459	<glosslist>
3460
3461	<glossentry>
3462	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3463	<glossdef>
3464	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3465	</glossdef>
3466	</glossentry>
3467
3468	<glossentry>
3469	<glossterm><computeroutput>--username <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
3470	<glossdef><para>Specifies the user name on guest OS under which the process should run. This
3471	user name must already exist on the guest OS. If unspecified, the host user name is used. Optional</para>
3472	</glossdef>
3473	</glossentry>
3474
3475	<glossentry>
3476	<glossterm><computeroutput>--passwordfile <file>\|--password</computeroutput></glossterm>
3477	<glossdef><para>Specifies the absolute path on guest file system of password file containing the
3478	password for the specified user account or password for the specified user account. Optional.
3479	If both are omitted, empty password is assumed.</para></glossdef>
3480	</glossentry>
3481
3482	<glossentry>
3483	<glossterm><computeroutput>--domain <domain></computeroutput></glossterm>
3484	<glossdef><para>User domain for Windows guests. Optional.</para></glossdef>
3485	</glossentry>
3486
3487	<glossentry>
3488	<glossterm><computeroutput>-v\|--verbose</computeroutput></glossterm>
3489	<glossdef><para>Makes the subcommand execution more verbose. Optional</para></glossdef>
3490	</glossentry>
3491
3492	<glossentry>
3493	<glossterm><computeroutput>-q\|--quiet</computeroutput></glossterm>
3494	<glossdef><para>Makes the subcommand execution quieter. Optional.</para></glossdef>
3495	</glossentry>
3496	</glosslist>
3497	</para>
3498
3499	<para>The first set of subcommands: <itemizedlist>
3500	<listitem>
3501	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>run</computeroutput></emphasis>
3502	Executes a guest program - forwarding stdout, stderr and stdin to/from the host
3503	until it completes.</para>
3504	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> run [common-options]
3505	--exe <path to executable> [--timeout <msec>]
3506	[-E\|--putenv <NAME>[=<VALUE>]] [--unquoted-args]
3507	[--ignore-operhaned-processes] [--profile]
3508	[--no-wait-stdout\|--wait-stdout]
3509	[--no-wait-stderr\|--wait-stderr]
3510	[--dos2unix] [--unix2dos]
3511	-- <program/arg0> [argument1] ... [argumentN]]
3512	</screen>
3513	<glosslist>
3514	<glossentry>
3515	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3516	<glossdef>
3517	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3518	</glossdef>
3519	</glossentry>
3520
3521	<glossentry>
3522	<glossterm><computeroutput>--exe <path to executable></computeroutput></glossterm>
3523	<glossdef><para>Specifies the absolute path of the executable on the guest OS file system. Mandatory. e.g.:
3524	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.</para>
3525	</glossdef>
3526	</glossentry>
3527
3528	<glossentry>
3529	<glossterm><computeroutput>--timeout <msec></computeroutput></glossterm>
3530	<glossdef>
3531	<para>Specifies the maximum time (microseconds) that the executable can run,
3532	during which VBoxManage receives its output. Optional.
3533	If unspecified, VBoxManage waits indefinitely for the process to end, or an error occurs.</para>
3534	</glossdef>
3535	</glossentry>
3536
3537	<glossentry>
3538	<glossterm><computeroutput>-E\|--putenv <NAME>=<VALUE>
3539	</computeroutput></glossterm>
3540	<glossdef>
3541	<para>Sets/modifies/unsets environment variable(s) in the environment in which the program will run. Optional.</para>
3542	<para>The guest process is created with the standard default guest OS environment.
3543	Use this option to modify that default environment. To set/modify a variable use:
3544	<computeroutput><NAME>=<VALUE></computeroutput>.
3545	To unset a variable use:
3546	<computeroutput><NAME>=</computeroutput></para>
3547	<para>Any spaces in names/values should be enclosed by quotes. </para>
3548	<para>To set/modify/unset multiple variables, use multiple instances of the
3549	<computeroutput>--E\|--putenv</computeroutput> option. </para>
3550	</glossdef>
3551	</glossentry>
3552
3553	<glossentry>
3554	<glossterm><computeroutput>--unquoted-args</computeroutput></glossterm>
3555	<glossdef>
3556	<para>Disables escaped double quoting (e.g. \"fred\") on arguments passed to the executed program. Optional.</para>
3557	</glossdef>
3558	</glossentry>
3559
3560	<glossentry>
3561	<glossterm><computeroutput>--ignore-operhaned-processes</computeroutput></glossterm>
3562	<glossdef>
3563	<para>Ignore orphaned processes. Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3564	</glossdef>
3565	</glossentry>
3566
3567	<glossentry>
3568	<glossterm><computeroutput>--profile</computeroutput></glossterm>
3569	<glossdef>
3570	<para>Use Profile. Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3571	</glossdef>
3572	</glossentry>
3573
3574	<glossentry>
3575	<glossterm><computeroutput>--no-wait-stdout\|--wait-stdout</computeroutput></glossterm>
3576	<glossdef>
3577	<para>Does not wait/waits until the guest process ends and receives its exit code and reason/flags.
3578	In the case of --wait-stdout - while the process runs, VBoxManage receives its stdout. Optional.</para>
3579	</glossdef>
3580	</glossentry>
3581
3582	<glossentry>
3583	<glossterm><computeroutput>--no-wait-stderr\|--wait-stderr</computeroutput></glossterm>
3584	<glossdef>
3585	<para>Does not wait/waits until the guest process ends and receives its exit code and reason/flags.
3586	In case of --wait-stderr - while the process runs, VBoxManage receives its stderr. Optional.</para>
3587	</glossdef>
3588	</glossentry>
3589
3590	<glossentry>
3591	<glossterm><computeroutput>--dos2unix</computeroutput></glossterm>
3592	<glossdef><para>
3593	Converts output from DOS/Windows guests to UNIX/Linux-compatible line endings
3594	(CR + LF → LF). Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3595	</glossdef>
3596	</glossentry>
3597
3598	<glossentry>
3599	<glossterm><computeroutput>--unix2dos</computeroutput></glossterm>
3600	<glossdef><para>
3601	Converts output from a UNIX/Linux guests to DOS/Windows-compatible
3602	line endings (LF → CR + LF). Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3603	</glossdef>
3604	</glossentry>
3605
3606	<glossentry>
3607	<glossterm><computeroutput>[-- <program/arg0> [<argument1>] ... [<argumentN>]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3608	<glossdef>
3609	<para>Specifies program name, followed by one or more arguments to pass to the program. Optional.</para>
3610	<para>Note: Any spaces in arguments should be enclosed by quotes.</para>
3611	</glossdef>
3612	</glossentry>
3613	</glosslist>
3614
3615	<para><note>
3616	<para>On Windows there are certain limitations for graphical
3617	applications; please see <xref linkend="KnownIssues" /> for more
3618	information.</para>
3619	</note> Examples: <screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" execute --image "/bin/ls"
3620	--username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout -- -l /usr</screen> <screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" execute --image "c:\\windows\\system32\\ipconfig.exe"
3621	--username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout</screen> Note that
3622	the double backslashes in the second example are only required on
3623	Unix hosts.</para>
3624
3625	<para><note>
3626	<para>For certain commands a user name of an existing user account on the guest
3627	must be specified; anonymous executions are not supported for security reasons. A
3628	user account password, however, is optional and depends on the guest's OS security
3629	policy or rules. If no password is specified for a given user name, an empty password
3630	will be used. On certain OSes like Windows the security policy may needs to be adjusted
3631	in order to allow user accounts with an empty password set. Also, global domain rules might
3632	apply and therefore cannot be changed.</para>
3633	</note></para>
3634
3635	<para>Starting at VirtualBox 4.1.2 guest process execution by default is limited
3636	to serve up to 5 guest processes at a time. If a new guest process gets started
3637	which would exceed this limit, the oldest not running guest process will be discarded
3638	in order to be able to run that new process. Also, retrieving output from this
3639	old guest process will not be possible anymore then. If all 5 guest processes
3640	are still active and running, starting a new guest process will result in an
3641	appropriate error message.</para>
3642
3643	<para>To raise or lower the guest process execution limit, either the guest
3644	property <computeroutput>/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
3645	or VBoxService' command line by specifying <computeroutput>--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
3646	needs to be modified. A restart of the guest OS is required afterwards. To serve unlimited
3647	guest processes, a value of <computeroutput>0</computeroutput> needs to be set (not recommended).</para>
3648	</listitem>
3649
3650	<listitem>
3651	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>start</computeroutput></emphasis>
3652	Executes a guest program until it completes.</para>
3653	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> start [common-options]
3654	[--exe <path to executable>] [--timeout <msec>]
3655	[-E\|--putenv <NAME>[=<VALUE>]] [--unquoted-args]
3656	[--ignore-operhaned-processes] [--profile]
3657	-- <program/arg0> [argument1] ... [argumentN]]
3658	</screen>
3659
3660	<para>Where the options are: <glosslist>
3661	<glossentry>
3662	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3663	<glossdef>
3664	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3665	</glossdef>
3666	</glossentry>
3667
3668	<glossentry>
3669	<glossterm><computeroutput>--exe <path to executable></computeroutput></glossterm>
3670	<glossdef><para>Specifies the absolute path of the executable on the guest OS file system. Mandatory. e.g.:
3671	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput></para>
3672	</glossdef>
3673	</glossentry>
3674
3675	<glossentry>
3676	<glossterm><computeroutput>--timeout <msec></computeroutput></glossterm>
3677	<glossdef>
3678	<para>Specifies the maximum time (microseconds) that the executable can run. Optional.
3679	If unspecified, VBoxManage waits indefinitely for the process to end, or an error occurs.</para>
3680	</glossdef>
3681	</glossentry>
3682
3683	<glossentry>
3684	<glossterm><computeroutput>-E\|--putenv <NAME>=<VALUE>
3685	</computeroutput></glossterm>
3686	<glossdef>
3687	<para>Sets/modifies/unsets environment variable(s) in the environment in which the program will run. Optional.</para>
3688	<para>The guest process is created with the standard default guest OS environment.
3689	Use this option to modify that default environment. To set/modify a variable use:
3690	<computeroutput><NAME>=<VALUE></computeroutput>.
3691	To unset a variable use:
3692	<computeroutput><NAME>=</computeroutput></para>
3693	<para>Any spaces in names/values should be enclosed by quotes. </para>
3694	<para>To set/modify/unset multiple variables, use multiple instances of the
3695	<computeroutput>--E\|--putenv</computeroutput> option. </para>
3696	</glossdef>
3697	</glossentry>
3698
3699	<glossentry>
3700	<glossterm><computeroutput>--unquoted-args</computeroutput></glossterm>
3701	<glossdef>
3702	<para>Disables escaped double quoting (e.g. \"fred\") on arguments passed to the executed program. Optional.</para>
3703	</glossdef>
3704	</glossentry>
3705
3706	<glossentry>
3707	<glossterm><computeroutput>--ignore-operhaned-processes</computeroutput></glossterm>
3708	<glossdef>
3709	<para>Ignores orphaned processes. Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3710	</glossdef>
3711	</glossentry>
3712
3713	<glossentry>
3714	<glossterm><computeroutput>--profile</computeroutput></glossterm>
3715	<glossdef>
3716	<para>Use a profile. Not yet implemented. Optional.</para>
3717	</glossdef>
3718	</glossentry>
3719
3720	<glossentry>
3721	<glossterm><computeroutput>[-- <program/arg0> [<argument1>] ... [<argumentN>]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3722	<glossdef>
3723	<para>Specifies program name, followed by one or more arguments to pass to the program. Optional.</para>
3724	<para>Note: Any spaces in arguments should be enclosed by quotes.</para>
3725	</glossdef>
3726	</glossentry>
3727	</glosslist></para>
3728
3729	<para><note>
3730	<para>On Windows there are certain limitations for graphical
3731	applications; please see <xref linkend="KnownIssues" /> for more
3732	information.</para>
3733	</note> Examples: <screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" execute --image "/bin/ls"
3734	--username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout -- -l /usr</screen> <screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" execute --image "c:\\windows\\system32\\ipconfig.exe"
3735	--username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout</screen> Note that
3736	the double backslashes in the second example are only required on
3737	Unix hosts.</para>
3738
3739	<para><note>
3740	<para>For certain commands a user name of an existing user account on the guest
3741	must be specified; anonymous executions are not supported for security reasons. A
3742	user account password, however, is optional and depends on the guest's OS security
3743	policy or rules. If no password is specified for a given user name, an empty password
3744	will be used. On certain OSes like Windows the security policy may needs to be adjusted
3745	in order to allow user accounts with an empty password set. Also, global domain rules might
3746	apply and therefore cannot be changed.</para>
3747	</note></para>
3748
3749	<para>Starting at VirtualBox 4.1.2 guest process execution by default is limited
3750	to serve up to 5 guest processes at a time. If a new guest process gets started
3751	which would exceed this limit, the oldest not running guest process will be discarded
3752	in order to be able to run that new process. Also, retrieving output from this
3753	old guest process will not be possible anymore then. If all 5 guest processes
3754	are still active and running, starting a new guest process will result in an
3755	appropriate error message.</para>
3756
3757	<para>To raise or lower the guest process execution limit, either the guest
3758	property <computeroutput>/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
3759	or VBoxService' command line by specifying <computeroutput>--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
3760	needs to be modified. A restart of the guest OS is required afterwards. To serve unlimited
3761	guest processes, a value of <computeroutput>0</computeroutput> needs to be set (not recommended).</para>
3762	</listitem>
3763
3764	<listitem>
3765	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>copyfrom</computeroutput></emphasis>
3766	Copies files from the guest to the host file system.
3767	(Note - only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).</para>
3768
3769	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> copyfrom [common-options]
3770	[--dryrun] [--follow] [--R\|recursive]
3771	--target-directory <host-dst-dir>
3772	<guest-src0> [<guest-src1> [...]] </screen>
3773
3774	<para>Where the parameters are:<glosslist>
3775	<glossentry>
3776	<glossterm><computeroutput><uid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3777	<glossdef>
3778	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3779	</glossdef>
3780	</glossentry>
3781
3782	<glossentry>
3783	<glossterm><computeroutput>--dryrun</computeroutput></glossterm>
3784	<glossdef>
3785	<para>Instructs VBoxManage to perform a dry run instead of an actual file copying
3786	operation. Optional. </para>
3787	</glossdef>
3788	</glossentry>
3789
3790	<glossentry>
3791	<glossterm><computeroutput>--follow</computeroutput></glossterm>
3792	<glossdef>
3793	<para>Enables symlink following on the guest file system. Optional.</para>
3794	</glossdef>
3795	</glossentry>
3796
3797	<glossentry>
3798	<glossterm><computeroutput>-R\|--recursive</computeroutput></glossterm>
3799	<glossdef>
3800	<para>Enables recursive copying of files/directories from the specified guest file system
3801	directory. Optional.</para>
3802	</glossdef>
3803	</glossentry>
3804
3805	<glossentry>
3806	<glossterm><computeroutput>--target-directory <host-dst-dir></computeroutput></glossterm>
3807	<glossdef>
3808	<para>Specifies the absolute path of the host file system destination directory. Mandatory. e.g.
3809	<computeroutput>C:\Temp</computeroutput>.</para>
3810	</glossdef>
3811	</glossentry>
3812
3813	<glossentry>
3814	<glossterm><computeroutput><guest-src0> [<guest-src1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3815	<glossdef>
3816	<para>Specifies the absolute path(s) of guest file system file(s) to be copied. Mandatory. e.g.
3817	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.
3818	Wildcards can be used in the expression(s), e.g.
3819	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System\.dll</computeroutput>.</para>
3820	</glossdef>
3821	</glossentry>
3822	</glosslist>
3823	</para>
3824	</listitem>
3825
3826	<listitem>
3827	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>copyto</computeroutput></emphasis>
3828	Copies files from the host to the guest file system.
3829	(Note - only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).</para>
3830
3831	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> copyto [common-options]
3832	[--dryrun] [--follow] [--R\|recursive]
3833	--target-directory <guest-dst>
3834	<host-src0> [<host-src1> [...]] </screen>
3835
3836	<para>Where the parameters are:<glosslist>
3837	<glossentry>
3838	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3839	<glossdef>
3840	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3841	</glossdef>
3842	</glossentry>
3843
3844	<glossentry>
3845	<glossterm><computeroutput>--dryrun</computeroutput></glossterm>
3846	<glossdef>
3847	<para>Instructs VBoxManage to perform a dry run instead of an actual file copying
3848	operation. Optional. </para>
3849	</glossdef>
3850	</glossentry>
3851
3852	<glossentry>
3853	<glossterm><computeroutput>--follow</computeroutput></glossterm>
3854	<glossdef>
3855	<para>Enables symlink following on the host file system. Optional.</para>
3856	</glossdef>
3857	</glossentry>
3858
3859	<glossentry>
3860	<glossterm><computeroutput>-R\|--recursive</computeroutput></glossterm>
3861	<glossdef>
3862	<para>Enables recursive copying of files/directories from the specified host file system
3863	directory(ies). Optional.</para>
3864	</glossdef>
3865	</glossentry>
3866
3867	<glossentry>
3868	<glossterm><computeroutput>--target-directory <guest-dst></computeroutput></glossterm>
3869	<glossdef>
3870	<para>Specifies the absolute path of the guest file system destination directory. Mandatory. e.g.
3871	<computeroutput>C:\Temp</computeroutput>.</para>
3872	</glossdef>
3873	</glossentry>
3874
3875	<glossentry>
3876	<glossterm><computeroutput><host-src0> [<host-src1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3877	<glossdef>
3878	<para>Specifies the absolute path(s) of host file system file(s) to be copied. Mandatory. e.g.
3879	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.
3880	Wildcards can be used in the expression(s), e.g.
3881	<computeroutput>C:\Windows\System\.dll</computeroutput>.</para>
3882	</glossdef>
3883	</glossentry>
3884	</glosslist>
3885	</para>
3886	</listitem>
3887
3888	<listitem>
3889	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>md\|mkdir\|createdir\|createdirectory</computeroutput></emphasis>
3890	Creates one or more directory(ies) on the guest file system.
3891	(Note - only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).</para>
3892
3893	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> md\|mkdir\|createdir\|createdirectory [common-options]
3894	[--parents] [--mode <mode>]
3895	<guest-dir0> [<guest-dir1> [...]] </screen>
3896
3897	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
3898	<glossentry>
3899	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3900	<glossdef>
3901	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3902	</glossdef>
3903	</glossentry>
3904	<glossentry>
3905	<glossterm><computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput></glossterm>
3906	<glossdef>
3907	<para>Creates any absent parent directory(ies) of the specified directory. Optional.</para>
3908	<para>e.g. If specified directory is <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar</computeroutput>
3909	and <computeroutput>D:\Foo</computeroutput> is absent, it will
3910	be created. In such a case, had the <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput>
3911	option not been used, this command would have failed.</para>
3912	</glossdef>
3913	</glossentry>
3914
3915	<glossentry>
3916	<glossterm><computeroutput>--mode <mode></computeroutput></glossterm>
3917	<glossdef>
3918	<para>Specifies the permission mode on the specified directory(ies) (and any parents,
3919	where <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput> option used).
3920	Currently octal modes (e.g. <computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>) only are
3921	supported.</para>
3922	</glossdef>
3923	</glossentry>
3924
3925	<glossentry>
3926	<glossterm><computeroutput><guest-dir0> [<guest-dir1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3927	<glossdef>
3928	<para>Specifies list of absolute path(s) of directory(ies) to be created on
3929	guest file system. Mandatory.
3930	e.g. <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar</computeroutput>.</para>
3931	<para>All parent directories must already exist
3932	unless switch <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput> used.
3933	(e.g. in the above example <computeroutput>D:\Foo</computeroutput>).
3934	The specified user must have sufficient rights to create the
3935	specified directory(ies), and any parents that need
3936	to be created.</para>
3937	</glossdef>
3938	</glossentry>
3939	</glosslist>
3940	</para>
3941	</listitem>
3942
3943	<listitem>
3944	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>rmdir\|removedir\|removedirectory</computeroutput></emphasis>
3945	Deletes specified guest file system directories. (Only with installed Guest Additions 4.3.2 and later).</para>
3946
3947	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> rmdir\|removedir\|removedirectory [common-options]
3948	[--recursive\|-R]
3949	<guest-dir0> [<guest-dir1> [...]]
3950	</screen>
3951
3952	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
3953	<glossentry>
3954	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3955	<glossdef>
3956	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3957	</glossdef>
3958	</glossentry>
3959
3960	<glossentry>
3961	<glossterm><computeroutput>--recursive</computeroutput></glossterm>
3962	<glossdef>
3963	<para>Recursively removes directories and contents. Optional.</para>
3964	</glossdef>
3965	</glossentry>
3966
3967	<glossentry>
3968	<glossterm><computeroutput><guest-dir0> [<guest-dir1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
3969	<glossdef>
3970	<para>Specifies list of the absolute path(s) of directory(ies) to be deleted on
3971	guest file system. Mandatory. Wildcards are allowed. e.g. <computeroutput>D:\Foo\*Bar</computeroutput>.
3972	The specified user must have sufficient rights to delete the
3973	specified directory(ies).</para>
3974	</glossdef>
3975	</glossentry>
3976	</glosslist></para>
3977	</listitem>
3978
3979	<listitem>
3980	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>rm\|removefile</computeroutput></emphasis>
3981	Deletes specified files on the guest file system. (Only with installed Guest
3982	Additions 4.3.2 and later).</para>
3983
3984	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> rm\|removefile [common-options]
3985	[-f\|--force]
3986	<guest-file0> [<guest-file1> [...]] </screen>
3987
3988	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
3989	<glossentry>
3990	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
3991	<glossdef>
3992	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
3993	</glossdef>
3994	</glossentry>
3995
3996	<glossentry>
3997	<glossterm><computeroutput>-f\|--force</computeroutput></glossterm>
3998	<glossdef>
3999	<para>Enforce operation (override any requests for confirmations). Optional.</para>
4000	</glossdef>
4001	</glossentry>
4002
4003	<glossentry>
4004	<glossterm><computeroutput><guest-file0> [<guest-file1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4005	<glossdef>
4006	<para>Specifies list of absolute path(s) of file(s) to be deleted on guest file system. Mandatory.
4007	Wildcards are allowed. e.g. <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar\text*.txt</computeroutput>.
4008	The specified user should have sufficient rights to delete the specified file(s).</para>
4009	</glossdef>
4010	</glossentry>
4011	</glosslist>
4012	</para>
4013	</listitem>
4014
4015	<listitem>
4016	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>mv\|move\|ren\|rename</computeroutput></emphasis>
4017	This subcommand renames file(s) and/or directory(ies) on the guest file system. (Only with installed Guest
4018	Additions 4.3.2 and later).</para>
4019
4020	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> mv\|move\|ren\|rename [common-options]
4021	<guest-source0> [<guest-source1> [...]] <guest-dest></screen>
4022
4023	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4024	<glossentry>
4025	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4026	<glossdef>
4027	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4028	</glossdef>
4029	</glossentry>
4030
4031	<glossentry>
4032	<glossterm><computeroutput><guest-source0> [<guest-source1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4033	<glossdef>
4034	<para>Specifies absolute path(s) of file(s) and/or single directory to be moved/renamed on guest
4035	file system. Mandatory.
4036	Wildcards are allowed in file names(s). The specified user should have sufficient rights to
4037	access the specified file(s).</para>
4038	</glossdef>
4039	</glossentry>
4040
4041	<glossentry>
4042	<glossterm><computeroutput><dest></computeroutput></glossterm>
4043	<glossdef>
4044	<para>Specifies the absolute path of the destination file/directory to which the file(s)
4045	are to be moved. Mandatory. If only one file to be moved, <dest> can be file or directory,
4046	else it must be a directory.
4047	The specified user must have sufficient rights to access the destination file/directory.</para>
4048	</glossdef>
4049	</glossentry>
4050	</glosslist></para>
4051	</listitem>
4052
4053	<listitem>
4054	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>mktemp\|createtemp\|createtemporary</computeroutput></emphasis>
4055	Creates a temporary file/directory on the guest file system, to assist subsequent
4056	copying of files from the host to the guest file systems. By default, the file/directory
4057	is created in the guest's platform specific temp directory. Not currently supported.
4058	(Only with installed Guest Additions 4.2 and later).</para>
4059
4060	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> mktemp\|createtemp\|createtemporary [common-options]
4061	[--directory] [--secure] [--mode <mode>] [--tmpdir <directory>]
4062	<template>
4063	</screen>
4064
4065	<para>The parameters are: <glosslist>
4066	<glossentry>
4067	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4068	<glossdef>
4069	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4070	</glossdef>
4071	</glossentry>
4072
4073	<glossentry>
4074	<glossterm><computeroutput>--directory</computeroutput></glossterm>
4075	<glossdef>
4076	<para>Creates a temporary directory instead of a file, specified by the <template> parameter. Optional.</para>
4077	</glossdef>
4078	</glossentry>
4079
4080	<glossentry>
4081	<glossterm><computeroutput>--secure</computeroutput></glossterm>
4082	<glossdef>
4083	<para>
4084	Enforces secure file/directory creation. Optional. The permission mode is set to
4085	<computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>. Operation fails if it cannot be performed securely.
4086	</para>
4087	</glossdef>
4088	</glossentry>
4089
4090	<glossentry>
4091	<glossterm><computeroutput>--mode <mode></computeroutput></glossterm>
4092	<glossdef>
4093	<para>Specifies the permission mode of the specified directory. Optional.
4094	Currently only octal modes (e.g. <computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>)
4095	are supported.</para>
4096	</glossdef>
4097	</glossentry>
4098
4099	<glossentry>
4100	<glossterm><computeroutput>--tmpdir <directory></computeroutput></glossterm>
4101	<glossdef>
4102	<para>
4103	Specifies the absolute path of the directory on the guest file system into which the
4104	file/directory specified in will be created. Optional.
4105	If unspecified, the platform-specific temp directory is used.
4106	</para>
4107	</glossdef>
4108	</glossentry>
4109
4110	<glossentry>
4111	<glossterm><computeroutput><template></computeroutput></glossterm>
4112	<glossdef>
4113	<para>Specifies a file name without a directory path, containing at least one sequence comprising
4114	three consecutive 'X' characters, or ending in 'X'. Mandatory.
4115	</para>
4116	</glossdef>
4117	</glossentry>
4118	</glosslist></para>
4119	</listitem>
4120
4121	<listitem>
4122	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>stat</computeroutput></emphasis>
4123	Displays file or file system status(es) on the guest.</para>
4124
4125	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> stat [common-options]
4126	<file0> [<file1> [...]]</screen>
4127
4128	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4129	<glossentry>
4130	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4131	<glossdef>
4132	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4133	</glossdef>
4134	</glossentry>
4135
4136	<glossentry>
4137	<glossterm><computeroutput><file0> [<file1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4138	<glossdef>
4139	<para>Specifies absolute path(s) of file(s) and/or file system(s) on guest file system. Mandatory.
4140	e.g. <computeroutput>/home/foo/a.out</computeroutput>.
4141	The specified user should have sufficient rights to access
4142	the specified file(s)/file system(s).</para>
4143	</glossdef>
4144	</glossentry>
4145	</glosslist></para>
4146	</listitem>
4147	</itemizedlist>
4148	</para>
4149
4150	<para>The second set of subcommands is of the form:</para>
4151	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> <sub-command>
4152	[-v\|--verbose] [-q\|quiet] ...
4153	</screen>
4154
4155	<para>The "common-options" are:</para>
4156	<screen>
4157	[-v\|--verbose] [-q\|--quiet]
4158	</screen>
4159
4160	<para>Where details of the common options for the second set of subcommands are:
4161	<glosslist>
4162
4163	<glossentry>
4164	<glossterm><computeroutput>-v\|--verbose</computeroutput></glossterm>
4165	<glossdef><para>Makes the sub-command execution more verbose. Optional.</para></glossdef>
4166	</glossentry>
4167
4168	<glossentry>
4169	<glossterm><computeroutput>-q\|--quiet</computeroutput></glossterm>
4170	<glossdef><para>Makes the sub-command execution quieter. Optional.</para></glossdef>
4171	</glossentry>
4172	</glosslist>
4173	</para>
4174
4175	<para>The second set of subcommands: <itemizedlist>
4176	<listitem>
4177	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>list</computeroutput></emphasis>
4178	Lists guest control configuration and status data, e.g. open guest sessions,
4179	guest processes and files.</para>
4180
4181	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> list [common-opts]
4182	<all\|sessions\|processes\|files> </screen>
4183
4184	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4185	<glossentry>
4186	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4187	<glossdef>
4188	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4189	</glossdef>
4190	</glossentry>
4191
4192	<glossentry>
4193	<glossterm><computeroutput>all\|sessions\|processes\|files</computeroutput></glossterm>
4194	<glossdef>
4195	<para>Indicates whether to list all available data or guest sessions, processes or files.
4196	Mandatory.</para>
4197	</glossdef>
4198	</glossentry>
4199
4200	</glosslist></para>
4201	</listitem>
4202
4203	<listitem>
4204	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>closeprocess</computeroutput></emphasis>
4205	Terminates guest processes specified by PID(s))running in guest session(s),
4206	specified by the session ID or name(s).</para>
4207
4208	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> closeprocess [common-options]
4209	--session-id <ID> \| --session-name <name or pattern>
4210	<PID0> [<PID1> [...]] </screen>
4211
4212	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4213	<glossentry>
4214	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4215	<glossdef>
4216	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4217	</glossdef>
4218	</glossentry>
4219
4220	<glossentry>
4221	<glossterm><computeroutput>--session-id <ID></computeroutput></glossterm>
4222	<glossdef>
4223	<para>Specifies the guest session by its ID. Optional.</para>
4224	</glossdef>
4225	</glossentry>
4226
4227	<glossentry>
4228	<glossterm><computeroutput>--session-name <name or pattern></computeroutput></glossterm>
4229	<glossdef>
4230	<para>Specifies the guest session by its name, or multiple sessions
4231	using a pattern containing wildcards. Optional.</para>
4232	</glossdef>
4233	</glossentry>
4234
4235	<glossentry>
4236	<glossterm><computeroutput><PID0> [<PID1> [...]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4237	<glossdef>
4238	<para>Specifies a list of process identifiers (PIDs) of guest processes to be terminated. Mandatory.</para>
4239	</glossdef>
4240	</glossentry>
4241	</glosslist></para>
4242	</listitem>
4243
4244	<listitem>
4245	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>closesession</computeroutput></emphasis>
4246	Closes specified guest sessions, specified either by session ID or name.</para>
4247
4248	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> closesession [common-options]
4249	--session-id <ID> \| --session-name <name or pattern> \| --all </screen>
4250
4251	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4252	<glossentry>
4253	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4254	<glossdef>
4255	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4256	</glossdef>
4257	</glossentry>
4258
4259	<glossentry>
4260	<glossterm><computeroutput>--session-id <ID></computeroutput></glossterm>
4261	<glossdef>
4262	<para>Specifies the guest session to be closed by ID. Optional.</para>
4263	</glossdef>
4264	</glossentry>
4265
4266	<glossentry>
4267	<glossterm><computeroutput>--session-name <name or pattern></computeroutput></glossterm>
4268	<glossdef>
4269	<para>Specifies the guest session to be closed by name. Optional.
4270	Multiple sessions can be specified by using a pattern
4271	containing wildcards. </para>
4272	</glossdef>
4273	</glossentry>
4274
4275	<glossentry>
4276	<glossterm><computeroutput>--all</computeroutput></glossterm>
4277	<glossdef>
4278	<para>Close all guest sessions. Optional.</para>
4279	</glossdef>
4280	</glossentry>
4281	</glosslist></para>
4282	</listitem>
4283
4284	<listitem>
4285	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>updatega\|updateadditions\|updateguestadditions</computeroutput></emphasis>
4286	Ugrades Guest Additions already installed on the guest.
4287	(Only already installed Guest Additions 4.0 and later).</para>
4288
4289	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> updatega\|updateadditions\|updateguestadditions [common-options]
4290	[--source <New .ISO path>]
4291	[--wait-start]
4292	[-- <argument0> [<argument1> [...]]]</screen>
4293
4294	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4295	<glossentry>
4296	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4297	<glossdef>
4298	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4299	</glossdef>
4300	</glossentry>
4301
4302	<glossentry>
4303	<glossterm><computeroutput>--source</computeroutput> <New .ISO path></glossterm>
4304	<glossdef>
4305	<para>Specifies the absolute path on guest file system of the .ISO file for Guest Additions update. Mandatory.</para>
4306	</glossdef>
4307	</glossentry>
4308
4309	<glossentry>
4310	<glossterm><computeroutput>--wait-start</computeroutput></glossterm>
4311	<glossdef>
4312	<para>Indicates that VBoxManage starts the usual updating process on the guest and then waits
4313	until the actual Guest Additions updating begins, at which point VBoxManage self-terminates. Optional.</para>
4314	<para>Default behavior is that VBoxManage waits for completion of the Guest Additions update before
4315	terminating. Use of this option is sometimes necessary, as a running VBoxManage
4316	can affect the interaction between the installer and the guest OS.</para>
4317	</glossdef>
4318	</glossentry>
4319
4320	<glossentry>
4321	<glossterm><computeroutput>[-- <argument0> [<argument1> [...]]]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4322	<glossdef>
4323	<para>Specifies optional command line arguments to be supplied to the Guest Additions
4324	updater. Useful for retrofitting features which are not currently installed.</para>
4325	<para>Arguments containing spaces should be enclosed by quotes.</para>
4326	</glossdef>
4327	</glossentry>
4328	</glosslist></para>
4329	</listitem>
4330
4331	<listitem>
4332	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>watch</computeroutput></emphasis>
4333	This subcommand prints current guest control activity.</para>
4334
4335	<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol <uuid\|vmname> watch [common-options]
4336	</screen>
4337	<para>Where the parameters are: <glosslist>
4338	<glossentry>
4339	<glossterm><computeroutput><uuid\|vmname></computeroutput></glossterm>
4340	<glossdef>
4341	<para>Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.</para>
4342	</glossdef>
4343	</glossentry>
4344	</glosslist></para>
4345	</listitem>
4346	</itemizedlist></para>
4347	</sect1>
4348
4349	<sect1 id="metrics">
4350	<title>VBoxManage metrics</title>
4351
4352	<para>This command supports monitoring the usage of system resources.
4353	Resources are represented by various metrics associated with the host
4354	system or a particular VM. For example, the host system has a
4355	<computeroutput>CPU/Load/User</computeroutput> metric that shows the
4356	percentage of time CPUs spend executing in user mode over a specific
4357	sampling period.</para>
4358
4359	<para>Metric data is collected and retained internally; it may be
4360	retrieved at any time with the <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
4361	query</computeroutput> subcommand. The data is available as long as the
4362	background <computeroutput>VBoxSVC</computeroutput> process is alive. That
4363	process terminates shortly after all VMs and frontends have been
4364	closed.</para>
4365
4366	<para>By default no metrics are collected at all. Metrics collection does
4367	not start until <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics setup</computeroutput>
4368	is invoked with a proper sampling interval and the number of metrics to be
4369	retained. The interval is measured in seconds. For example, to enable
4370	collecting the host processor and memory usage metrics every second and
4371	keeping the 5 most current samples, the following command can be
4372	used:</para>
4373
4374	<screen>VBoxManage metrics setup --period 1 --samples 5 host CPU/Load,RAM/Usage</screen>
4375
4376	<para>Metric collection can only be enabled for started VMs. Collected
4377	data and collection settings for a particular VM will disappear as soon as
4378	it shuts down. Use <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics list
4379	</computeroutput> subcommand to see which metrics are currently available.
4380	You can also use <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> option with any
4381	subcommand that modifies metric settings to find out which metrics were
4382	affected.</para>
4383
4384	<para>Note that the <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
4385	setup</computeroutput> subcommand discards all samples that may have been
4386	previously collected for the specified set of objects and metrics.</para>
4387
4388	<para>To enable or disable metrics collection without discarding the data
4389	<computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics enable</computeroutput> and
4390	<computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics disable</computeroutput> subcommands
4391	can be used. Note that these subcommands expect metrics, not submetrics,
4392	like <code>CPU/Load</code> or <code>RAM/Usage</code> as parameters. In
4393	other words enabling <code>CPU/Load/User</code> while disabling
4394	<code>CPU/Load/Kernel</code> is not supported.</para>
4395
4396	<para>The host and VMs have different sets of associated metrics.
4397	Available metrics can be listed with <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
4398	list</computeroutput> subcommand.</para>
4399
4400	<para>A complete metric name may include an aggregate function. The name
4401	has the following form:
4402	<computeroutput>Category/Metric[/SubMetric][:aggregate]</computeroutput>.
4403	For example, <computeroutput>RAM/Usage/Free:min</computeroutput> stands
4404	for the minimum amount of available memory over all retained data if
4405	applied to the host object.</para>
4406
4407	<para>Subcommands may apply to all objects and metrics or can be limited
4408	to one object or/and a list of metrics. If no objects or metrics are given
4409	in the parameters, the subcommands will apply to all available metrics of
4410	all objects. You may use an asterisk
4411	("<computeroutput>*</computeroutput>") to explicitly specify that the
4412	command should be applied to all objects or metrics. Use "host" as the
4413	object name to limit the scope of the command to host-related metrics. To
4414	limit the scope to a subset of metrics, use a metric list with names
4415	separated by commas.</para>
4416
4417	<para>For example, to query metric data on the CPU time spent in user and
4418	kernel modes by the virtual machine named "test", you can use the
4419	following command:</para>
4420
4421	<screen>VBoxManage metrics query test CPU/Load/User,CPU/Load/Kernel</screen>
4422
4423	<para>The following list summarizes the available subcommands:</para>
4424
4425	<glosslist>
4426	<glossentry>
4427	<glossterm><computeroutput>list</computeroutput></glossterm>
4428
4429	<glossdef>
4430	<para>This subcommand shows the parameters of the currently existing
4431	metrics. Note that VM-specific metrics are only available when a
4432	particular VM is running.</para>
4433	</glossdef>
4434	</glossentry>
4435
4436	<glossentry>
4437	<glossterm><computeroutput>setup</computeroutput></glossterm>
4438
4439	<glossdef>
4440	<para>This subcommand sets the interval between taking two samples
4441	of metric data and the number of samples retained internally. The
4442	retained data is available for displaying with the
4443	<code>query</code> subcommand. The <computeroutput>--list
4444	</computeroutput> option shows which metrics have been modified as
4445	the result of the command execution.</para>
4446	</glossdef>
4447	</glossentry>
4448
4449	<glossentry>
4450	<glossterm><computeroutput>enable</computeroutput></glossterm>
4451
4452	<glossdef>
4453	<para>This subcommand "resumes" data collection after it has been
4454	stopped with <code>disable</code> subcommand. Note that specifying
4455	submetrics as parameters will not enable underlying metrics. Use
4456	<computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> to find out if the command
4457	did what was expected.</para>
4458	</glossdef>
4459	</glossentry>
4460
4461	<glossentry>
4462	<glossterm><computeroutput>disable</computeroutput></glossterm>
4463
4464	<glossdef>
4465	<para>This subcommand "suspends" data collection without affecting
4466	collection parameters or collected data. Note that specifying
4467	submetrics as parameters will not disable underlying metrics. Use
4468	<computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> to find out if the command
4469	did what was expected.</para>
4470	</glossdef>
4471	</glossentry>
4472
4473	<glossentry>
4474	<glossterm><computeroutput>query</computeroutput></glossterm>
4475
4476	<glossdef>
4477	<para>This subcommand retrieves and displays the currently retained
4478	metric data.<note>
4479	<para>The <code>query</code> subcommand does not remove or
4480	"flush" retained data. If you query often enough you will see
4481	how old samples are gradually being "phased out" by new
4482	samples.</para>
4483	</note></para>
4484	</glossdef>
4485	</glossentry>
4486
4487	<glossentry>
4488	<glossterm><computeroutput>collect</computeroutput></glossterm>
4489
4490	<glossdef>
4491	<para>This subcommand sets the interval between taking two samples
4492	of metric data and the number of samples retained internally. The
4493	collected data is displayed periodically until Ctrl-C is pressed
4494	unless the <computeroutput>--detach</computeroutput> option is
4495	specified. With the <computeroutput>--detach</computeroutput>
4496	option, this subcommand operates the same way as <code>setup</code>
4497	does. The <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> option shows which
4498	metrics match the specified filter.</para>
4499	</glossdef>
4500	</glossentry>
4501	</glosslist>
4502	</sect1>
4503
4504	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-natnetwork">
4505	<title>VBoxManage natnetwork</title>
4506
4507	<para>NAT networks use the Network Address Translation (NAT) service - which works in a
4508	similar way to a home router. It groups systems using it into a network and prevents
4509	outside systems from directly accessing those inside, while letting systems inside communicate
4510	with each other and outside systems using TCP and UDP over IPv4 and IPv6.</para>
4511
4512	<para>A NAT service is attached to an internal network. Virtual machines to make use of one
4513	should be attached to it. The name of an internal network is chosen when the NAT service is
4514	created, and the internal network will be created if it does not already exist.
4515	An example command to create a NAT network:</para>
4516
4517	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname natnet1 --network "192.168.15.0/24" --enable</screen>
4518
4519	<para>Here, "natnet1" is the name of the internal network to be used and "192.168.15.0/24" is the
4520	network address and mask of the NAT service interface. By default, in this static configuration
4521	- the gateway will be assigned the address 192.168.15.1 (the address after the interface address),
4522	though this is subject to change.</para>
4523
4524	<para>To add a DHCP server to the NAT network after creation:</para>
4525
4526	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname natnet1 --dhcp on</screen>
4527
4528	<para>Below are the subcommands for <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork </computeroutput></emphasis></para>
4529
4530	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname <name>
4531	[--network <network>]
4532	[--enable\|--disable]
4533	[--dhcp on\|off]
4534	[--port-forward-4 <rule>]
4535	[--loopback-4 <rule>]
4536	[--ipv6 on\|off]
4537	[--port-forward-6 <rule>]
4538	[--loopback-6 <rule>]
4539	</screen>
4540
4541
4542	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork add</computeroutput></emphasis>
4543	Creates a new internal network interface, and adds a NAT network service. This command is a
4544	prerequisite for enabling attachment of VMs to the NAT network. Parameters:</para>
4545
4546	<para>
4547	<glosslist>
4548	<glossentry>
4549	<glossterm><computeroutput>--netname <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
4550	<glossdef>
4551	<para>Where <name> is the name of the new internal network interface on the host OS. </para>
4552	</glossdef>
4553	</glossentry>
4554	<glossentry>
4555	<glossterm><computeroutput>--network <network></computeroutput></glossterm>
4556	<glossdef>
4557	<para>Where <network> specifies the static(default)/DHCP network address and mask of
4558	the NAT service interface.</para>
4559	</glossdef>
4560	</glossentry>
4561	<glossentry>
4562	<glossterm><computeroutput>--enable\|--disable</computeroutput></glossterm>
4563	<glossdef>
4564	<para>Enables/disables the NAT network service.</para>
4565	</glossdef>
4566	</glossentry>
4567	<glossentry>
4568	<glossterm><computeroutput>--dhcp on\|off</computeroutput></glossterm>
4569	<glossdef>
4570	<para>Enables/disables DHCP server specified by --netname; its use also indicates that it
4571	is a DHCP server.</para>
4572	</glossdef>
4573	</glossentry>
4574	<glossentry>
4575	<glossterm><computeroutput>--port-forward-4 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4576	<glossdef>
4577	<para>Enables IPv4 port forwarding, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4578	</glossdef>
4579	</glossentry>
4580	<glossentry>
4581	<glossterm><computeroutput>--loopback-4 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4582	<glossdef>
4583	<para>Enables IPv4 loopback interface, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4584	</glossdef>
4585	</glossentry>
4586	<glossentry>
4587	<glossterm><computeroutput>--ipv6 on\|off</computeroutput></glossterm>
4588	<glossdef>
4589	<para>Enables/disables IPv6 (default is IPv4, disables gives IPv4).</para>
4590	</glossdef>
4591	</glossentry>
4592	<glossentry>
4593	<glossterm><computeroutput>--port-forward-6 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4594	<glossdef>
4595	<para>Enables IPv6 port forwarding, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4596	</glossdef>
4597	</glossentry>
4598	<glossentry>
4599	<glossterm><computeroutput>--loopback-6 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4600	<glossdef>
4601	<para>Enables IPv6 loopback interface, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4602	</glossdef>
4603	</glossentry>
4604	</glosslist>
4605	</para>
4606
4607	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork remove --netname <name> </screen>
4608
4609	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork remove</computeroutput></emphasis>
4610	Removes a NAT network service, parameters:</para>
4611
4612	<para>
4613	<glosslist>
4614	<glossentry>
4615	<glossterm><computeroutput>--netname <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
4616	<glossdef>
4617	<para>Where <name> specifies an existing NAT network service.
4618	Does not remove any DHCP server enabled on the network.</para>
4619	</glossdef>
4620	</glossentry>
4621	</glosslist>
4622	</para>
4623
4624	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname <name>
4625	[--network <network>]
4626	[--enable\|--disable]
4627	[--dhcp on\|off]
4628	[--port-forward-4 <rule>]
4629	[--loopback-4 <rule>]
4630	[--ipv6 on\|off]
4631	[--port-forward-6 <rule>]
4632	[--loopback-6 <rule>]
4633	</screen>
4634
4635	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork modify</computeroutput></emphasis>
4636	Modifies an existing NAT network service, parameters:</para>
4637
4638	<para>
4639	<glosslist>
4640	<glossentry>
4641	<glossterm><computeroutput>--netname <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
4642	<glossdef>
4643	<para>Where <name> specifies an existing NAT network service.</para>
4644	</glossdef>
4645	</glossentry>
4646	<glossentry>
4647	<glossterm><computeroutput>--network <network></computeroutput></glossterm>
4648	<glossdef>
4649	<para>Where <network> specifies the new static(default)/DHCP network address and mask
4650	of the NAT service interface.</para>
4651	</glossdef>
4652	</glossentry>
4653	<glossentry>
4654	<glossterm><computeroutput>--enable\|--disable</computeroutput></glossterm>
4655	<glossdef>
4656	<para>Enables/disables the NAT network service.</para>
4657	</glossdef>
4658	</glossentry>
4659	<glossentry>
4660	<glossterm><computeroutput>--dhcp on\|off</computeroutput></glossterm>
4661	<glossdef>
4662	<para>Enables (and if absent, adds)/disables (if any) DHCP server.</para>
4663	</glossdef>
4664	</glossentry>
4665	<glossentry>
4666	<glossterm><computeroutput>--port-forward-4 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4667	<glossdef>
4668	<para>Enables IPv4 port forwarding, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4669	</glossdef>
4670	</glossentry>
4671	<glossentry>
4672	<glossterm><computeroutput>--loopback-4 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4673	<glossdef>
4674	<para>Enables IPv4 loopback interface, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4675	</glossdef>
4676	</glossentry>
4677	<glossentry>
4678	<glossterm><computeroutput>--ipv6 on\|off</computeroutput></glossterm>
4679	<glossdef>
4680	<para>Enables/disables IPv6 (default is IPv4, disables gives IPv4).</para>
4681	</glossdef>
4682	</glossentry>
4683	<glossentry>
4684	<glossterm><computeroutput>--port-forward-6 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4685	<glossdef>
4686	<para>Enables IPv6 port forwarding, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4687	</glossdef>
4688	</glossentry>
4689	<glossentry>
4690	<glossterm><computeroutput>--loopback-6 <rule></computeroutput></glossterm>
4691	<glossdef>
4692	<para>Enables IPv6 loopback interface, rule specified by <rule>.</para>
4693	</glossdef>
4694	</glossentry>
4695	</glosslist>
4696	</para>
4697
4698	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork start --netname <name>
4699	</screen>
4700
4701	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork start</computeroutput></emphasis>
4702	Starts specified NAT network service and any associated DHCP server, parameters:</para>
4703
4704	<para>
4705	<glosslist>
4706	<glossentry>
4707	<glossterm><computeroutput>--netname <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
4708	<glossdef>
4709	<para>Where <name> specifies an existing NAT network service.</para>
4710	</glossdef>
4711	</glossentry>
4712	</glosslist>
4713	</para>
4714
4715	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork stop --netname <name>
4716	</screen>
4717
4718	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork stop</computeroutput></emphasis>
4719	Stops specified NAT network service and any DHCP server, parameters:</para>
4720
4721	<para>
4722	<glosslist>
4723	<glossentry>
4724	<glossterm><computeroutput>--netname <name></computeroutput></glossterm>
4725	<glossdef>
4726	<para>Where <name> specifies an existing NAT network service.</para>
4727	</glossdef>
4728	</glossentry>
4729	</glosslist>
4730	</para>
4731
4732	<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork list [<pattern>] </screen>
4733
4734	<para><emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork list</computeroutput></emphasis>
4735	Lists all NAT network services with optional filtering, parameters:</para>
4736
4737	<para>
4738	<glosslist>
4739	<glossentry>
4740	<glossterm><computeroutput>[<pattern>]</computeroutput></glossterm>
4741	<glossdef>
4742	<para>Where <pattern> is optional filtering pattern.</para>
4743	</glossdef>
4744	</glossentry>
4745	</glosslist>
4746	</para>
4747	</sect1>
4748
4749	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-hostonlyif">
4750	<title>VBoxManage hostonlyif</title>
4751
4752	<para>With "hostonlyif" you can change the IP configuration of a host-only
4753	network interface. For a description of host-only networking, please
4754	refer to <xref linkend="network_hostonly" />. Each host-only interface is
4755	identified by a name and can either use the internal DHCP server or a
4756	manual IP configuration (both IP4 and IP6).</para>
4757
4758	<para>The following list summarizes the available subcommands:</para>
4759
4760	<glosslist>
4761	<glossentry>
4762	<glossterm><computeroutput>ipconfig "<name>"</computeroutput></glossterm>
4763	<glossdef>
4764	<para>Configure a hostonly interface</para>
4765	</glossdef>
4766	</glossentry>
4767	<glossentry>
4768	<glossterm><computeroutput>create</computeroutput></glossterm>
4769	<glossdef>
4770	<para>Creates a new vboxnet<N> interface on the host OS.
4771	This command is essential before you can attach VMs to host-only network.</para>
4772	</glossdef>
4773	</glossentry>
4774	<glossentry>
4775	<glossterm><computeroutput>remove vboxnet<N></computeroutput></glossterm>
4776	<glossdef>
4777	<para>Removes a vboxnet<N> interface from the host OS.</para>
4778	</glossdef>
4779	</glossentry>
4780	</glosslist>
4781
4782	</sect1>
4783
4784	<sect1 id="vboxmanage-dhcpserver">
4785	<title>VBoxManage dhcpserver</title>
4786
4787	<para>The "dhcpserver" commands allow you to control the DHCP server that
4788	is built into VirtualBox. You may find this useful when using internal or
4789	host-only networking. (Theoretically, you can enable it for a bridged
4790	network as well, but that will likely cause conflicts with other DHCP
4791	servers in your physical network.)</para>
4792
4793	<para>Use the following command line options:<itemizedlist>
4794	<listitem>
4795	<para>If you use internal networking for a virtual network adapter
4796	of a virtual machine, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver add
4797	--netname <network_name></computeroutput>, where
4798	<computeroutput><network_name></computeroutput> is the same
4799	network name you used with <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm
4800	<vmname> --intnet<X>
4801	<network_name></computeroutput>.</para>
4802	</listitem>
4803
4804	<listitem>
4805	<para>If you use host-only networking for a virtual network adapter
4806	of a virtual machine, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver add
4807	--ifname <hostonly_if_name></computeroutput> instead, where
4808	<computeroutput><hostonly_if_name></computeroutput> is the
4809	same host-only interface name you used with
4810	<computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm <vmname>
4811	--hostonlyadapter<X>
4812	<hostonly_if_name></computeroutput>.</para>
4813
4814	<para>Alternatively, you can also use the
4815	<computeroutput>--netname</computeroutput> option as with
4816	internal networks if you know the host-only network's name; you can
4817	see the names with <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
4818	hostonlyifs</computeroutput> (see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />
4819	above).</para>
4820	</listitem>
4821	</itemizedlist></para>
4822
4823	<para>The following additional parameters are required when first adding a
4824	DHCP server:<itemizedlist>
4825	<listitem>
4826	<para>With <computeroutput>--ip</computeroutput>, specify the IP
4827	address of the DHCP server itself.</para>
4828	</listitem>
4829
4830	<listitem>
4831	<para>With <computeroutput>--netmask</computeroutput>, specify the
4832	netmask of the network.</para>
4833	</listitem>
4834
4835	<listitem>
4836	<para>With <computeroutput>--lowerip</computeroutput> and
4837	<computeroutput>--upperip</computeroutput>, you can specify the
4838	lowest and highest IP address, respectively, that the DHCP server
4839	will hand out to clients.</para>
4840	</listitem>
4841	</itemizedlist></para>
4842
4843	<para>Finally, you must specify <computeroutput>--enable</computeroutput>
4844	or the DHCP server will be created in the disabled state, doing
4845	nothing.</para>
4846
4847	<para>After this, VirtualBox will automatically start the DHCP server for
4848	given internal or host-only network as soon as the first virtual machine
4849	which uses that network is started.</para>
4850
4851	<para>Reversely, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver
4852	remove</computeroutput> with the given <computeroutput>--netname
4853	<network_name></computeroutput> or <computeroutput>--ifname
4854	<hostonly_if_name></computeroutput> to remove the DHCP server again
4855	for the given internal or host-only network.</para>
4856
4857	<para>To modify the settings of a DHCP server created earlier with
4858	<computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver add</computeroutput>, you can use
4859	<computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver modify</computeroutput> for a given
4860	network or host-only interface name.</para>
4861	</sect1>
4862
4863	<xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-debugvm.xml" xpointer="element(/1)"
4864	xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />
4865
4866	<xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-extpack.xml" xpointer="element(/1)"
4867	xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />
4868	</chapter>

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