source: vbox/trunk/doc/manual/en_US/user_VBoxManage.xml@ 73873

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
    user_VBoxManage.xml:
      VBoxManage documentation for the user manual.

      This XML document is also be used for generating the help text
      built into VBoxManage as well as manpages (hacking in progress).

    Copyright (C) 2006-2018 Oracle Corporation

    This file is part of VirtualBox Open Source Edition (OSE), as
    available from http://www.virtualbox.org. This file is free software;
    you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
    General Public License (GPL) as published by the Free Software
    Foundation, in version 2 as it comes in the "COPYING" file of the
    VirtualBox OSE distribution. VirtualBox OSE is distributed in the
    hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY of any kind.
 -->
<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
  "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd"[
<!ENTITY % all.entities SYSTEM "all-entities.ent">
%all.entities;
]>
<chapter id="vboxmanage">

  <title>VBoxManage</title>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-intro">

    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para>
      As briefly mentioned in <xref linkend="frontends" />, VBoxManage
      is the command-line interface to VirtualBox. With it, you can
      completely control VirtualBox from the command line of your host
      operating system. VBoxManage supports all the features that the
      graphical user interface gives you access to, but it supports a
      lot more than that. It exposes really all the features of the
      virtualization engine, even those that cannot (yet) be accessed
      from the GUI.
    </para>

    <para>
      You will need to use the command line if you want to do the
      following:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use a different user interface than the main GUI. For example,
          VBoxSDL or the VBoxHeadless server.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Control some of the more advanced and experimental
          configuration settings for a VM.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      There are two main things to keep in mind when using
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput>: First,
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> must always be used
      with a specific "subcommand", such as "list" or "createvm" or
      "startvm". All the subcommands that
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> supports are described
      in detail in <xref linkend="vboxmanage" />.
    </para>

    <para>
      Second, most of these subcommands require that you specify a
      particular virtual machine after the subcommand. There are two
      ways you can do this:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          You can specify the VM name, as it is shown in the VirtualBox
          GUI. Note that if that name contains spaces, then you must
          enclose the entire name in double quotes (as it is always
          required with command line arguments that contain spaces).
        </para>

        <para>
          For example:

<screen>VBoxManage startvm "Windows XP"</screen>
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          You can specify the UUID, which is the internal unique
          identifier that VirtualBox uses to refer to the virtual
          machine. Assuming that the aforementioned VM called "Windows
          XP" has the UUID shown below, the following command has the
          same effect as the previous:

<screen>VBoxManage startvm 670e746d-abea-4ba6-ad02-2a3b043810a5</screen>
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      You can type <computeroutput>VBoxManage list vms</computeroutput>
      to have all currently registered VMs listed with all their
      settings, including their respective names and UUIDs.
    </para>

    <para>
      Some typical examples of how to control VirtualBox from the
      command line are listed below:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          To create a new virtual machine from the command line and
          immediately register it with VirtualBox, use
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage createvm</computeroutput> with the
          <computeroutput>--register</computeroutput> option,

          <footnote>

            <para>
              For details, see
              <xref
            linkend="vboxmanage-createvm" />.
            </para>

          </footnote>

          like this:
        </para>

<screen>$ VBoxManage createvm --name "SUSE 10.2" --register
VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version <replaceable>version-number</replaceable>
(C) 2005-2018 Oracle Corporation
All rights reserved.

Virtual machine 'SUSE 10.2' is created.
UUID: c89fc351-8ec6-4f02-a048-57f4d25288e5
Settings file: '/home/username/.config/VirtualBox/Machines/SUSE 10.2/SUSE 10.2.xml'</screen>

        <para>
          As can be seen from the above output, a new virtual machine
          has been created with a new UUID and a new XML settings file.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          To show the configuration of a particular VM, use
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage showvminfo</computeroutput>. See
          <xref
        linkend="vboxmanage-showvminfo" /> for details
          and an example.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          To change settings while a VM is powered off, use
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>. For
          example:

<screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "Windows XP" --memory 512</screen>
        </para>

        <para>
          For details, see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          To change the storage configuration (e.g. to add a storage
          controller and then a virtual disk), use
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage storagectl</computeroutput> and
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage storageattach</computeroutput>. See
          <xref
        linkend="vboxmanage-storagectl" /> and
          <xref
        linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          To control VM operation, use one of the following:
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              To start a VM that is currently powered off, use
              <computeroutput>VBoxManage startvm</computeroutput>. See
              <xref
              linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              To pause or save a VM that is currently running or change
              some of its settings, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage
              controlvm</computeroutput>. See
              <xref
              linkend="vboxmanage-controlvm" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-cmd-overview">

    <title>Commands Overview</title>

    <para>
      When running VBoxManage without parameters or when supplying an
      invalid command line, the below syntax diagram will be shown. Note
      that the output will be slightly different depending on the host
      platform; when in doubt, check the output of
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> for the commands
      available on your particular host.
    </para>

    <xi:include href="user_VBoxManage_CommandsOverview.xml" xpointer="xpointer(/sect1/*)"
      xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />

    <para>
      Each time VBoxManage is invoked, only one command can be executed.
      However, a command might support several subcommands which then
      can be invoked in one single call. The following sections provide
      detailed reference information on the different commands.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-general">

    <title>General Options</title>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-v|--version</computeroutput>: show the
          version of this tool and exit.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--nologo</computeroutput>: suppress the output
          of the logo information (useful for scripts)
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--settingspw</computeroutput>: specifiy a
          settings password
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--settingspwfile</computeroutput>: specify a
          file containing the settings password.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      The settings password is used for certain settings which need to
      be stored encrypted for security reasons. At the moment, the only
      encrypted setting is the iSCSI initiator secret (see
      <xref linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" /> for details). As long
      as no settings password is specified, this information is stored
      in <emphasis role="bold">plain text</emphasis>. After using the
      <computeroutput>--settingspw|--settingspwfile</computeroutput>
      option once, it must be always used, otherwise the encrypted
      setting cannot be unencrypted.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-list">

    <title>VBoxManage list</title>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>list</computeroutput> command gives relevant
      information about your system and information about VirtualBox's
      current settings.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following subcommands are available with
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list</computeroutput>:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vms</computeroutput> lists all virtual
          machines currently registered with VirtualBox. By default this
          displays a compact list with each VM's name and UUID; if you
          also specify <computeroutput>--long</computeroutput> or
          <computeroutput>-l</computeroutput>, this will be a detailed
          list as with the <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput>
          command (see below).
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>runningvms</computeroutput> lists all
          currently running virtual machines by their unique identifiers
          (UUIDs) in the same format as with
          <computeroutput>vms</computeroutput>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>ostypes</computeroutput> lists all guest
          operating systems presently known to VirtualBox, along with
          the identifiers used to refer to them with the
          <computeroutput>modifyvm</computeroutput> command.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>hostdvds</computeroutput>,
          <computeroutput>hostfloppies</computeroutput>, respectively,
          list DVD, floppy, bridged networking and host-only networking
          interfaces on the host, along with the name used to access
          them from within VirtualBox.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>intnets</computeroutput> displays information
          about the internal networks.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>bridgedifs</computeroutput>,
          <computeroutput>hostonlyifs</computeroutput>,
          <computeroutput>natnets</computeroutput> and
          <computeroutput>dhcpservers</computeroutput>, respectively,
          list bridged network interfaces, host-only network interfaces,
          NAT network interfaces and DHCP servers currently available on
          the host. Please see
          <xref
          linkend="networkingdetails" /> for details on
          these.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>hostinfo</computeroutput> displays information
          about the host system, such as CPUs, memory size and operating
          system version.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>hostcpuids</computeroutput> dumps the CPUID
          parameters for the host CPUs. This can be used for a more fine
          grained analyis of the host's virtualization capabilities.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>hddbackends</computeroutput> lists all known
          virtual disk back-ends of VirtualBox. For each such format
          (such as VDI, VMDK or RAW), this lists the back-end's
          capabilities and configuration.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>hdds</computeroutput>,
          <computeroutput>dvds</computeroutput> and
          <computeroutput>floppies</computeroutput> all give you
          information about virtual disk images currently in use by
          VirtualBox, including all their settings, the unique
          identifiers (UUIDs) associated with them by VirtualBox and all
          files associated with them. This is the command-line
          equivalent of the Virtual Media Manager. See
          <xref
          linkend="vdis" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>usbhost</computeroutput> supplies information
          about USB devices attached to the host, notably information
          useful for constructing USB filters and whether they are
          currently in use by the host.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>usbfilters</computeroutput> lists all global
          USB filters registered with VirtualBox -- that is, filters for
          devices which are accessible to all virtual machines -- and
          displays the filter parameters.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>systemproperties</computeroutput> displays
          some global VirtualBox settings, such as minimum and maximum
          guest RAM and virtual hard disk size, folder settings and the
          current authentication library in use.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>extpacks</computeroutput> displays all
          VirtualBox extension packs currently installed. See
          <xref
          linkend="intro-installing" /> and
          <xref
          linkend="vboxmanage-extpack" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>groups</computeroutput> displays details of
          the VM Groups. See <xref linkend="gui-vmgroups" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>webcams</computeroutput> displays a list of
          webcams attached to the running VM. The output format is a
          list of absolute paths or aliases that were used for attaching
          the webcams to the VM using the webcam attach command.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>screenshotformats</computeroutput> displays a
          list of available screenshot formats.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-showvminfo">

    <title>VBoxManage showvminfo</title>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput> command shows
      information about a particular virtual machine. This is the same
      information as <computeroutput>VBoxManage list vms
      --long</computeroutput> would show for all virtual machines.
    </para>

    <para>
      You will get information that resembles the following example.
    </para>

    <para>
<screen>$ VBoxManage showvminfo "Windows XP"
VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version <replaceable>version-number</replaceable>
(C) 2005-2018 Oracle Corporation
All rights reserved.

Name:            Windows XP
Guest OS:        Other/Unknown
UUID:            1bf3464d-57c6-4d49-92a9-a5cc3816b7e7
Config file:     /home/username/.config/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP/Windows XP.xml
Memory size:     512MB
VRAM size:       12MB
Number of CPUs:  2
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): DVD
Boot Device (2): HardDisk
Boot Device (3): Not Assigned
Boot Device (4): Not Assigned
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          on
...
    </screen>
    </para>

    <para>
      Use the <computeroutput>--machinereadable</computeroutput> option
      to produce the same output, but in machine readable format:
      property="value" on a line by line basis, e.g.:
    </para>

    <para>
<screen>
name="VBoxSDL --startvm OL7.2"
groups="/"
ostype="Oracle (64-bit)"
UUID="457af700-bc0a-4258-aa3c-13b03da171f2"
...
    </screen>
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-registervm">

    <title>VBoxManage registervm/unregistervm</title>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>registervm</computeroutput> command allows you
      to import a virtual machine definition in an XML file into
      VirtualBox. The machine must not conflict with one already
      registered in VirtualBox and it may not have any hard or removable
      disks attached. It is advisable to place the definition file in
      the machines folder before registering it.

      <note>
        <para>
          When creating a new virtual machine with
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage createvm</computeroutput> (see
          below), you can directly specify the
          <computeroutput>--register</computeroutput> option to avoid
          having to register it separately.
        </para>
      </note>
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>unregistervm</computeroutput> command
      unregisters a virtual machine. If
      <computeroutput>--delete</computeroutput> is also specified, the
      following files will automatically be deleted as well:
    </para>

    <orderedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          All hard disk image files, including differencing files, which
          are used by the machine and not shared with other machines.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Saved state files that the machine created. One if the machine
          was in "saved" state and one for each online snapshot.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The machine XML file and its backups,
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The machine log files.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The machine directory, if it is empty after having deleted all
          of the above files.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </orderedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-createvm">

    <title>VBoxManage createvm</title>

    <para>
      This command creates a new XML virtual machine definition file.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>--name &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput> parameter
      is required and must specify the name of the machine. Since this
      name is used by default as the file name of the settings file
      (with the extension <computeroutput>.xml</computeroutput>) and the
      machine folder (a subfolder 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 must
      conform to your host operating system's requirements for file name
      specifications. If the VM is later renamed, the file and folder
      names will change automatically.
    </para>

    <para>
      However, if the <computeroutput>--basefolder
      &lt;path&gt;</computeroutput> option is used, the machine folder
      will be named <computeroutput>&lt;path&gt;</computeroutput>. In
      this case, the names of the file and the folder will not change if
      the virtual machine is renamed.
    </para>

    <para>
      If the <computeroutput>--group &lt;group&gt;, ...</computeroutput>
      option is used, the machine will be assigned membership of the
      specified VM groups in the list. Note that group ids always start
      with a <computeroutput>/</computeroutput> and can be nested. By
      default, VMs are always assigned membership of the group
      <computeroutput>/</computeroutput>.
    </para>

    <para>
      If the <computeroutput>--ostype &lt;ostype&gt;</computeroutput>:
      option is used, &lt;ostype&gt; specifies the guest operating
      system to run in the VM. To learn about the available OS options,
      run <computeroutput>VBoxManage list ostypes</computeroutput> .
    </para>

    <para>
      If the <computeroutput>--uuid &lt;uuid&gt;</computeroutput>:
      option is used, &lt;uuid&gt; specifies the VM uuid. This must be
      unique within the namespace of the host, or that of the VM Group
      if it is assigned to a VM group membership. By default, a unique
      uuid within the appropriate namespace is automatically generated.
    </para>

    <para>
      If the <computeroutput>--default</computeroutput> option is used,
      default hardware configuration for specified guest operation
      system will be applied. By default, VM is created with minimal
      hardware.
    </para>

    <para>
      By default, this command only creates the XML file without
      automatically registering the VM with your VirtualBox
      installation. To register the VM instantly, use the optional
      <computeroutput>--register</computeroutput> option, or run
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage registervm</computeroutput> separately
      afterwards.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm">

    <title>VBoxManage modifyvm</title>

    <para>
      This command changes the properties of a registered virtual
      machine which is not running. Most of the properties that this
      command makes available correspond to the VM settings that
      VirtualBox graphical user interface displays in each VM's
      "Settings" dialog. These were described in
      <xref linkend="BasicConcepts" />. Some of the more advanced
      settings, however, are only available through the
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> interface.
    </para>

    <para>
      These commands require that the machine is powered off (neither
      running nor in "saved" state). Some machine settings can also be
      changed while a machine is running; those settings will then have
      a corresponding subcommand with the <computeroutput>VBoxManage
      controlvm</computeroutput> subcommand. See
      <xref linkend="vboxmanage-controlvm" />.
    </para>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-general">

      <title>General Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following general settings are available through
        <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>:
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--name &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This
            changes the VM's name and can be used to rename the internal
            virtual machine files, as described in
            <xref linkend="vboxmanage-createvm"/>.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--groups &lt;group&gt;,
            ...</computeroutput>: This changes the group membership of a
            VM. Groups always start with a
            <computeroutput>/</computeroutput> and can be nested. By
            default VMs are in group <computeroutput>/</computeroutput>.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--description &lt;desc&gt;</computeroutput>:
            This changes the VM's description, which is a way to record
            details about the VM in a way which is meaningful for the
            user. The GUI interprets HTML formatting, the command line
            allows arbitrary strings potentially containing multiple
            lines.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--ostype &lt;ostype&gt;</computeroutput>:
            This specifies what guest operating system is supposed to
            run in the VM. To learn about the various identifiers that
            can be used here, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
            ostypes</computeroutput>.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--iconfile
            &lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput>: This specifies the
            absolute path on the host file system for the VirtualBox
            icon to be displayed in the VM.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--memory
            &lt;memorysize&gt;</computeroutput>: This sets the amount of
            RAM, in MB, that the virtual machine should allocate for
            itself from the host. See <xref linkend="gui-createvm" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--pagefusion on|off</computeroutput>:
            Enables/disables (default) the Page Fusion feature. The Page
            Fusion feature minimises memory duplication between VMs with
            similar configurations running on the same host. See
            <xref linkend="guestadd-pagefusion" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vram &lt;vramsize&gt;</computeroutput>:
            This sets the amount of RAM that the virtual graphics card
            should have. See <xref linkend="settings-display" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--acpi on|off</computeroutput> and
            <computeroutput>--ioapic on|off</computeroutput>: These
            settings determine whether the VM should have ACPI and I/O
            APIC support, respectively. See
            <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--pciattach &lt;host PCI address [@ guest
            PCI bus address]&gt;</computeroutput>: Attaches a specified
            PCI network controller on the host to a specified PCI bus on
            the guest. See <xref linkend="pcipassthrough" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--pcidetach &lt;host PCI
            address&gt;</computeroutput>: Detaches a specified PCI
            network controller on the host from the attached PCI bus on
            the guest. See <xref linkend="pcipassthrough" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--hardwareuuid
            &lt;uuid&gt;</computeroutput>: The UUID presented to the
            guest via memory tables (DMI/SMBIOS), hardware and guest
            properties. By default this is the same as the VM uuid.
            Useful when cloning a VM. Teleporting takes care of this
            automatically.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cpus &lt;cpucount&gt;</computeroutput>:
            This sets the number of virtual CPUs for the virtual
            machine, see <xref linkend="settings-processor" />. If CPU
            hot-plugging is enabled, this then sets the
            <emphasis>maximum</emphasis> number of virtual CPUs that can
            be plugged into the virtual machines.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cpuhotplug on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables CPU hot-plugging. When enabled, virtual CPUs can be
            added to and removed from a virtual machine while it is
            running. See <xref linkend="cpuhotplug" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--plugcpu|unplugcpu
            &lt;id&gt;</computeroutput>: If CPU hot-plugging is enabled,
            this adds or removes a virtual CPU on the virtual machine.
            <computeroutput>&lt;id&gt;</computeroutput> specifies the
            index of the virtual CPU to be added or removed and must be
            a number from 0 to the maximum no. of CPUs configured with
            the <computeroutput>--cpus</computeroutput> option. CPU 0
            can never be removed.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cpuexecutioncap
            &lt;1-100&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting controls how
            much CPUtime a virtual CPU can use. A value of 50 implies a
            single virtual CPU can use up to 50% of a single host CPU.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--pae on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables/disables PAE. See
            <xref linkend="settings-processor" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--longmode on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables/disables long mode. See
            <xref linkend="settings-processor" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--spec-ctrl on|off</computeroutput>: This
            setting enables/disables exposing speculation control
            interfaces to the guest, provided they are available on the
            host. Depending on the host CPU and workload, enabling
            speculation control may significantly reduce performance.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cpu-profile &lt;host|intel
            80[86|286|386]&gt;</computeroutput>: This enables
            specification of a profile for guest CPU emulation. Specify
            either one based on the host system CPU (host), or one from
            a number of older Intel Micro-architectures - 8086, 80286,
            80386.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--hpet on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables/disables a High Precision Event Timer (HPET) which
            can replace the legacy system timers. This is turned off by
            default. Note that Windows supports a HPET only from Vista
            onwards.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--hwvirtex on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables or disables the use of hardware virtualization
            extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) in the processor of your
            host system. See <xref linkend="hwvirt" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--triplefaultreset on|off</computeroutput>:
            This setting enables resetting of the guest instead of
            triggering a Guru Meditation. Some guests raise a triple
            fault to reset the CPU so sometimes this is desired
            behavior. Works only for non-SMP guests.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--apic on|off</computeroutput>: This setting
            enables(default)/disables IO APIC. With I/O APIC, operating
            systems can use more than 16 interrupt requests (IRQs) thus
            avoiding IRQ sharing for improved reliability. See
            <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--x2apic on|off</computeroutput>: This
            setting enables(default)/disables CPU x2APIC support. CPU
            x2APIC support helps operating systems run more efficiently
            on high core count configurations, and optimizes interrupt
            distribution in virtualized environments. Disable when using
            host/guest operating systems incompatible with x2APIC
            support.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--paravirtprovider
            none|default|legacy|minimal|hyperv|kvm</computeroutput>:
            This setting specifies which paravirtualization interface to
            provide to the guest operating system. Specifying
            <computeroutput>none</computeroutput> explicitly turns off
            exposing any paravirtualization interface. The option
            <computeroutput>default</computeroutput>, will pick an
            appropriate interface depending on the guest OS type while
            starting the VM. This is the default option chosen while
            creating new VMs. The
            <computeroutput>legacy</computeroutput> option is chosen for
            VMs which were created with older VirtualBox versions and
            will pick a paravirtualization interface while starting the
            VM with VirtualBox 5.0 and newer. The
            <computeroutput>minimal</computeroutput> provider is
            mandatory for Mac OS X guests, while
            <computeroutput>kvm</computeroutput> and
            <computeroutput>hyperv</computeroutput> are recommended for
            Linux and Windows guests respectively. These options are
            explained in <xref linkend="gimproviders" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--paravirtdebug &lt;key=value&gt;
            [,&lt;key=value&gt; ...]</computeroutput>: This setting
            specifies debugging options specific to the
            paravirtualization provider configured for this VM. See the
            provider specific options in <xref linkend="gimdebug" /> for
            a list of supported key-value pairs for each provider.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nestedpaging on|off</computeroutput>: If
            hardware virtualization is enabled, this additional setting
            enables or disables the use of the nested paging feature in
            the processor of your host system. See
            <xref
            linkend="hwvirt" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--largepages on|off</computeroutput>: If
            hardware virtualization <emphasis>and</emphasis> nested
            paging are enabled, for Intel VT-x only, an additional
            performance improvement of up to 5% can be obtained by
            enabling this setting. This causes the hypervisor to use
            large pages to reduce TLB use and overhead.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vtxvpid on|off</computeroutput>: If
            hardware virtualization is enabled, for Intel VT-x only,
            this additional setting enables or disables the use of the
            tagged TLB (VPID) feature in the processor of your host
            system. See <xref
            linkend="hwvirt" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vtxux on|off</computeroutput>: If hardware
            virtualization is enabled, for Intel VT-x only, this setting
            enables or disables the use of the unrestricted guest mode
            feature for executing your guest.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--accelerate3d on|off</computeroutput>: If
            the Guest Additions are installed, this setting enables or
            disables hardware 3D acceleration. See
            <xref
            linkend="guestadd-3d" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--accelerate2dvideo on|off</computeroutput>:
            If the Guest Additions are installed, this setting enables
            or disables 2D video acceleration. See
            <xref
            linkend="guestadd-2d" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--chipset piix3|ich9</computeroutput>: By
            default VirtualBox emulates an Intel PIIX3 chipset. Usually
            there is no reason to change the default setting unless this
            is required to relax some of its constraints. See
            <xref
            linkend="settings-motherboard" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            You can influence the BIOS logo that is displayed when a
            virtual machine starts up with a number of settings. By
            default, a VirtualBox logo is displayed.
          </para>

          <para>
            With <computeroutput>--bioslogofadein
            on|off</computeroutput> and
            <computeroutput>--bioslogofadeout on|off</computeroutput>,
            you can determine whether the logo should fade in and out,
            respectively.
          </para>

          <para>
            With <computeroutput>--bioslogodisplaytime
            &lt;msec&gt;</computeroutput> you can set how long the logo
            should be visible, in milliseconds.
          </para>

          <para>
            With <computeroutput>--bioslogoimagepath
            &lt;imagepath&gt;</computeroutput> you can, if you are so
            inclined, replace the image that is shown, with your own
            logo. The image must be an uncompressed 256 color BMP file
            without color space information (Windows 3.0 format). The
            image must not be bigger than 640 x 480.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--biosbootmenu
            disabled|menuonly|messageandmenu</computeroutput>: This
            specifies whether the BIOS allows the user to select a
            temporary boot device.
            <computeroutput>menuonly</computeroutput> suppresses the
            message, but the user can still press F12 to select a
            temporary boot device.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--biosapic
            x2apic|apic|disabled</computeroutput>: This specifies the
            firmware APIC level to be used. Options are: x2apic, apic or
            disabled (no apic or x2apic) respectively.
          </para>

          <para>
            Note that if x2apic is specified and x2apic is unsupported
            by the VCPU, biosapic downgrades to apic, if supported -
            otherwise down to 'disabled'. Similarly, if apic is
            specified, and apic is unsupported a downgrade to 'disabled'
            results.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--biossystemtimeoffset
            &lt;ms&gt;</computeroutput>: This specifies a fixed time
            offset (milliseconds) of the guest relative to the host
            time. If the offset is positive, the guest time runs ahead
            of the host time.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--biospxedebug on|off</computeroutput>: This
            option enables additional debugging output when using the
            Intel PXE boot ROM. The output will be written to the
            release log file (<xref linkend="collect-debug-info" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--boot&lt;1-4&gt;
            none|floppy|dvd|disk|net</computeroutput>: This specifies
            the boot order for the virtual machine. There are four
            "slots", which the VM will try to access from 1 to 4, and
            for each of which you can set a device that the VM should
            attempt to boot from.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--rtcuseutc on|off</computeroutput>: This
            option lets the real-time clock (RTC) operate in UTC time.
            See <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--graphicscontroller
            none|vboxvga|vmsvga</computeroutput>: This option specifies
            use of a graphics controller, and type chosen from vboxvga
            or vmsvga. <xref linkend="settings-motherboard" />).
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--snapshotfolder
            default|&lt;path&gt;</computeroutput>: This option specifies
            the folder in which snapshots will be kept for a virtual
            machine.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--firmware
            bios|efi|efi32|efi64</computeroutput>: This option specifies
            which firmware to be used to boot the VM: Available options
            are: BIOS, or one of the EFI options: efi, efi32 or efi64.
            Use EFI options with care.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--guestmemoryballoon
            &lt;size&gt;</computeroutput> This option sets the default
            size of the guest memory balloon, that is, memory allocated
            by the VirtualBox Guest Additions from the guest operating
            system and returned to the hypervisor for re-use by other
            virtual machines.
            <computeroutput>&lt;size&gt;</computeroutput> must be
            specified in megabytes. The default size is 0 megabytes. See
            <xref linkend="guestadd-balloon" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--defaultfrontend
            default|&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This option specifies
            the default frontend to be used when starting this VM. See
            <xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-networking">

      <title>Networking Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following networking settings are available through
        <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>. With all
        these settings, the decimal number directly following the option
        name ("1-N" in the list below) specifies the virtual network
        adapter whose settings should be changed.
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nic&lt;1-N&gt;
            none|null|nat|natnetwork|bridged|intnet|hostonly|generic</computeroutput>:
            You can configure for each of the VM's virtual network
            cards, what type of networking should be available. Options
            are: not present (<computeroutput>none</computeroutput>),
            not connected to the host
            (<computeroutput>null</computeroutput>), use network address
            translation (<computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>), use the
            new network address translation engine
            (<computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>), bridged
            networking (<computeroutput>bridged</computeroutput>), or
            use internal networking
            (<computeroutput>intnet</computeroutput>), host-only
            networking (<computeroutput>hostonly</computeroutput>), or
            access rarely used sub-modes
            (<computeroutput>generic</computeroutput>). These options
            correspond to the modes described in
            <xref
            linkend="networkingmodes" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nictype&lt;1-N&gt;
            Am79C970A|Am79C973|82540EM|82543GC|82545EM|virtio</computeroutput>:
            This enables you to specify which networking hardware
            VirtualBox presents to the guest for a specified VM virtual
            network card. See <xref linkend="nichardware" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cableconnected&lt;1-N&gt;
            on|off</computeroutput>: This enables you to temporarily
            disconnect a virtual network interface, as if a network
            cable had been pulled from a real network card. This might
            be useful e.g. for resetting certain software components in
            the VM.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            With the "nictrace" options, you can optionally trace
            network traffic by dumping it to a file, for debugging
            purposes.
          </para>

          <para>
            With <computeroutput>--nictrace&lt;1-N&gt;
            on|off</computeroutput>, you can enable network tracing for
            a particular virtual network card.
          </para>

          <para>
            If enabled, you must specify with
            <computeroutput>--nictracefile&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput> the absolute path of the
            file the trace should be logged to.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicproperty&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;paramname&gt;="paramvalue"</computeroutput>: This
            option, in combination with "nicgenericdrv" allows you to
            pass parameters to rarely-used network backends.
          </para>

          <para>
            These parameters are backend engine-specific, and are
            different between UDP Tunnel and the VDE backend drivers.
            For examples, please see
            <xref linkend="network_udp_tunnel" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicspeed&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;kbps&gt;</computeroutput>: If generic networking has
            been enabled for a particular virtual network card (see the
            <computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above -
            otherwise this setting has no effect), this mode enables
            access to rarely used networking sub-modes, such as VDE
            network or UDP Tunnel. This option specifies the throughput
            rate in KBytes/sec.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicbootprio&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;priority&gt;</computeroutput>: This specifies the order
            in which NICs are tried for booting over the network (using
            PXE). The priority is an integer in the 0 to 4 range.
            Priority 1 is the highest, priority 4 is low. Priority 0,
            which is the default unless otherwise specified, is the
            lowest.
          </para>

          <para>
            Note that this option only has effect when the Intel PXE
            boot ROM is used.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicpromisc&lt;1-N&gt;
            deny|allow-vms|allow-all</computeroutput>: This ernables you
            to specify how the promiscuous mode is handled for the
            specified VM virtual network card. This setting is only
            relevant for bridged networking.
            <computeroutput>deny</computeroutput> (default setting)
            hides any traffic not intended for this VM.
            <computeroutput>allow-vms</computeroutput> hides all host
            traffic from this VM but allows the VM to see traffic
            from/to other VMs.
            <computeroutput>allow-all</computeroutput> removes this
            restriction completely.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicbandwidthgroup&lt;1-N&gt;
            none|&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This removes/adds an
            assignment of a bandwidth group from/to the specified
            virtual network interface. Specifying
            <computeroutput>none</computeroutput> removes any current
            bandwidth group assignment from the specified virtual
            network interface. Specifying
            <computeroutput>&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput> adds an
            assignment of a bandwidth group to the specified virtual
            network interface.
          </para>

          <para>
            For details, please see
            <xref linkend="network_bandwidth_limit" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--bridgeadapter&lt;1-N&gt;
            none|&lt;devicename&gt;</computeroutput>: If bridged
            networking has been enabled for a virtual network card (see
            the <computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above),
            otherwise this setting has no effect. Use this option to
            specify which host interface the given virtual network
            interface will use. For details, please see
            <xref linkend="network_bridged" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--hostonlyadapter&lt;1-N&gt;
            none|&lt;devicename&gt;</computeroutput>: If host-only
            networking has been enabled for a virtual network card (see
            the <computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above),
            otherwise this setting has no effect. Use this option to
            specify which host-only networking interface the given
            virtual network interface will use. For details, please see
            <xref
            linkend="network_hostonly" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--intnet&lt;1-N&gt;
            network</computeroutput>: If internal networking has been
            enabled for a virtual network card (see the
            <computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above),
            otherwise this setting has no effect. Ue this option to
            specify the name of the internal network (see
            <xref
            linkend="network_internal" />).
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nat-network&lt;1-N&gt; &lt;network
            name&gt;</computeroutput>: If the networking type is set to
            <computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput> (not
            <computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>) then this setting
            specifies the name of the NAT network this adapter is
            connected to. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--nicgenericdrv&lt;1-N&gt; &lt;backend
            driver&gt;</computeroutput>: If generic networking has been
            enabled for a virtual network card (see the
            <computeroutput>--nic</computeroutput> option above),
            otherwise this setting has no effect. This mode allows you
            to access rarely used networking sub-modes, such as VDE
            network or UDP Tunnel.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--macaddress&lt;1-N&gt;
            auto|&lt;mac&gt;</computeroutput>: With this option you can
            set the MAC address of a particular network adapter on the
            VM. Normally, each network adapter is assigned a random
            address by VirtualBox at VM creation.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

      <sect3 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-networking-nat">

        <title>NAT Networking Settings</title>

        <para>
          The following NAT networking settings are available through
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>. With all
          these settings, the decimal number directly following the
          option name ("1-N" in the list below) specifies the virtual
          network adapter whose settings should be changed.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natnet&lt;1-N&gt;
              &lt;network&gt;|default</computeroutput>: If the
              networking type is set to
              <computeroutput>nat</computeroutput> (not
              <computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>) then this
              setting specifies the IP address range to be used for this
              network. See <xref linkend="changenat" /> for an example.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natpf&lt;1-N&gt;
              [&lt;name&gt;],tcp|udp,[&lt;hostip&gt;],&lt;hostport&gt;,[&lt;guestip&gt;],
              &lt;guestport&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting defines a
              NAT port-forwarding rule. See
              <xref linkend="natforward" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natpf&lt;1-N&gt; delete
              &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting deletes a NAT
              port-forwarding rule. See <xref linkend="natforward" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--nattftpprefix&lt;1-N&gt;
              &lt;prefix&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting defines a
              prefix for the built-in TFTP server, i.e. where the boot
              file is located. See <xref linkend="nat-tftp" /> and
              <xref
              linkend="nat-adv-tftp" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--nattftpfile&lt;1-N&gt;
              &lt;bootfile&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting defines
              the TFT boot file. See <xref linkend="nat-adv-tftp" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--nattftpserver&lt;1-N&gt;
              &lt;tftpserver&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting defines
              the TFTP server address to boot from. See
              <xref
              linkend="nat-adv-tftp" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--nattbindip&lt;1-N&gt;
              &lt;ip;&gt;</computeroutput>: VirtualBox's NAT engine
              normally routes TCP/IP packets through the default
              interface assigned by the host's TCP/IP stack. Use this
              setting to instruct the NAT engine to bind to a specified
              IP address instead. See
              <xref
              linkend="nat-adv-settings" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natdnspassdomain&lt;1-N&gt;
              on|off</computeroutput>: This setting specifies whether
              the built-in DHCP server passes the domain name for
              network name resolution.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natdnsproxy&lt;1-N&gt;
              on|off</computeroutput>: This setting makes the NAT engine
              proxy all guest DNS requests to the host's DNS servers.
              See <xref linkend="nat-adv-dns" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natdnshostresolver&lt;1-N&gt;
              on|off</computeroutput>: This setting makes the NAT engine
              use the host's resolver mechanisms to handle DNS requests.
              See <xref linkend="nat-adv-dns" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--natsettings&lt;1-N&gt;
              [&lt;mtu&gt;],[&lt;socksnd&gt;],[&lt;sockrcv&gt;],[&lt;tcpsnd&gt;],
              [&lt;tcprcv&gt;]</computeroutput>: This setting controls
              several NAT settings. See
              <xref linkend="nat-adv-settings" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--nataliasmode&lt;1-N&gt;
              default|[log],[proxyonly],[sameports]</computeroutput>:
              This setting defines behaviour of NAT engine core: log -
              enables logging, proxyonly - switches of aliasing mode
              makes NAT transparent, sameports enforces NAT engine to
              send packets via the same port as they originated on,
              default - disable all mentioned modes above. See
              <xref
              linkend="nat-adv-alias" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>

      </sect3>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-other">

      <title>Miscellaneous Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following hardware settings, such as serial port, audio,
        clipboard, drag and drop, monitor and USB settings are available
        through <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm</computeroutput>:
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--mouse
            &lt;ps2|usb|usbtablet|usbmultitouch&gt;</computeroutput>:
            Specifies the mode of the mouse to be used in the VM.
            Available options are: ps2, usb, usbtablet, usbmultitouch.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--keyboard &lt;ps2|usb&gt;</computeroutput>:
            Specifies the mode of the keyboard to be used in the VM.
            Available options are: ps2, usb.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--uart&lt;1-N&gt; off|&lt;I/O base&gt;
            &lt;IRQ&gt;</computeroutput>: With this setting you can
            configure virtual serial ports for the VM. See
            <xref
          linkend="serialports" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--uartmode&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;arg&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting controls how
            VirtualBox connects a given virtual serial port (previously
            configured with the <computeroutput>--uartX</computeroutput>
            setting, see above) to the host on which the virtual machine
            is running. As described in <xref linkend="serialports" />,
            for each such port, you can specify
            <computeroutput>&lt;arg&gt;</computeroutput> as one of the
            following options:
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>disconnected</computeroutput>: Even
                though the serial port is shown to the guest, it has no
                "other end". This is like a real COM port without a
                cable.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>server
                &lt;pipename&gt;</computeroutput>: On a Windows host,
                this tells VirtualBox to create a named pipe on the host
                named <computeroutput>&lt;pipename&gt;</computeroutput>
                and connect the virtual serial device to it. Note that
                Windows requires that the name of a named pipe begin
                with <computeroutput>\\.\pipe\</computeroutput>.
              </para>

              <para>
                On a Linux host, instead of a named pipe, a local domain
                socket is used.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>client
                &lt;pipename&gt;</computeroutput>: This operates just
                like <computeroutput>server ...</computeroutput>, except
                that the pipe, or local domain socket, is not created by
                VirtualBox, but assumed to exist already.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>tcpserver &lt;port&gt;</computeroutput>:
                This tells VirtualBox to create a TCP socket on the host
                with TCP <computeroutput>&lt;port&gt;</computeroutput>
                and connect the virtual serial device to it. Note that
                UNIX-like systems require ports over 1024 for normal
                users.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>tcpclient
                &lt;hostname:port&gt;</computeroutput>: This operates
                just like <computeroutput>tcpserver
                ...</computeroutput>, except that the TCP socket is not
                created by VirtualBox, but assumed to exist already.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>file &lt;file&gt;</computeroutput>: This
                redirects the serial port output to a raw file
                &lt;file&gt; specified by its absolute path on the host
                file system.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>&lt;devicename&gt;</computeroutput>: If,
                instead of the above, the device name of a physical
                hardware serial port of the host is specified, the
                virtual serial port is connected to that hardware port.
                On a Windows host, the device name will be a COM port
                such as <computeroutput>COM1</computeroutput>; on a
                Linux host, the device name will look like
                <computeroutput>/dev/ttyS0</computeroutput>. This allows
                you to "wire" a real serial port to a virtual machine.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--lptmode&lt;1-N&gt;
            &lt;Device&gt;</computeroutput>: Specifies the Device Name
            of the parallel port that the Parallel Port feature will be
            using. Use this <emphasis>before</emphasis>
            <computeroutput>--lpt</computeroutput>. This feature is host
            operating system specific. For Windows hosts, use a device
            name like <emphasis>lpt1</emphasis> while on Linux hosts you
            have to use a device name like <emphasis>/dev/lp0</emphasis>
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--lpt&lt;1-N&gt; &lt;I/O base&gt;
            &lt;IRQ&gt;</computeroutput>: Specifies the I/O address of
            the parallel port and the IRQ number that the Parallel Port
            feature will be using. Optional. Use this
            <emphasis>after</emphasis>
            <computeroutput>--lptmod</computeroutput>. I/O base address
            and IRQ are the values that guest sees. For example, the
            values avalable under guest Device Manager.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--audio
            none|null|dsound|oss|alsa|pulse|coreaudio</computeroutput>:
            With this setting, you can specify whether the VM should
            have audio support, and &ndash; if so &ndash; which type.
            The list of supported audio types depends on the host and
            can be determined with <computeroutput>VBoxManage
            modifyvm</computeroutput>.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--audiocontroller
            ac97|hda|sb16</computeroutput>: With this setting, you can
            specify the audio controller to be used with this VM.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--audiocodec
            stac9700|ad1980|stac9221|sb16</computeroutput>: With this
            setting, you can specify the audio codec to be used with
            this VM.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--audioin on</computeroutput>: With this
            setting, you can specify whether capturing audio from the
            host is enabled or disabled.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--audioout on</computeroutput>: With this
            setting, you can specify whether audio playback from the
            guest is enabled or disabled.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--clipboard
            disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
            With this setting, you can select if and how the guest or
            host operating system's clipboard should be shared with the
            host or guest. See <xref linkend="generalsettings" />. This
            requires that the Guest Additions be installed in the
            virtual machine.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--draganddrop
            disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
            With this setting, you can specify the current drag and drop
            mode being used between the host and the virtual machine.
            See <xref linkend="guestadd-dnd" />. This requires that the
            Guest Additions be installed in the virtual machine.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--monitorcount
            &lt;count&gt;</computeroutput>: This enables multi-monitor
            support. See <xref linkend="settings-display" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--usb on|off</computeroutput>: This setting
            enables or disables the VM's virtual USB controller. See
            <xref
          linkend="settings-usb" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--usbehci on|off</computeroutput>: This
            setting enables or disables the VM's virtual USB 2.0
            controller. See <xref linkend="settings-usb" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--usbxhci on|off</computeroutput>: This
            setting enables or disables the VM's virtual USB 3.0
            controller. See <xref linkend="settings-usb" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--usbrename &lt;oldname&gt;
            &lt;newname&gt;</computeroutput>: This setting enables
            renaming of the VM's virtual USB controller from
            &lt;oldname&gt; to &lt;newname&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-videocap">

      <title>Video Capture Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following settings for changing video recording parameters
        are available through <computeroutput>VBoxManage
        modifyvm</computeroutput>.
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocap on|off</computeroutput>: This
            option enables or disables recording a VM session into a
            WebM/VP8 file. If this option is enabled, recording will
            start when the VM session is started.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapscreens all|&lt;screen ID&gt;
            [&lt;screen ID&gt; ...]</computeroutput>: This option allows
            to specify which screens of the VM are being recorded. Each
            screen is recorded into a separate file.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapfile
            &lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput>: This option sets the
            filename VirtualBox uses to save the recorded content.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapres
            &lt;width&gt;x&lt;height&gt;</computeroutput>: This option
            sets the resolution (in pixels) of the recorded video.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocaprate
            &lt;rate&gt;</computeroutput>: This option sets the bitrate
            in kilobits (kb) per second. Increasing this value makes the
            video look better for the cost of an increased file size.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapfps &lt;fps&gt;</computeroutput>:
            This option sets the maximum number of frames per second
            (FPS) to be recorded. Frames with a higher frequency will be
            skipped. Reducing this value increases the number of skipped
            frames and reduces the file size.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapmaxtime
            &lt;ms&gt;</computeroutput>: This option sets the maximum
            time in milliseconds the video capturing will be enabled
            since activation. The capturing stops when the defined time
            interval has elapsed. If this value is zero the capturing is
            not limited by time.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapmaxsize
            &lt;MB&gt;</computeroutput>: This option limits the maximum
            size of the captured video file (in MB). The capturing stops
            when the file size has reached the specified size. If this
            value is zero the capturing will not be limited by file
            size.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--videocapopts &lt;key=value&gt;
            [,&lt;key=value&gt; ...]</computeroutput>: This format can
            be used to specify additional video capturing options. These
            options only are for advanced users and must be specified in
            a comma-separated key=value format. For example:
            <computeroutput>foo=bar,a=b</computeroutput>.
          </para>

          <para>
            The following keys and their corresponding values are
            available:
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>ac_enabled</computeroutput>: Enables
                audio recording when set to
                <computeroutput>true</computeroutput>, otherwise set to
                <computeroutput>false</computeroutput> to disable. This
                feature is considered being experimental.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde">

      <title>Remote Machine Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following settings that affect remote machine behavior are
        available through <computeroutput>VBoxManage
        modifyvm</computeroutput>:
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrde on|off</computeroutput>: This enables
            or disables the VirtualBox remote desktop extension (VRDE)
            server.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "TCP/Ports|Address=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> sets the
            port number(s) and IP address on the VM that the VRDE server
            can bind to.
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                For TCP/Ports, &lt;value&gt; should be a port or a range
                of ports that the VRDE server can bind to; "default" or
                "0" means port 3389, the standard port for RDP. See the
                description for the
                <computeroutput>--vrdeport</computeroutput> option in
                <xref
                linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                For TCP/Address, &lt;value&gt; should be the IP address
                of the host network interface that the VRDE server will
                bind to. If specified, the server will accept
                connections only on the specified host network
                interface. See the description for the
                <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress</computeroutput> option in
                <xref
                linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "VideoChannel/Enabled|Quality|DownscaleProtection=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
            sets the VRDP video redirection properties.
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                For VideoChannel/Enabled, &lt;value&gt; can be set to
                "1" switching the VRDP video channel on. For details,
                see <xref linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                For VideoChannel/Quality, &lt;value&gt; should be set
                between 10 and 100% inclusive, representing a JPEG
                compression level on the VRDE server video channel.
                Lower values mean lower quality but higher compression.
                See <xref linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                For VideoChannel/DownscaleProtection, &lt;value&gt; can
                be set to "1" to enable the videochannel downscale
                protection feature. When enabled, if a video's size
                equals the shadow buffer size, then it is regarded as a
                full screen video, and is displayed. But if its size is
                between fullscreen and the downscale threshold then it
                is <emphasis>not</emphasis> displayed, as it could be an
                application window, which would be unreadable when
                downscaled. When the downscale protection feature is
                disabled, an attempt is always made to display videos.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "Client/DisableDisplay|DisableInput|DisableAudio|DisableUSB=1"</computeroutput>
          </para>

          <para>
            Disables one of the VRDE server features: Display, Input,
            Audio or USB respectively. To reenable a feature, use
            "Client/DisableDisplay=" for example. See
            <xref linkend="vrde-customization" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "Client/DisableClipboard|DisableUpstreamAudio=1"</computeroutput>
          </para>

          <para>
            Disables one of the VRDE server features: Clipboard or
            UpstreamAudio respectively. To reenable a feature, use
            "Client/DisableClipboard=" for example. See
            <xref linkend="vrde-customization" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "Client/DisableRDPDR=1"</computeroutput>
          </para>

          <para>
            Disables the VRDE server feature: RDP device redirection for
            smart cards. To reenable this feature, use
            "Client/DisableRDPR=".
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "H3DRedirect/Enabled=1"</computeroutput>
          </para>

          <para>
            Enables the VRDE server feature: 3D redirection. To disable
            this feature, use "H3DRedirect/Enabled=".
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "Security/Method|ServerCertificate|ServerPrivateKey|CACertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
            sets the desired security method/Path of server certificate,
            path of server private key, path of CA certificate, used for
            a connection.
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Security/Method=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> sets
                the desired security method, which is used for a
                connection. Valid values are:
              </para>

              <itemizedlist>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>Negotiate</computeroutput> - both
                    Enhanced (TLS) and Standard RDP Security connections
                    are allowed. The security method is negotiated with
                    the client. This is the default setting.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>RDP</computeroutput> - only Standard
                    RDP Security is accepted.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>TLS</computeroutput> - only Enhanced
                    RDP Security is accepted. The client must support
                    TLS.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

              </itemizedlist>

              <para>
                See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Security/ServerCertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
                where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the server
                certificate. Ssee <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Security/ServerPrivateKey=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
                where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the server
                private key. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Security/CACertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
                where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the CA self
                signed certificate. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
            "Audio/RateCorrectionMode|LogPath=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
            sets the Audio connection mode, or Path of the audio
            logfile.
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Audio/RateCorrectionMode=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
                where &lt;value&gt; is the desired rate correction mode,
                allowed values are:
              </para>

              <itemizedlist>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_VOID</computeroutput>
                    - no mode specified, use to unset any Audio mode
                    already set.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_RC</computeroutput>
                    - rate correction mode.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_LPF</computeroutput>
                    - low pass filter mode.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

                <listitem>
                  <para>
                    <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_CS</computeroutput>
                    - client sync mode to prevent under/overflow of the
                    client queue.
                  </para>
                </listitem>

              </itemizedlist>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                <computeroutput>--vrdeproperty
                "Audio/LogPath=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> where
                &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the Audio log
                file.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeextpack
            default|&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: Enables specification
            of the library for accessing the VM remotely. The default is
            to use the RDP code which is part of the Oracle VM
            VirtualBox Extension Pack.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeport
            default|&lt;ports&gt;</computeroutput>: A port or a range of
            ports the VRDE server can bind to; "default" or "0" means
            port 3389, the standard port for RDP. You can specify a
            comma-separated list of ports or ranges of ports. Use a dash
            between two port numbers to specify a range. The VRDE server
            will bind to
            <emphasis
            role="bold">one</emphasis> of the
            available ports from the specified list. Only one machine
            can use a given port at a time. For example, the option
            <computeroutput> --vrdeport 5000,5010-5012</computeroutput>
            will tell the server to bind to one of following ports:
            5000, 5010, 5011 or 5012.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress &lt;IP
            address&gt;</computeroutput>: The IP address of the host
            network interface the VRDE server will bind to. If
            specified, the server will accept connections only on the
            specified host network interface.
          </para>

          <para>
            The setting can be used to specify whether the VRDP server
            should accept either IPv4, IPv6 or both connections:
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Only IPv4: <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress "0.0.0.0"
                </computeroutput>
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Only IPv6: <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress "::"
                </computeroutput>
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Both IPv6 and IPv4 (default):
                <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress "" </computeroutput>
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeauthtype
            null|external|guest</computeroutput>: This enables you to
            indicate use of authorization, and specify how authorization
            will be performed. See <xref linkend="vbox-auth" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdeauthlibrary
            default|&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This specifies the
            library used for RDP authentication. See
            <xref
            linkend="vbox-auth" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdemulticon on|off</computeroutput>: This
            enables multiple connections to be made to the same VRDE
            server, if the server supports this feature. See
            <xref
            linkend="vrde-multiconnection" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdereusecon on|off</computeroutput>: This
            specifies the VRDE server behavior when multiple connections
            are disabled. When this option is enabled, the server will
            allow a new client to connect and will drop the existing
            connection. When this option is disabled, the default
            setting, a new connection will not be accepted if there is
            already a client connected to the server.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdevideochannel on|off</computeroutput>:
            This enables video redirection, if it is supported by the
            VRDE server. See <xref linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--vrdevideochannelquality
            &lt;percent&gt;</computeroutput>: Specifies the image
            quality for video redirection. See
            <xref
            linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport">

      <title>Teleporting Settings</title>

      <para>
        With the following commands for <computeroutput>VBoxManage
        modifyvm</computeroutput> you can configure a machine to be a
        target for teleporting. See <xref linkend="teleporting" />.
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--teleporter on|off</computeroutput>: This
            setting enables/disables the teleporter feature whereby when
            the machine is started, it waits to receieve a teleporting
            request from the network instead of booting normally.
            Teleporting requests are received on the port and address
            specified using the following parameters.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--teleporterport
            &lt;port&gt;</computeroutput>,
            <computeroutput>--teleporteraddress
            &lt;address&gt;</computeroutput>: These settings must be
            used with --teleporter and they specify the port and address
            the virtual machine should listen to to receive a
            teleporting request sent from another virtual machine.
            <computeroutput>&lt;port&gt;</computeroutput> can be any
            free TCP/IP port number, such as 6000.
            <computeroutput>&lt;address&gt;</computeroutput> can be any
            IP address or hostname and specifies the TCP/IP socket to
            bind to. The default is "0.0.0.0", which means any address.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--teleporterpassword
            &lt;password&gt;</computeroutput>: If this optional setting
            is given, then the teleporting request will only succeed if
            the source machine specifies the same password as the one
            given with this command.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--teleporterpasswordfile
            &lt;password&gt;</computeroutput>: If this optional setting
            is given, then the teleporting request will only succeed if
            the source machine specifies the same password as the one
            specified in the file give with this command. Use
            <computeroutput>stdin</computeroutput> to read the password
            from stdin.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--cpuid &lt;leaf&gt; &lt;eax&gt; &lt;ebx&gt;
            &lt;ecx&gt; &lt;edx&gt;</computeroutput>: Advanced users can
            use this setting before a teleporting operation to restrict
            the virtual CPU capabilities that VirtualBox presents to the
            guest operating system. This must be run on both the source
            and the target machines involved in the teleporting and will
            then modify what the guest sees when it executes the
            <computeroutput>CPUID</computeroutput> machine instruction.
            This might help with misbehaving applications that wrongly
            assume that certain CPU capabilities are present. The
            meaning of the parameters is hardware dependent, refer to
            the AMD or Intel processor documentation.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-modifyvm-debugging">

      <title>Debugging Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following settings are only relevant for low-level VM
        debugging. Regular users will never need these settings.
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--tracing-enabled on|off</computeroutput>:
            Enable the tracebuffer. This consumes some memory for the
            tracebuffer and adds extra overhead.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--tracing-config
            &lt;config-string&gt;</computeroutput>: Enables tracing
            configuration. In particular, this defines which group of
            tracepoints are enabled.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--tracing-allow-vm-access
            on|off</computeroutput>: Enables/disables (default) VM
            access to the tracebuffer.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-usbcardreader">

      <title>USB Card Reader Settings</title>

      <para>
        The following setting defines access to a USB Card Reader by the
        guest environment. USB card readers are typically used for
        accessing data on memory cards such as CompactFlash (CF), Secure
        Digital (SD), or MultiMediaCard (MMC).
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--usbcardreader on|off</computeroutput>:
            Enables/disables the USB card reader interface.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

    <sect2 id="vboxmanage-autostart">

      <title>Autostarting VMs During Host System Boot</title>

      <para>
        These settings configure the VM autostart feature, which
        automatically starts the VM at host system boot-up. Note that
        there are prerequisites that need to be addressed before using
        this feature. See <xref linkend="autostart" />.
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--autostart on|off</computeroutput>:
            Enables/disables VM autostart at host system boot-up, using
            specified user name.
          </para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            <computeroutput>--autostart-delay
            &lt;seconds&gt;</computeroutput>: Specifies a delay
            (seconds) following host system boot-up, before VM
            autostarts.
          </para>
        </listitem>

      </itemizedlist>

    </sect2>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-clonevm">

    <title>VBoxManage clonevm</title>

    <para>
      This command creates a full or linked copy of an existing virtual
      machine.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>clonevm</computeroutput> subcommand takes at
      least the name of the virtual machine which should be cloned. The
      following additional settings can be used to further configure the
      clone VM operation:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--snapshot
          &lt;uuid&gt;|&lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: Select a specific
          snapshot where the clone operation should refer to. Default is
          referring to the current state.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--mode
          machine|machineandchildren|all</computeroutput>: Selects the
          cloning mode of the operation. If
          <computeroutput>machine</computeroutput> is selected (the
          default), the current state of the VM without any snapshots is
          cloned. In the
          <computeroutput>machineandchildren</computeroutput> mode the
          snapshot provided by
          <computeroutput>--snapshot</computeroutput> and all child
          snapshots are cloned. If <computeroutput>all</computeroutput>
          is the selected mode all snapshots and the current state are
          cloned.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--options
          link|keepallmacs|keepnatmacs|keepdisknames|keephwuuids</computeroutput>:
          Allows additional fine tuning of the clone operation. The
          first option defines that a linked clone should be created,
          which is only possible for a machine cloned from a snapshot.
          The next two options enable specification of the handling of
          MAC addresses of every virtual network card. They can either
          be reinitialized (the default), left unchanged
          (<computeroutput>keepallmacs</computeroutput>) or left
          unchanged when the network type is NAT
          (<computeroutput>keepnatmacs</computeroutput>). If you add
          <computeroutput>keepdisknames</computeroutput> all new disk
          images are called like the original ones, otherwise they are
          renamed. If you add <computeroutput>keephwuuids</computeroutput>
          source hardware IDs will be preserved.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--name &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: Select a
          new name for the new virtual machine. Default is "Original
          Name Clone".
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--groups &lt;group&gt;, ...</computeroutput>
          Enables the clone to be assigned membership of the specified
          VM groups in the list. Note that group ids always start with a
          <computeroutput>/</computeroutput> and can be nested. By
          default, clones are always assigned membership of the group
          <computeroutput>/</computeroutput>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--basefolder
          &lt;basefolder&gt;</computeroutput>: Select the folder where
          the new virtual machine configuration should be saved in.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--uuid &lt;uuid&gt;</computeroutput>: Select
          the UUID the new VM should have. This ID has to be unique in
          the VirtualBox instance this clone should be registered.
          Default is creating a new UUID.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--register</computeroutput>: Automatically
          register the new clone in this VirtualBox installation. If you
          manually want to register the new VM later, see
          <xref linkend="vboxmanage-registervm" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-import">

    <title>VBoxManage import</title>

    <para>
      This command imports a virtual appliance in OVF format by copying
      the virtual disk images and creating virtual machines in
      VirtualBox. See <xref linkend="ovf" /> for an introduction to
      appliances.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>import</computeroutput> subcommand takes at
      least the path name of an OVF file as input and expects the disk
      images, if needed, in the same directory as the OVF file. A lot of
      additional command-line options are supported to control in detail
      what is being imported and modify the import parameters, but the
      details depend on the content of the OVF file.
    </para>

    <para>
      It is therefore recommended to first run the import subcommand
      with the <computeroutput>--dry-run</computeroutput> or
      <computeroutput>-n</computeroutput> option. This will then print a
      description of the appliance's contents to the screen how it would
      be imported into VirtualBox, together with the optional
      command-line options to influence the import behavior.
    </para>

    <para>
      Use of the <computeroutput>--options
      keepallmacs|keepnatmacs|keepdisknames</computeroutput>:
      option enables additional fine tuning of the clone operation. The
      first two options enable specification of how the MAC addresses of
      every virtual network card should be handled. They can either be
      reinitialized (the default), left unchanged
      (<computeroutput>keepallmacs</computeroutput>) or left unchanged
      when the network type is NAT
      (<computeroutput>keepnatmacs</computeroutput>). If you add
      <computeroutput>keepdisknames</computeroutput> all new disk images
      are assigned the same names as the originals, otherwise they are
      renamed.
    </para>

    <para>
      As an example, here is the screen output with a sample appliance
      containing a Windows XP guest:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf --dry-run
Interpreting WindowsXp.ovf...
OK.
Virtual system 0:
 0: Suggested OS type: "WindowsXP"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --ostype &lt;type&gt;"; use "list ostypes" to list all)
 1: Suggested VM name "Windows XP Professional_1"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --vmname &lt;name&gt;")
 2: Suggested VM group "/"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --group &lt;group&gt;")
 3: Suggested VM settings file name "/home/klaus/VirtualBox VMs/dummy2 2/dummy2 2.vbox"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --settingsfile &lt;filename&gt;")
 4: Suggested VM base folder "/home/klaus/VirtualBox VMs"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --basefolder &lt;path&gt;")
 5: End-user license agreement
    (display with "--vsys 0 --eula show";
    accept with "--vsys 0 --eula accept")
 6: Number of CPUs: 1
    (change with "--vsys 0 --cpus &lt;n&gt;")
 7: Guest memory: 956 MB (change with "--vsys 0 --memory &lt;MB&gt;")
 8: Sound card (appliance expects "ensoniq1371", can change on import)
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore")
 9: USB controller
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 6 --ignore")
10: Network adapter: orig bridged, config 2, extra type=bridged
11: Floppy
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 8 --ignore")
12: SCSI controller, type BusLogic
    (change with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --scsitype {BusLogic|LsiLogic}";
    disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --ignore")
13: IDE controller, type PIIX4
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 10 --ignore")
14: Hard disk image: source image=WindowsXp.vmdk,
      target path=/home/user/disks/WindowsXp.vmdk, controller=9;channel=0
    (change controller with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --controller &lt;id&gt;";
    disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --ignore")</screen>

    <para>
      The individual configuration items are numbered, and depending on
      their type support different command-line options. The import
      subcommand can be directed to ignore many such items with a
      <computeroutput>--vsys X --unit Y --ignore</computeroutput>
      option, where X is the number of the virtual system (zero unless
      there are several virtual system descriptions in the appliance)
      and Y the item number, as printed on the screen.
    </para>

    <para>
      In the above example, Item #1 specifies the name of the target
      machine in VirtualBox. Items #9 and #10 specify hard disk
      controllers, respectively. Item #11 describes a hard disk image;
      in this case, the additional
      <computeroutput>--controller</computeroutput> option indicates
      which item the disk image should be connected to, with the default
      coming from the OVF file.
    </para>

    <para>
      You can combine several items for the same virtual system behind
      the same <computeroutput>--vsys</computeroutput> option. For
      example, to import a machine as described in the OVF, but without
      the sound card and without the USB controller, and with the disk
      image connected to the IDE controller instead of the SCSI
      controller, use this command:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage import WindowsXp.ovf
      --vsys 0 --unit 5 --ignore --unit 6 --ignore --unit 11 --controller 10</screen>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-export">

    <title>VBoxManage export</title>

    <para>
      This command exports one or more virtual machines from VirtualBox
      into a virtual appliance in OVF format, including copying their
      virtual disk images to compressed VMDK. See <xref linkend="ovf" />
      for an introduction to appliances.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>export</computeroutput> command is simple to
      use: list the machine (or the machines) that you would like to
      export to the same OVF file and specify the target OVF file after
      an additional <computeroutput>--output</computeroutput> or
      <computeroutput>-o</computeroutput> option. Note that the
      directory of the target OVF file will also receive the exported
      disk images in the compressed VMDK format (regardless of the
      original format) and should have enough disk space left for them.
    </para>

    <para>
      Beside a simple export of a given virtual machine, you can append
      several product information to the appliance file. Use
      <computeroutput>--product</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--producturl</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--vendor</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--vendorurl</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--version</computeroutput> and
      <computeroutput>--description</computeroutput> to specify this
      additional information. For legal reasons you may add a license
      text or the content of a license file by using the
      <computeroutput>--eula</computeroutput> and
      <computeroutput>--eulafile</computeroutput> option respectively.
      As with OVF import, you must use the <computeroutput>--vsys
      X</computeroutput> option to direct the previously mentioned
      options to the correct virtual machine.
    </para>

    <para>
      For virtualization products which are not fully compatible with
      the OVF standard 1.0 you can enable an OVF 0.9 legacy mode with
      the <computeroutput>--legacy09</computeroutput> option. Other
      options are <computeroutput>--ovf09</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--ovf10</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>--ovf20</computeroutput>.
    </para>

    <para>
      To specify options controlling the exact content of the appliance
      file, you can use <computeroutput>--options</computeroutput> to
      request the creation of a manifest file, which allows detection of
      corrupted appliances on import, the additional export of DVD
      images, and the exclusion of MAC addresses. You can specify a list
      of options, such as <computeroutput>--options
      manifest,nomacs</computeroutput>. For details, check the help
      output of <computeroutput>VBoxManage export</computeroutput>.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-startvm">

    <title>VBoxManage startvm</title>

    <para>
      This command starts a virtual machine that is currently in the
      "Powered off" or "Saved" states.
    </para>

    <para>
      The optional <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput> specifier
      determines whether the machine will be started in a window or
      whether the output should go through
      <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>, with VRDE enabled
      or not. See <xref linkend="vboxheadless" />. The list of types is
      subject to change, and it is not guaranteed that all types are
      accepted by any product variant.
    </para>

    <para>
      The global or per-VM default value for the VM frontend type will
      be taken if the type is not explicitly specified. If none of these
      are set, the GUI variant will be started.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following values are allowed:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>gui</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Starts a VM showing a GUI window. This is the default.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>headless</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Starts a VM without a window for remote display only.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>sdl</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Starts a VM with a minimal GUI and limited features.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>separate</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Starts a VM with detachable UI. Technically, it is a
            headless VM with user interface in a separate process. This
            is an experimental feature as it lacks certain
            functionality, such as 3D acceleration, at the moment.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <note>
      <para>
        If you experience problems with starting virtual machines with
        particular frontends and there is no conclusive error
        information, consider starting virtual machines directly by
        running the respective front-end, as this can give additional
        error information.
      </para>
    </note>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-controlvm">

    <title>VBoxManage controlvm</title>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>controlvm</computeroutput> subcommand allows
      you to change the state of a virtual machine that is currently
      running. The following can be specified:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          pause</computeroutput> temporarily puts a virtual machine on
          hold, without changing its state for good. The VM window will
          be painted in gray to indicate that the VM is currently
          paused. This is equivalent to selecting the "Pause" item in
          the "Machine" menu of the GUI.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          resume</computeroutput> to undo a previous
          <computeroutput>pause</computeroutput> command. This is
          equivalent to selecting the "Resume" item in the "Machine"
          menu of the GUI.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          reset</computeroutput> has the same effect on a virtual
          machine as pressing the "Reset" button on a real computer: a
          cold reboot of the virtual machine, which will restart and
          boot the guest operating system again immediately. The state
          of the VM is not saved beforehand, and data may be lost. This
          is equivalent to selecting the "Reset" item in the "Machine"
          menu of the GUI.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          poweroff</computeroutput> has the same effect on a virtual
          machine as pulling the power cable on a real computer. Again,
          the state of the VM is not saved beforehand, and data may be
          lost. This is equivalent to selecting the "Close" item in the
          "Machine" menu of the GUI or pressing the window's close
          button, and then selecting "Power off the machine" in the
          dialog.
        </para>

        <para>
          After this, the VM's state will be "Powered off". From there,
          it can be started again. See
          <xref
          linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          savestate</computeroutput> will save the current state of the
          VM to disk and then stop the VM. This is equivalent to
          selecting the "Close" item in the "Machine" menu of the GUI or
          pressing the window's close button, and then selecting "Save
          the machine state" in the dialog.
        </para>

        <para>
          After this, the VM's state will be "Saved". From there, it can
          be started again. See <xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          acpipowerbutton</computeroutput> will send an ACPI shutdown
          signal to the VM, as if the power button on a real computer
          had been pressed. So long as the VM is running a fairly modern
          guest operating system providing ACPI support, this should
          trigger a proper shutdown mechanism from within the VM.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm &lt;vm&gt;
          keyboardputscancode &lt;hex&gt;
          [&lt;hex&gt;...]</computeroutput> Sends commands using
          keycodes to the VM. Keycodes are documented in the public
          domain, e.g.
          http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/scancodes-1.html.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" teleport
          --hostname &lt;name&gt; --port &lt;port&gt; [--passwordfile
          &lt;file&gt; | --password &lt;password&gt;]</computeroutput>
          makes the machine the source of a teleporting operation and
          initiates a teleport to the given target. See
          <xref linkend="teleporting" /> for an introduction. If the
          optional password is specified, it must match the password
          that was given to the
          <computeroutput>modifyvm</computeroutput> command for the
          target machine. See
          <xref linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      A few extra options are available with
      <computeroutput>controlvm</computeroutput> that do not directly
      affect the VM's running state:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>setlinkstate&lt;1-N&gt;</computeroutput>
          operation connects or disconnects virtual network cables from
          their network interfaces.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>nic&lt;1-N&gt;
          null|nat|bridged|intnet|hostonly|generic|natnetwork[&lt;devicename&gt;]</computeroutput>:
          specifies the type of networking that should be made available
          on the specified VM virtual network card. They can be: not
          connected to the host (<computeroutput>null</computeroutput>),
          use network address translation
          (<computeroutput>nat</computeroutput>), bridged networking
          (<computeroutput>bridged</computeroutput>) or communicate with
          other virtual machines using internal networking
          (<computeroutput>intnet</computeroutput>) or host-only
          networking (<computeroutput>hostonly</computeroutput>) or
          natnetwork networking
          (<computeroutput>natnetwork</computeroutput>) or access to
          rarely used sub-modes
          (<computeroutput>generic</computeroutput>). These options
          correspond to the modes which are described in detail in
          <xref
        linkend="networkingmodes" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          With the "nictrace" options, you can optionally trace network
          traffic by dumping it to a file, for debugging purposes.
        </para>

        <para>
          With <computeroutput>nictrace&lt;1-N&gt;
          on|off</computeroutput>, you can enable network tracing for a
          particular virtual network card.
        </para>

        <para>
          If enabled, you must specify with
          <computeroutput>--nictracefile&lt;1-N&gt;
          &lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput> the pathname of the file to
          which the trace should be logged.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>nicpromisc&lt;1-N&gt;
          deny|allow-vms|allow-all</computeroutput>: This specifies how
          the promiscious mode is handled for the specified VM virtual
          network card. This setting is only relevant for bridged
          networking. <computeroutput>deny</computeroutput> (default
          setting) hides any traffic not intended for this VM.
          <computeroutput>allow-vms</computeroutput> hides all host
          traffic from this VM but allows the VM to see traffic from/to
          other VMs. <computeroutput>allow-all</computeroutput> removes
          this restriction completely.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>nicproperty&lt;1-N&gt;
          &lt;paramname&gt;="paramvalue"</computeroutput>: This option,
          in combination with "nicgenericdrv" enables you to pass
          parameters to rarely-used network backends.
        </para>

        <para>
          Those parameters are backend engine-specific, and are
          different between UDP Tunnel and the VDE backend drivers. For
          example, please see <xref linkend="network_udp_tunnel" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>natpf&lt;1-N&gt;
          [&lt;name&gt;],tcp|udp,[&lt;hostip&gt;],&lt;hostport&gt;,[&lt;guestip&gt;],
          &lt;guestport&gt;</computeroutput>: This option specifies a
          NAT port-forwarding rule. See <xref linkend="natforward"/>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>natpf&lt;1-N&gt; delete
          &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>: This option deletes a NAT
          port-forwarding rule. See <xref linkend="natforward"/>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>guestmemoryballoon&lt;balloon size in
          MB&gt;</computeroutput> operation changes the size of the
          guest memory balloon, that is, memory allocated by the
          VirtualBox Guest Additions from the guest operating system and
          returned to the hypervisor for re-use by other virtual
          machines. This must be specified in megabytes. See
          <xref linkend="guestadd-balloon" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>usbattach&lt;uuid|address&gt; [--capturefile
          &lt;filename&gt;]</computeroutput>
        </para>

        <para>
          and <computeroutput>usbdetach &lt;uuid|address&gt;
          [--capturefile &lt;filename&gt;]</computeroutput> make host
          USB devices visible/invisible to the virtual machine on the
          fly, without the need for creating filters first. The USB
          devices can be specified by UUID (unique identifier) or by
          address on the host system. Use the --capturefile option to
          specify the absolute path of a file for writing activity
          logging data.
        </para>

        <para>
          You can use <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
          usbhost</computeroutput> to locate this information.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>audioin on</computeroutput>: With this
          setting, you can select whether capturing audio from the host
          is enabled or disabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>audioout on</computeroutput>: With this
          setting, you can select whether audio playback from the guest
          is enabled or disabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>clipboard
          disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
          With this setting, you can select if and how the guest or host
          operating system's clipboard should be shared with the host or
          guest. See <xref linkend="generalsettings" />. This requires
          that the Guest Additions be installed in the virtual machine.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>draganddrop
          disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional</computeroutput>:
          With this setting, you can select the current drag and drop
          mode being used between the host and the virtual machine. See
          <xref linkend="guestadd-dnd" />. This requires that the Guest
          Additions be installed in the virtual machine.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrde on|off</computeroutput> lets you enable
          or disable the VRDE server, if it is installed.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeport
          default|&lt;ports&gt;</computeroutput> changes the port or a
          range of ports that the VRDE server can bind to; "default" or
          "0" means port 3389, the standard port for RDP. See the
          description for the
          <computeroutput>--vrdeport</computeroutput> option in
          <xref
        linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "TCP/Ports|Address=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> sets the
          port number(s) and IP address on the VM to which the VRDE
          server can bind.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              For TCP/Ports, &lt;value&gt; should be a port or a range
              of ports to which the VRDE server can bind; "default" or
              "0" means port 3389, the standard port for RDP. See the
              description for the
              <computeroutput>--vrdeport</computeroutput> option in
              <xref
            linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              For TCP/Address, &lt;value&gt; should be the IP address of
              the host network interface that the VRDE server will bind
              to. If specified, the server will accept connections only
              on the specified host network interface. See the
              description for the
              <computeroutput>--vrdeaddress</computeroutput> option in
              <xref
            linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-vrde" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "VideoChannel/Enabled|Quality|DownscaleProtection=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
          sets the VRDP video redirection properties.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              For VideoChannel/Enabled, &lt;value&gt; can be set to "1"
              switching the VRDP video channel on. See
              <xref linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              For VideoChannel/Quality, &lt;value&gt; should be set
              between 10 and 100% inclusive, representing a JPEG
              compression level on the VRDE server video channel. Lower
              values mean lower quality but higher compression. For
              details, see <xref linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              For VideoChannel/DownscaleProtection, &lt;value&gt; can be
              set to "1" to enable the videochannel downscale protection
              feature. When enabled, if a video's size equals the shadow
              buffer size, then it is regarded as a full screen video,
              and is displayed; but if its size is between fullscreen
              and the downscale threshold - it is NOT displayed, as it
              could be an application window, which would be unreadable
              when downscaled. When the downscale protection feature is
              disabled, an attempt is always made to display videos.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "Client/DisableDisplay|DisableInput|DisableAudio|DisableUSB=1"</computeroutput>
        </para>

        <para>
          disables one of the VRDE server features: Display, Input,
          Audio or USB respectively. To reenable a feature, use
          "Client/DisableDisplay=" for example. See
          <xref linkend="vrde-customization" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "Client/DisableClipboard|DisableUpstreamAudio=1"</computeroutput>
        </para>

        <para>
          disables one of the VRDE server features: Clipboard or
          UpstreamAudio respectively. To reenable a feature, use
          "Client/DisableClipboard=" for example. See
          <xref linkend="vrde-customization" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "Client/DisableRDPDR=1"</computeroutput>
        </para>

        <para>
          disables the VRDE server feature: RDP device redirection for
          smart cards. To reenable this feature, use
          "Client/DisableRDPR=".
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "H3DRedirect/Enabled=1"</computeroutput>
        </para>

        <para>
          enables the VRDE server feature: 3D redirection. To disable
          this feature, use "H3DRedirect/Enabled=".
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "Security/Method|ServerCertificate|ServerPrivateKey|CACertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
          sets the desired security method/Path of server certificate,
          path of server private key, path of CA certificate, used for a
          connection.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Security/Method=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> sets the
              desired security method, which is used for a connection.
              Valid values are:
            </para>

            <itemizedlist>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>Negotiate</computeroutput> - both
                  Enhanced (TLS) and Standard RDP Security connections
                  are allowed. The security method is negotiated with
                  the client. This is the default setting.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>RDP</computeroutput> - only Standard
                  RDP Security is accepted.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>TLS</computeroutput> - only Enhanced
                  RDP Security is accepted. The client must support TLS.
                </para>
              </listitem>

            </itemizedlist>

            <para>
              See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Security/ServerCertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
              where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the server
              certificate. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Security/ServerPrivateKey=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
              where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the server
              private key. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Security/CACertificate=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
              where &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the CA self
              signed certificate. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" />.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
          "Audio/RateCorrectionMode|LogPath=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
          sets the Audio connection mode, or Path of the audio logfile.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Audio/RateCorrectionMode=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput>
              where &lt;value&gt; is the desired rate correction mode,
              allowed values are:
            </para>

            <itemizedlist>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_VOID</computeroutput>
                  - no mode specified, use to unset any Audio mode
                  already set.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_RC</computeroutput> -
                  rate correction mode.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_LPF</computeroutput> -
                  low pass filter mode.
                </para>
              </listitem>

              <listitem>
                <para>
                  <computeroutput>VRDP_AUDIO_MODE_CS</computeroutput> -
                  client sync mode to prevent under/overflow of the
                  client queue.
                </para>
              </listitem>

            </itemizedlist>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>vrdeproperty
              "Audio/LogPath=&lt;value&gt;"</computeroutput> where
              &lt;value&gt; is the absolute path of the Audio log file.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>vrdevideochannelquality
          &lt;percent&gt;</computeroutput>: Sets the image quality for
          video redirection. See
          <xref
        linkend="vrde-videochannel" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>setvideomodehint</computeroutput> requests
          that the guest system change to a particular video mode. This
          requires that the Guest Additions be installed, and will not
          work for all guest systems.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>screenshotpng</computeroutput> takes a
          screenshot of the guest display and saves it in PNG format.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocap on|off</computeroutput> enables or
          disables recording a VM session into a WebM/VP8 file.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapscreens all|&lt;screen ID&gt;
          [&lt;screen ID&gt; ...]]</computeroutput> allows to specify
          which screens of the VM are being recorded. This setting
          cannot be changed while video capturing is enabled. Each
          screen is recorded into a separate file.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapfile &lt;file&gt;</computeroutput>
          sets the filename VirtualBox uses to save the recorded
          content. This setting cannot be changed while video capturing
          is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapres &lt;width&gt;
          &lt;height&gt;</computeroutput> sets the resolution (in
          pixels) of the recorded video. This setting cannot be changed
          while video capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
<!-- @todo r=andy Clarify rate. -->

        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocaprate &lt;rate&gt;</computeroutput>
          sets the bitrate in kilobits (kb) per second. Increasing this
          value makes the video look better for the cost of an increased
          file size. This setting cannot be changed while video
          capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapfps &lt;fps&gt;</computeroutput> sets
          the maximum number of frames per second (FPS) to be recorded.
          Frames with a higher frequency will be skipped. Reducing this
          value increases the number of skipped frames and reduces the
          file size. This setting cannot be changed while video
          capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
<!-- @todo r=andy Clarify time format. -->

        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapmaxtime &lt;ms&gt;</computeroutput>
          sets the maximum time in milliseconds the video capturing will
          be enabled since activation. The capturing stops when the
          defined time interval has elapsed. If this value is zero the
          capturing is not limited by time. This setting cannot be
          changed while video capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapmaxsize &lt;MB&gt;</computeroutput>
          limits the maximum size of the captured video file, in MB. The
          capturing stops when the file size has reached the specified
          size. If this value is zero the capturing will not be limited
          by file size. This setting cannot be changed while video
          capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>videocapopts
          &lt;key=value&gt;[,&lt;key=value&gt; ...]</computeroutput> can
          be used to specify additional video capturing options. These
          options only are for advanced users and must be specified in a
          comma-separated key=value format, e.g.
          <computeroutput>foo=bar,a=b</computeroutput>. This setting
          cannot be changed while video capturing is enabled.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>setcredentials</computeroutput> operation
          is used for remote logons in Windows guests. See
          <xref linkend="autologon" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>teleport --host &lt;name&gt; --port
          &lt;port&gt;</computeroutput> can be used to configure a VM as
          a target for teleporting. &lt;name&gt; specifies the virtual
          machine name. &lt;port&gt; specifies the port on the virtual
          machine which should listen for teleporting requests from
          other virtual machines. It can be any free TCP/IP port number,
          such as 6000. See <xref linkend="teleporting" />.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--maxdowntime
              &lt;msec&gt;</computeroutput>: specifies the maximum
              downtime (milliseconds) for the teleporting target VM.
              Optional.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--password
              &lt;password&gt;</computeroutput>: indicates that the
              teleporting request will only succeed if the source
              machine specifies the same password as the one given with
              this command. Optional.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>--passwordfile &lt;password
              file&gt;</computeroutput>: indicates that the teleporting
              request will only succeed if the source machine specifies
              the same password as the one specified in the password
              file with the path specified with this command. Use
              <computeroutput>stdin</computeroutput> to read the
              password from stdin. Optional.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>plugcpu|unplugcpu &lt;id&gt;</computeroutput>:
          If CPU hot-plugging is enabled, this adds a virtual CPU to the
          virtual machines (or removes one).
          <computeroutput>&lt;id&gt;</computeroutput> specifies the
          index of the virtual CPU to be added or removed and must be a
          number from 0 to the maximum no. of CPUs configured. CPU 0 can
          never be removed.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>cpuexecutioncap
          &lt;1-100&gt;</computeroutput>: This operation controls how
          much cpu time a virtual CPU can use. A value of 50 implies a
          single virtual CPU can use up to 50% of a single host CPU.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>webcam attach &lt;path|alias&gt;
          [&lt;key=value&gt;[;&lt;key=value&gt;...]]</computeroutput>:
          This operation attaches a webcam to a running VM. Specify the
          absolute path of the webcam on the host operating system, or
          use its alias, obtained by using the command: VBoxManage list
          webcams.
        </para>

        <para>
          Note that alias '.0' means default video input device on the
          host operating system, '.1', '.2', etc. mean first, second,
          etc. video input device. The device order is host-specific.
        </para>

        <para>
          The optional settings parameter is a ';' delimited list of
          name/value pairs, enabling configuration of the emulated
          webcam device.
        </para>

        <para>
          The following settings are supported:
        </para>

        <para>
          MaxFramerate (default no maximum limit) - this specifies the
          highest rate (frames/sec) at which video frames are sent to
          the guest. Higher frame rates increase CPU load, so this
          setting can be useful when there is a need to reduce CPU load.
          Its default 'value' is 'no maximum limit', thus enabling the
          guest to use all frame rates supported by the host webcam.
        </para>

        <para>
          MaxPayloadTransferSize (default 3060 bytes) - this specifies
          the maximum number of bytes the emulated webcam can send to
          the guest in one buffer. The default is used by some webcams.
          Higher values can slightly reduce CPU load, if the guest is
          able to use larger buffers. Note that higher
          MaxPayloadTransferSize values may be not supported by some
          guest operating systems.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>webcam detach
          &lt;path|alias&gt;</computeroutput>: This operation detaches a
          webcam from a running VM. Specify the absolute path of the
          webcam on the host, or use its alias (obtained from webcam
          list below).
        </para>

        <para>
          Note the points below relating to specific Host Operating
          Systems:
        </para>

        <para>
          Windows hosts
        </para>

        <para>
          When the webcam device is detached from the host, the emulated
          webcam device is automatically detached from the guest.
        </para>

        <para>
          Mac OS X hosts
        </para>

        <para>
          OS X version 10.7 or newer is required.
        </para>

        <para>
          When the webcam device is detached from the host, the emulated
          webcam device remains attached to the guest and must be
          manually detached using the VBoxManage controlvm "VM name"
          webcam detach command.
        </para>

        <para>
          Linux hosts
        </para>

        <para>
          When the webcam is detached from the host, the emulated webcam
          device is automatically detached from the guest only if the
          webcam is streaming video. If the emulated webcam is inactive,
          it should be manually detached using the VBoxManage controlvm
          "VM name" webcam detach command.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>webcam list</computeroutput>: This operation
          lists webcams attached to the running VM. The output is a list
          of absolute paths or aliases that were used for attaching the
          webcams to the VM using the 'webcam attach' command above.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>addencpassword &lt;id&gt; &lt;password
          file&gt;|- [--removeonsuspend
          &lt;yes|no&gt;]</computeroutput>: This operation supplies an
          encrypted VM specified by &lt;id&gt; with the encryption
          password to enable a headless start. Either specify the
          absolute path of a password file on the host file system:
          &lt;password file&gt;, or use a '-' to instruct VBoxManage to
          prompt the user for the encryption password.
        </para>

        <para>
          <computeroutput>--removeonsuspend
          &lt;yes|no&gt;</computeroutput> specifies whether to
          remove/keep the password from/in VM memory when the VM is
          suspended. If the VM has been suspended and the password has
          been removed, the user needs to resupply the password before
          the VM can be resumed. This feature is useful in cases where
          the user does not want the password to be stored in VM memory,
          and the VM is suspended by a host suspend event.
        </para>

        <para>
          Note: On VirtualBox versions 5.0 and later, data stored on
          hard disk images can be transparently encrypted for the guest.
          VirtualBox uses the AES algorithm in XTS mode and supports 128
          or 256 bit data encryption keys (DEK). The DEK is stored
          encrypted in the medium properties, and is decrypted during VM
          startup by supplying the encryption password.
        </para>

        <para>
          The "VBoxManage encryptmedium" operation is used to create a
          DEK encrypted medium. See
          <xref linkend="diskencryption-encryption" />. When starting an
          encrypted VM from a VirtualBox GUI app, the user will be
          prompted for the encryption password.
        </para>

        <para>
          For a headless encrypted VM start, use:
        </para>

<screen>
          VBoxManage startvm "vmname" --type headless
        </screen>

        <para>
          followed by:
        </para>

<screen>
          VBoxManage "vmname" controlvm "vmname" addencpassword ...
        </screen>

        <para>
          to supply the encryption password required.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>removeencpassword &lt;id&gt;</computeroutput>:
          This operation removes encryption password authorization for
          password &lt;id&gt; for all encrypted media attached to the
          VM.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>removeallencpasswords</computeroutput>: This
          operation removes encryption password authorization for all
          passwords for all encrypted media attached to the VM.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-discardstate">

    <title>VBoxManage discardstate</title>

    <para>
      This command discards the saved state of a virtual machine which
      is not currently running, which will cause its operating system to
      restart next time you start it. This is the equivalent of pulling
      out the power cable on a physical machine, and should be avoided
      if possible.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-adoptstate">

    <title>VBoxManage adoptstate</title>

    <para>
      If you have a saved state file
      (<computeroutput>.sav</computeroutput>) that is separate from the
      VM configuration, you can use this command to "adopt" the file.
      This will change the VM to saved state and when you start it,
      VirtualBox will attempt to restore it from the saved state file
      you indicated. This command should only be used in special setups.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-snapshot">

    <title>VBoxManage snapshot</title>

    <para>
      This command is used to control snapshots from the command line. A
      snapshot consists of a complete copy of the virtual machine
      settings, copied at the time when the snapshot was taken, and
      optionally a virtual machine saved state file if the snapshot was
      taken while the machine was running. After a snapshot has been
      taken, VirtualBox creates differencing hard disk for each normal
      hard disk associated with the machine so that when a snapshot is
      restored, the contents of the virtual machine's virtual hard disks
      can be quickly reset by simply dropping the pre-existing
      differencing files.
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage snapshot         &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                            take &lt;name&gt; [--description &lt;desc&gt;] [--live]
                                 [--uniquename Number,Timestamp,Space,Force] |
                            delete &lt;uuid|snapname&gt; |
                            restore &lt;uuid|snapname&gt; |
                            restorecurrent |
                            edit &lt;uuid|snapname&gt;|--current
                                 [--name &lt;name&gt;]
                                 [--description &lt;desc&gt;] |
                            list [--details|--machinereadable]
                            showvminfo &lt;uuid|snapname&gt;</screen>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>take</computeroutput> operation takes a
      snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine. You must
      supply a name for the snapshot and can optionally supply a
      description. The new snapshot is inserted into the snapshots tree
      as a child of the current snapshot and then becomes the new
      current snapshot. The
      <computeroutput>--description</computeroutput> parameter allows to
      describe the snapshot. If <computeroutput>--live</computeroutput>
      is specified, the VM will not be stopped during the snapshot
      creation (live snapshotting).
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>delete</computeroutput> operation deletes a
      snapshot (specified by name or by UUID). This can take a while to
      finish since the differencing images associated with the snapshot
      might need to be merged with their child differencing images.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>restore</computeroutput> operation will
      restore the given snapshot (specified by name or by UUID) by
      resetting the virtual machine's settings and current state to that
      of the snapshot. The previous current state of the machine will be
      lost. After this, the given snapshot becomes the new "current"
      snapshot so that subsequent snapshots are inserted under the
      snapshot from which was restored.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>restorecurrent</computeroutput> operation is a
      shortcut to restore the current snapshot (i.e. the snapshot from
      which the current state is derived). This subcommand is equivalent
      to using the "restore" subcommand with the name or UUID of the
      current snapshot, except that it avoids the extra step of
      determining that name or UUID.
    </para>

    <para>
      With the <computeroutput>edit</computeroutput> operation, you can
      change the name or description of an existing snapshot.
    </para>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>list</computeroutput> operation shows all
      snapshots of a virtual machine.
    </para>

    <para>
      With the <computeroutput>showvminfo</computeroutput> operation,
      you can view the virtual machine settings that were stored with an
      existing snapshot.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-closemedium">

    <title>VBoxManage closemedium</title>

    <para>
      This command removes a hard disk, DVD, or floppy image from a
      VirtualBox media registry.

      <footnote>

        <para>
          Before VirtualBox 4.0, it was necessary to call VBoxManage
          openmedium before a medium could be attached to a virtual
          machine; that call "registered" the medium with the global
          VirtualBox media registry. With VirtualBox 4.0 this is no
          longer necessary; media are added to media registries
          automatically. The "closemedium" call has been retained,
          however, to allow for explicitly removing a medium from a
          registry.
        </para>

      </footnote>
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage closemedium      [disk|dvd|floppy] &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                            [--delete]</screen>

    <para>
      Optionally, you can request that the image be deleted. You will
      get appropriate diagnostics that the deletion failed, however the
      image will become unregistered in any case.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-storageattach">

    <title>VBoxManage storageattach</title>

    <para>
      This command attaches/modifies/removes a storage medium connected
      to a storage controller that was previously added with the
      <computeroutput>storagectl</computeroutput> command. The syntax is
      as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage storageattach    &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                            --storagectl &lt;name&gt;
                            [--port &lt;number&gt;]
                            [--device &lt;number&gt;]
                            [--type dvddrive|hdd|fdd]
                            [--medium none|emptydrive|additions|
                                      &lt;uuid&gt;|&lt;filename&gt;|host:&lt;drive&gt;|iscsi]
                            [--mtype normal|writethrough|immutable|shareable
                                     readonly|multiattach]
                            [--comment &lt;text&gt;]
                            [--setuuid &lt;uuid&gt;]
                            [--setparentuuid &lt;uuid&gt;]
                            [--passthrough on|off]
                            [--tempeject on|off]
                            [--nonrotational on|off]
                            [--discard on|off]
                            [--hotpluggable on|off]
                            [--bandwidthgroup name|none]
                            [--forceunmount]
                            [--server &lt;name&gt;|&lt;ip&gt;]
                            [--target &lt;target&gt;]
                            [--tport &lt;port&gt;]
                            [--lun &lt;lun&gt;]
                            [--encodedlun &lt;lun&gt;]
                            [--username &lt;username&gt;]
                            [--password &lt;password&gt;]
                            [--passwordfile &lt;file&gt;]
                            [--initiator &lt;initiator&gt;]
                            [--intnet]</screen>

    <para>
      A number of parameters are commonly required. The ones at the end
      of the list are required only for iSCSI targets, as described
      below.
    </para>

    <para>
      The common parameters are:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>uuid|vmname</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--storagectl</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Name of the storage controller. Mandatory. The list of the
            storage controllers currently attached to a VM can be
            obtained with <computeroutput>VBoxManage
            showvminfo</computeroutput>. See
            <xref linkend="vboxmanage-showvminfo" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--port</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The number of the storage controller's port which is to be
            modified. Mandatory, unless the storage controller has only
            a single port.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--device</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The number of the port's device which is to be modified.
            Mandatory, unless the storage controller has only a single
            device per port.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Define the type of the drive to which the medium is being
            attached/detached/modified. This argument can only be
            omitted if the type of medium can be determined from either
            the medium given with the
            <computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput> argument or from a
            previous medium attachment.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies what is to be attached. The following values are
            supported:
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                "none": Any existing device should be removed from the
                given slot.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                "emptydrive": For a virtual DVD or floppy drive only,
                this makes the device slot behaves like a removeable
                drive into which no media has been inserted.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                "additions": For a virtual DVD drive only, this attaches
                the <emphasis>VirtualBox Guest Additions</emphasis>
                image to the given device slot.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                If a UUID is specified, it must be the UUID of a storage
                medium that is already known to VirtualBox (e.g. because
                it has been attached to another virtual machine). See
                <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" /> for how to list known
                media. This medium is then attached to the given device
                slot.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                If a filename is specified, it must be the full path of
                an existing disk image (ISO, RAW, VDI, VMDK or other),
                which is then attached to the given device slot.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                "host:&lt;drive&gt;": For a virtual DVD or floppy drive
                only, this connects the given device slot to the
                specified DVD or floppy drive on the host computer.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                "iscsi": For virtual hard disks only, this allows for
                specifying an iSCSI target. In this case, more
                parameters must be given. See the description below.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>

          <para>
            Some of the above changes, in particular for removeable
            media (floppies and CDs/DVDs), can be effected while a VM is
            running. Others, such as device changes or changes in hard
            disk device slots, require the VM to be powered off.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--mtype</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Defines how this medium behaves with respect to snapshots
            and write operations. See <xref linkend="hdimagewrites" />
            for details.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--comment</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            An optional description that you want to have stored with
            this medium. For example, for an iSCSI target, "Big storage
            server downstairs". This is purely descriptive and not
            needed for the medium to function correctly.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--setuuid, --setparentuuid</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Modifies the UUID or parent UUID of a medium before
            attaching it to a VM. This is an expert option.
            Inappropriate use can make the medium unusable or lead to
            broken VM configurations if any other VM is referring to the
            same media already. The most frequently used variant is
            <code>--setuuid ""</code>, which assigns a new (random) UUID
            to an image. This is useful to resolve the duplicate UUID
            errors if one duplicated an image using file copy utilities.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--passthrough</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            For a virtual DVD drive only, you can enable DVD writing
            support. This feature is currently experimental, see
            <xref
            linkend="storage-cds" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--tempeject</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            For a virtual DVD drive only, you can configure the behavior
            for guest-triggered medium eject. If this is set to "on",
            the eject has only temporary effects. If the VM is powered
            off and restarted the originally configured medium will be
            still in the drive.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--nonrotational</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This switch allows to enable the non-rotational flag for
            virtual hard disks. Some guests (i.e. Windows 7+) treat such
            disks like SSDs and do not perform disk fragmentation on
            such media.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--discard</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This switch enables the auto-discard feature for the virtual
            hard disks. This specifies that a VDI image will be shrunk
            in response to the trim command from the guest OS. The
            following requirements must be met:
          </para>

          <itemizedlist>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                The disk format must be VDI.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                The size of the cleared area must be at least 1MB.
              </para>
            </listitem>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                VirtualBox will only trim whole 1 MB blocks. The VDIs
                themselves are organized into 1 MB blocks, so this will
                only work if the space being TRIM-ed is at least a 1 MB
                contiguous block at a 1 MB boundary. On Windows,
                occasional defrag (with "defrag.exe /D"), or under Linux
                running "btrfs filesystem defrag" as a background cron
                job may be beneficial.
              </para>
            </listitem>

          </itemizedlist>

          <para>
            Notes: the Guest OS must be configured to issue trim
            command, and typically this means that the guest OS is made
            to 'see' the disk as an SSD. Ext4 supports -o discard mount
            flag; OSX probably requires additional settings. Windows
            ought to automatically detect and support SSDs - at least in
            versions 7, 8 and 10. Linux exFAT driver (courtesy of
            Samsung) supports the trim command.
          </para>

          <para>
            It is unclear whether Microsoft's implementation of exFAT
            supports this feature, even though that file system was
            originally designed for flash.
          </para>

          <para>
            Alternatively, there are ad hoc methods to issue trim, e.g.
            Linux fstrim command, part of util-linux package. Earlier
            solutions required a user to zero out unused areas, e.g.
            using zerofree, and explicitly compact the disk - only
            possible when the VM is offline.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--bandwidthgroup</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Sets the bandwidth group to use for the given device. See
            <xref linkend="storage-bandwidth-limit" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--forceunmount</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            For a virtual DVD or floppy drive only, this forcibly
            unmounts the DVD/CD/Floppy or mounts a new DVD/CD/Floppy
            even if the previous one is locked down by the guest for
            reading. Again, see <xref linkend="storage-cds" /> for
            details.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <para>
      When "iscsi" is used with the
      <computeroutput>--medium</computeroutput> parameter for iSCSI
      support, additional parameters must or can be used. See also
      <xref linkend="storage-iscsi" />.
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--server</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The host name or IP address of the iSCSI target; required.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--target</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Target name string. This is determined by the iSCSI target
            and used to identify the storage resource; required.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--tport</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            TCP/IP port number of the iSCSI service on the target.
            Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--lun</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Logical Unit Number of the target resource. Optional. Often,
            this value is zero.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--encodedlun</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Hex encoded Logical Unit Number of the target resource.
            Optional. Often, this value is zero.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--username, --password,
          --passwordfile</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Username and password (initiator secret) for target
            authentication, if required. Optional.

            <note>
              <para>
                Username and password are stored without encryption, in
                clear text, in the XML machine configuration file if no
                settings password is provided. When a settings password
                was specified the first time, the password is stored
                encrypted. Alternatively to providing the password on
                the command line, a reference to a file containing the
                text can be provided instead via the passwordfile
                option.
              </para>
            </note>
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--initiator</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            iSCSI Initiator (optional).
          </para>

          <para>
            Note: Microsoft iSCSI Initiator is a system, such as a
            server that attaches to an IP network and initiates requests
            and receives responses from an iSCSI target. The SAN
            components in Microsoft iSCSI Initiator are largely
            analogous to Fibre Channel SAN components, and they include
            the following:
          </para>

          <para>
            To transport blocks of iSCSI commands over the IP network,
            an iSCSI driver must be installed on the iSCSI host. An
            iSCSI driver is included with Microsoft iSCSI Initiator.
          </para>

          <para>
            A gigabit Ethernet adapter that transmits 1000 megabits per
            second (Mbps) is recommended for the connection to an iSCSI
            target. Like standard 10/100 adapters, most gigabit adapters
            use a pre-existing Category 5 or Category 6E cable. Each
            port on the adapter is identified by a unique IP address.
          </para>

          <para>
            An iSCSI target is any device that receives iSCSI commands.
            The device can be an end node, such as a storage device, or
            it can be an intermediate device, such as a network bridge
            between IP and Fibre Channel devices. Each port on the
            storage array controller or network bridge is identified by
            one or more IP addresses
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--intnet</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            If specified, connect to the iSCSI target via Internal
            Networking. This needs further configuration, see
            <xref linkend="iscsi-intnet" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-storagectl">

    <title>VBoxManage storagectl</title>

    <para>
      This command attaches/modifies/removes a storage controller. After
      this, virtual media can be attached to the controller with the
      <computeroutput>storageattach</computeroutput> command .
    </para>

    <para>
      The syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage storagectl       &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                            --name &lt;name&gt;
                            [--add ide|sata|scsi|floppy|sas|usb|pcie]
                            [--controller LSILogic|LSILogicSAS|BusLogic|
                                          IntelAhci|PIIX3|PIIX4|ICH6|I82078|
                                          USB|NVMe]
                            [--portcount &lt;1-30&gt;]
                            [--hostiocache on|off]
                            [--bootable on|off]
                            [--rename &lt;name&gt;]
                            [--remove]</screen>

    <para>
      where the parameters mean:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>uuid|vmname</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--name</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the name of the storage controller. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--add</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the type of the system bus to which the storage
            controller must be connected.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--controller</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables a choice of chipset type being emulated for the
            given storage controller.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--portcount</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies the number of ports the storage controller
            should support.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--hostiocache</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Configures the use of the host I/O cache for all disk images
            attached to this storage controller. See
            <xref
            linkend="iocaching" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--bootable</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies whether this controller is bootable.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--rename</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies a new name for the storage controller.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--remove</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Removes the storage controller from the VM config.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-bandwidthctl">

    <title>VBoxManage bandwidthctl</title>

    <para>
      This command creates/deletes/modifies/shows bandwidth groups of
      the given virtual machine:

<screen>VBoxManage bandwidthctl    &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                           add &lt;name&gt; --type disk|network --limit &lt;MBps&gt;[k|m|g|K|M|G] |
                           set &lt;name&gt; --limit &lt;MBps&gt;[k|m|g|K|M|G] |
                           remove &lt;name&gt; |
                           list [--machinereadable]</screen>
    </para>

    <para>
      The following subcommands are available:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>add</computeroutput>, creates a new bandwidth
          group of a given type.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>set</computeroutput>, modifies the limit for
          an existing bandwidth group.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>remove</computeroutput>, destroys a bandwidth
          group.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>list</computeroutput>, shows all bandwidth
          groups defined for the given VM. Use the
          <computeroutput>--machinereadable</computeroutput> option to
          produce the same output, but in machine readable format. This
          is of the form: name="value" on a line by line basis.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      The parameters mean the following:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>uuid|vmname</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The VM UUID or VM Name. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--name</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Name of the bandwidth group. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Type of the bandwidth group. Mandatory. Two types are
            supported: <computeroutput>disk</computeroutput> and
            <computeroutput>network</computeroutput>. See
            <xref linkend="storage-bandwidth-limit" /> or
            <xref linkend="network_bandwidth_limit" /> for the
            description of a particular type.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--limit</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the limit for the given bandwidth group. This can
            be changed while the VM is running. The default unit is
            megabytes per second. The unit can be changed by specifying
            one of the 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>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <note>
      <para>
        The network bandwidth limits apply only to the traffic being
        sent by virtual machines. The traffic being received by VMs is
        unlimited.
      </para>
    </note>

    <note>
      <para>
        To remove a bandwidth group it must not be referenced by any
        disks or adapters in the running VM.
      </para>
    </note>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-showmediuminfo">

    <title>VBoxManage showmediuminfo</title>

    <para>
      This command shows information about a medium, notably its size,
      its size on disk, its type and the virtual machines which use it.

      <note>
        <para>
          For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
          "showvdiinfo" command is also supported and mapped internally
          to the "showmediuminfo" command.
        </para>
      </note>
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage showmediuminfo     [disk|dvd|floppy] &lt;uuid|filename&gt;</screen>

    <para>
      The medium must be specified either by its UUID (if the medium is
      registered) or by its filename. Registered images can be listed by
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list hdds</computeroutput>,
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list dvds</computeroutput>, or
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list floppies</computeroutput>, as
      appropriate. See <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-createmedium">

    <title>VBoxManage createmedium</title>

    <para>
      This command creates a new medium. The syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage createmedium     [disk|dvd|floppy]    --filename &lt;filename&gt;
                            [--size &lt;megabytes&gt;|--sizebyte &lt;bytes&gt;]
                            [--diffparent &lt;uuid&gt;|&lt;filename&gt;
                            [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD] (default: VDI)
                            [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]</screen>

    <para>
      where the parameters mean:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--filename &lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies a file name &lt;filename&gt; as an absolute path
            on the host file system. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--size &lt;megabytes&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            &lt;megabytes&gt; Specifies the image capacity, in 1 MB
            units. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--diffparent
          &lt;uuid&gt;|&lt;filename&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the differencing image parent, either as a UUID or
            by the absolute pathname of the file on the host file
            system. Useful for sharing a base box disk image among
            several VMs.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--format VDI|VMDK|VHD</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the file format for the output file. Available
            options are VDI, VMDK, VHD. Default is VDI. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--variant
          Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies any required file format variant(s) for the output
            file. It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
            combinations are supported, and specifying mutually
            incompatible flags results in an error message. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <note>
      <para>
        For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
        "createvdi" and "createhd" commands are also supported and
        mapped internally to the "createmedium" command.
      </para>
    </note>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-modifyvdi">

    <title>VBoxManage modifymedium</title>

    <para>
      With the <computeroutput>modifymedium</computeroutput> command,
      you can change the characteristics of a disk image after it has
      been created:

<screen>VBoxManage modifymedium  [disk|dvd|floppy]    &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                         [--type normal|writethrough|immutable|shareable|
                                 readonly|multiattach]
                         [--autoreset on|off]
                         [--property &lt;name=[value]&gt;]
                         [--compact]
                         [--resize &lt;megabytes&gt;|--resizebyte &lt;bytes&gt;]
                         [--move &lt;path&gt;</screen>

      <note>
        <para>
          For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
          "modifyvdi" and "modifyhd" commands are also supported and
          mapped internally to the "modifymedium" command.
        </para>
      </note>
    </para>

    <para>
      The disk image to modify must be specified either by its UUID (if
      the medium is registered) or by its filename. Registered images
      can be listed by <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
      hdds</computeroutput>, see <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />. A
      filename must be specified as a valid path, either as an absolute
      path or as a relative path starting from the current directory.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following options are available:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          With the <computeroutput>--type</computeroutput> argument, you
          can change the type of an existing image between the normal,
          immutable, write-through and other modes. See
          <xref
          linkend="hdimagewrites" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          For immutable (differencing) hard disks only, the
          <computeroutput>--autoreset on|off</computeroutput> option
          determines whether the disk is automatically reset on every VM
          startup, see <xref linkend="hdimagewrites" />. The default is
          "on".
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>--compact</computeroutput> option can be
          used to compact disk images, i.e. remove blocks that only
          contains zeroes. This will shrink a dynamically allocated
          image again; it will reduce the <emphasis>physical</emphasis>
          size of the image without affecting the logical size of the
          virtual disk. Compaction works both for base images and for
          diff images created as part of a snapshot.
        </para>

        <para>
          For this operation to be effective, it is required that free
          space in the guest system first be zeroed out using a suitable
          software tool. For Windows guests, you can use the
          <computeroutput>sdelete</computeroutput> tool provided by
          Microsoft. Execute <computeroutput>sdelete -z</computeroutput>
          in the guest to zero the free disk space before compressing
          the virtual disk image. For Linux, use the
          <code>zerofree</code> utility which supports ext2/ext3
          filesystems. For Mac OS X guests, use the <code>diskutil
          secureErase freespace 0 /</code> command line from an elevated
          Terminal.
        </para>

        <para>
          Please note that compacting is currently only available for
          VDI images. A similar effect can be achieved by zeroing out
          free blocks and then cloning the disk to any other dynamically
          allocated format. You can use this workaround until compacting
          is also supported for disk formats other than VDI.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>--resize x</computeroutput> option, where
          x is the desired new total space in
          <emphasis role="bold">megabytes</emphasis> enables you to
          change the capacity of an existing image. This adjusts the
          <emphasis>logical</emphasis> size of a virtual disk without
          affecting the physical size much.

          <footnote>

            <para>
              Image resizing was added with VirtualBox 4.0.
            </para>

          </footnote>

          This currently works only for VDI and VHD formats, and only
          for the dynamically allocated variants, and can only be used
          to expand (not shrink) the capacity. For example, if you
          originally created a 10 GB disk which is now full, you can use
          the <computeroutput>--resize 15360</computeroutput> command to
          change the capacity to 15 GB (15,360 MB) without having to
          create a new image and copy all data from within a virtual
          machine. Note however that this only changes the drive
          capacity. You will typically next need to use a partition
          management tool inside the guest to adjust the main partition
          to fill the drive.
        </para>

        <para>
          The <computeroutput>--resizebyte x</computeroutput> option
          does almost the same thing, except that x is expressed in
          bytes instead of megabytes.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          The <computeroutput>--move &lt;path&gt;</computeroutput>
          option can be used to relocate a medium to a different
          location &lt;path&gt; on the host file system. The path can be
          either relative to the current directory or absolute.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-clonevdi">

    <title>VBoxManage clonemedium</title>

    <para>
      This command duplicates a virtual disk/DVD/floppy medium to a new
      medium, usually an image file, with a new unique identifier
      (UUID). The new image can be transferred to another host system or
      reimported into VirtualBox using the Virtual Media Manager. See
      <xref linkend="vdis" /> and <xref linkend="cloningvdis" />. The
      syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage clonemedium      [disk|dvd|floppy] &lt;uuid|inputfile&gt; &lt;uuid|outputfile&gt;

                            [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD|RAW|&lt;other&gt;]
                            [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
                            [--existing]</screen>

    <para>
      The medium to clone as well as the target image must be described
      either by its UUIDs, if the mediums are registered, or by its
      filename. Registered images can be listed by
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list hdds</computeroutput>. See
      <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />. A filename must be specified
      as valid path, either as an absolute path or as a relative path
      starting from the current directory.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following options are available:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--format</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Allow to choose a file format for the output file different
            from the file format of the input file.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--variant</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Allow to choose a file format variant for the output file.
            It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
            combinations are supported, and specifying inconsistent
            flags will result in an error message.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--existing</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Perform the clone operation to an already existing
            destination medium. Only the portion of the source medium
            which fits into the destination medium is copied. This means
            if the destination medium is smaller than the source only a
            part of it is copied, and if the destination medium is
            larger than the source the remaining part of the destination
            medium is unchanged.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <note>
      <para>
        For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
        "clonevdi" and "clonehd" commands are still supported and mapped
        internally to the "clonehd disk" command.
      </para>
    </note>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-mediumproperty">

    <title>VBoxManage mediumproperty</title>

    <para>
      This command sets up, gets or deletes a medium property. The
      syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage mediumproperty [disk|dvd|floppy] set &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                                                &lt;property&gt; &lt;value&gt;</screen>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;disk|dvd|floppy&gt;</computeroutput>
          to optionally specify the type of medium: disk (hard drive),
          dvd or floppy.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|filename&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply either the uuid or absolute path of the medium/image to
          be encrypted.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;property&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the name of the property.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;value&gt;</computeroutput> to supply
          the property value.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

<screen>VBoxManage mediumproperty [disk|dvd|floppy] get &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                                                &lt;property&gt;</screen>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;disk|dvd|floppy&gt;</computeroutput>
          to optionally specify the type of medium: disk (hard drive),
          dvd or floppy.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|filename&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply either the uuid or absolute path of the medium/image to
          be encrypted.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;property&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the name of the property.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

<screen>VBoxManage mediumproperty [disk|dvd|floppy] delete &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                                                   &lt;property&gt;</screen>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;disk|dvd|floppy&gt;</computeroutput>
          to optionally specify the type of medium: disk (hard drive),
          dvd or floppy.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|filename&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply either the uuid or absolute path of the medium/image.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;property&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the name of the property.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-encryptmedium">

    <title>VBoxManage encryptmedium</title>

    <para>
      This command is used to create a DEK encrypted medium/image. See
      <xref linkend="diskencryption-encryption" />.
    </para>

    <para>
      The syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage encryptmedium &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                         [--newpassword &lt;file|-&gt;]
                         [--oldpassword &lt;file|-&gt;]
                         [--cipher &lt;cipher id&gt;]
                         [--newpasswordid &lt;password id&gt;]</screen>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          use <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|filename&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the uuid or absolute path of the medium/image to be
          encrypted.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>--newpassword
          &lt;file|-&gt;</computeroutput> to supply a new encryption
          password; either specify the absolute pathname of a password
          file on the host operating system, or
          <computeroutput>-</computeroutput> to prompt you for the
          password on the command line. Always use the
          <computeroutput>--newpasswordid</computeroutput> option with
          this option.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          use <computeroutput>--oldpassword
          &lt;file|-&gt;</computeroutput> to supply any old encryption
          password; either specify the absolute pathname of a password
          file on the host operating system, or
          <computeroutput>-</computeroutput> to prompt you for the old
          password on the command line.
        </para>

        <para>
          Use this option to gain access to an encrypted medium/image to
          change its password using
          <computeroutput>--newpassword</computeroutput> and/or change
          its encryption using
          <computeroutput>--cipher</computeroutput>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>--cipher &lt;cipher&gt;</computeroutput>
          to specify the cipher to use for encryption; this can be
          either <computeroutput>AES-XTS128-PLAIN64</computeroutput> or
          <computeroutput>AES-XTS256-PLAIN64</computeroutput>.
        </para>

        <para>
          Use this option to change any existing encryption on the
          medium/image, or setup new encryption on it for the 1st time.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>--newpasswordid &lt;password
          id&gt;</computeroutput> to supply the new password identifier.
          This can be freely chosen by the user, and is used for correct
          identification when supplying multiple passwords during VM
          startup.
        </para>

        <para>
          If the user uses the same password when encrypting multiple
          images and also the same password identifier, the user needs
          to supply the password only once during VM startup.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-checkmediumpwd">

    <title>VBoxManage checkmediumpwd</title>

    <para>
      This command is used to check the current encryption password on a
      DEK encrypted medium/image. See
      <xref linkend="diskencryption-encryption" />.
    </para>

    <para>
      The syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage checkmediumpwd &lt;uuid|filename&gt;
                                      &lt;pwd file|-&gt;</screen>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|filename&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the uuid or absolute path of the medium/image to be
          checked.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          Use <computeroutput>&lt;pwd file|-&gt;</computeroutput> to
          supply the password identifier to be checked. Either specify
          the absolute pathname of a password file on the host operating
          system, or <computeroutput>-</computeroutput> to prompt you
          for the password on the command line.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-convertfromraw">

    <title>VBoxManage convertfromraw</title>

    <para>
      This command converts a raw disk image to a VirtualBox Disk Image
      (VDI) file. The syntax is as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage convertfromraw   &lt;filename&gt; &lt;outputfile&gt;
                            [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD]
                            [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
                            [--uuid &lt;uuid&gt;]
VBoxManage convertfromraw   stdin &lt;outputfile&gt; &lt;bytes&gt;
                            [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD]
                            [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX]
                            [--uuid &lt;uuid&gt;]</screen>

    <para>
      where the parameters mean:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--bytes</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            The size of the image file, in bytes, provided through
            stdin.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--format</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Select the disk image format to create. Default is VDI.
            Other options are VMDK and VHD.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--variant</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Allow to choose a file format variant for the output file.
            It is a comma-separated list of variant flags. Not all
            combinations are supported, and specifying inconsistent
            flags will result in an error message.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--uuid</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Allow to specifiy the UUID of the output file.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <para>
      The second form forces VBoxManage to read the content for the disk
      image from standard input (useful for using that command in a
      pipe).
    </para>

    <para>
      <note>
        <para>
          For compatibility with earlier versions of VirtualBox, the
          "convertdd" command is also supported and mapped internally to
          the "convertfromraw" command.
        </para>
      </note>
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-extradata">

    <title>VBoxManage getextradata/setextradata</title>

    <para>
      These commands let you attach and retrieve string data to a
      virtual machine or to a VirtualBox configuration, by specifying
      <computeroutput>global</computeroutput> instead of a virtual
      machine name. You must specify a key as a text string to associate
      the data with, which you can later use to retrieve it. For
      example:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage setextradata Fedora5 installdate 2006.01.01
VBoxManage setextradata SUSE10 installdate 2006.02.02</screen>

    <para>
      would associate the string "2006.01.01" with the key installdate
      for the virtual machine Fedora5, and "2006.02.02" on the machine
      SUSE10. You could retrieve the information as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage getextradata Fedora5 installdate</screen>

    <para>
      which would return
    </para>

<screen>VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version <replaceable>version-number</replaceable>
(C) 2005-2018 Oracle Corporation
All rights reserved.

Value: 2006.01.01</screen>

    <para>
      You could retrieve the information for all keys as follows:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage getextradata Fedora5 enumerate</screen>

    <para>
      To remove a key, the <computeroutput>setextradata</computeroutput>
      command must be run without specifying data, only the key. For
      example:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage setextradata Fedora5 installdate</screen>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-setproperty">

    <title>VBoxManage setproperty</title>

    <para>
      This command is used to change global settings which affect the
      entire VirtualBox installation. Some of these correspond to the
      settings in the "Global settings" dialog in the graphical user
      interface. The following properties are available:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>machinefolder</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies the default folder in which virtual machine
            definitions are kept. See <xref linkend="vboxconfigdata" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>hwvirtexclusive</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies whether VirtualBox will make exclusive use of
            the hardware virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V)
            of the host system's processor. See
            <xref linkend="hwvirt" />. If you wish to share these
            extensions with other hypervisors running at the same time,
            you must disable this setting. Doing so has negative
            performance implications.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>vrdeauthlibrary</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies which library to use when "external"
            authentication has been selected for a particular virtual
            machine. See <xref linkend="vbox-auth" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>websrvauthlibrary</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies which library the web service uses to
            authenticate users. For details about the VirtualBox web
            service, please refer to the separate VirtualBox SDK
            reference. See <xref
            linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>vrdeextpack</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This specifies which library implements the VirtualBox
            Remote Desktop Extension.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>loghistorycount</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This selects how many rotated (old) VM logs are kept.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>autostartdbpath</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This selects the path to the autostart database. See
            <xref linkend="autostart" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>defaultfrontend</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This selects the global default VM frontend setting. See
            <xref linkend="vboxmanage-startvm" />.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>logginglevel</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This configures the VBoxSVC release logging details.

            <footnote>

              <para>
                <ulink url="http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VBoxLogging">http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VBoxLogging</ulink>.
              </para>

            </footnote>
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-usbfilter">

    <title>VBoxManage usbfilter add/modify/remove</title>

<screen>VBoxManage usbfilter        add &lt;index,0-N&gt;
                          --target &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;global
                          --name &lt;string&gt;
                          --action ignore|hold (global filters only)
                         [--active yes|no (yes)]
                         [--vendorid &lt;XXXX&gt; (null)]
                         [--productid &lt;XXXX&gt; (null)]
                         [--revision &lt;IIFF&gt; (null)]
                         [--manufacturer &lt;string&gt; (null)]
                         [--product &lt;string&gt; (null)]
                         [--remote yes|no (null, VM filters only)]
                         [--serialnumber &lt;string&gt; (null)]
                         [--maskedinterfaces &lt;XXXXXXXX&gt;]
    </screen>

<screen>VBoxManage usbfilter        modify &lt;index,0-N&gt;
                          --target &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;global
                         [--name &lt;string&gt;]
                         [--action ignore|hold (global filters only)]
                         [--active yes|no]
                         [--vendorid &lt;XXXX&gt;]
                         [--productid &lt;XXXX&gt;]
                         [--revision &lt;IIFF&gt;]
                         [--manufacturer &lt;string&gt;]
                         [--product &lt;string&gt;]
                         [--remote yes|no (null, VM filters only)]
                         [--serialnumber &lt;string&gt;]
                         [--maskedinterfaces &lt;XXXXXXXX&gt;]
    </screen>

<screen>VBoxManage usbfilter        remove &lt;index,0-N&gt;
                          --target &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;global
    </screen>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>usbfilter</computeroutput> commands are used
      for working with USB filters in virtual machines, or global
      filters which affect the whole VirtualBox setup. Global filters
      are applied before machine-specific filters, and may be used to
      prevent devices from being captured by any virtual machine. Global
      filters are always applied in a particular order, and only the
      first filter which fits a device is applied. So for example, if
      the first global filter says to hold (make available) a particular
      Kingston memory stick device and the second to ignore all Kingston
      devices, that memory stick will be available to any machine with
      an appropriate filter, but no other Kingston device will.
    </para>

    <para>
      When creating a USB filter using <computeroutput>usbfilter
      add</computeroutput>, you must supply three or four mandatory
      parameters. The index specifies the position in the list at which
      the filter should be placed. If there is already a filter at that
      position, then it and the following ones will be shifted back one
      place. Otherwise the new filter will be added onto the end of the
      list. The <computeroutput>target</computeroutput> parameter
      selects the virtual machine that the filter should be attached to
      or use "global" to apply it to all virtual machines.
      <computeroutput>name</computeroutput> is a name for the new filter
      and for global filters, <computeroutput>action</computeroutput>
      says whether to allow VMs access to devices that fit the filter
      description ("hold") or not to give them access ("ignore"). In
      addition, you should specify parameters to filter by. You can find
      the parameters for devices attached to your system using
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage list usbhost</computeroutput>. Finally,
      you can specify whether the filter should be active, and for local
      filters, whether they are for local devices, remote (over an RDP
      connection) or either.
    </para>

    <para>
      When you modify a USB filter using <computeroutput>usbfilter
      modify</computeroutput>, you must specify the filter by index and
      by target, which is either a virtual machine or "global". See the
      output of <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
      usbfilters</computeroutput> to find global filter indexes and
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage showvminfo</computeroutput> to find
      indexes for individual machines. The properties which can be
      changed are the same as for <computeroutput>usbfilter
      add</computeroutput>. To remove a filter, use
      <computeroutput>usbfilter remove</computeroutput> and specify the
      index and the target.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following is a list of the additional
      <computeroutput>usbfilter add</computeroutput> and
      <computeroutput>usbfilter modify</computeroutput> options, with
      detailed explanations on how to use them.
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--action ignore|hold</computeroutput>Specifies
          whether devices that fit the filter description are allowed
          access by machines ("hold"), or have access denied ("ignore").
          Applies to global filters only.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--active yes|no</computeroutput>Specifies
          whether the USB Filter is active or temporarily disabled. For
          <computeroutput>usbfilter create</computeroutput> the default
          is active.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--vendorid
          &lt;XXXX&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a vendor ID filter -
          the string representation for the exact matching has the form
          XXXX, where X is the hex digit (including leading zeroes).
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--productid
          &lt;XXXX&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a product ID filter
          - The string representation for the exact matching has the
          form XXXX, where X is the hex digit (including leading
          zeroes).
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--revision
          &lt;IIFF&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a revision ID filter
          - the string representation for the exact matching has the
          form IIFF, where I is the decimal digit of the integer part of
          the revision, and F is the decimal digit of its fractional
          part (including leading and trailing zeros). Note that for
          interval filters, it's best to use the hex form, because the
          revision is stored as a 16 bit packed BCD value; so the
          expression int:0x0100-0x0199 will match any revision from 1.0
          to 1.99 inclusive.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--manufacturer
          &lt;string&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a manufacturer ID
          filter, as a string.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--product
          &lt;string&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a product ID
          filter, as a string.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--remote yes|no""</computeroutput>Specifies a
          remote filter - indicating whether the device is physically
          connected to a remote VRDE client or to a local host machine.
          Applies to VM filters only.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--serialnumber
          &lt;string&gt;|""</computeroutput>Specifies a serial number
          filter, as a string.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--maskedinterfaces
          &lt;XXXXXXXX&gt;</computeroutput>Specifies a masked interface
          filter, for hiding one or more USB interfaces from the guest.
          The value is a bit mask where the set bits correspond to the
          USB interfaces that should be hidden, or masked off. This
          feature only works on Linux hosts.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-sharedfolder">

    <title>VBoxManage sharedfolder add/remove</title>

<screen>
VBoxManage sharedfolder     add &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                                --name &lt;name&gt; --hostpath &lt;hostpath&gt;
                                [--transient] [--readonly] [--automount]
</screen>

    <para>
      This command allows you to share folders on the host computer with
      guest operating systems. For this, the guest systems must have a
      version of the VirtualBox Guest Additions installed which supports
      this functionality.
    </para>

    <para>
      Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput> Specifies
          the UUID or name of the VM whose guest operating system will
          be sharing folders with the host computer. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--name &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput> Specifies
          the name of the share. Each share has a unique name within the
          namespace of the host operating system. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-hostpath &lt;hostpath&gt;</computeroutput>
          Specifies the absolute path on the host operating system of
          the folder/directory to be shared with the guest operating
          system. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-transient</computeroutput> Specifies that the
          share is 'transient', meaning that it can be added and removed
          at runtime and does not persist after the VM has stopped.
          Optional.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-readonly</computeroutput> Specifies that the
          share has only read-only access to files at the host path.
        </para>

        <para>
          By default, shared folders have read/write access to the files
          at the host path. More specifically, on Linux distros - shared
          folders are mounted with 770 io permissions with root user and
          vboxsf as the group, and using this option the io permissions
          change to 700. Optional.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-automount</computeroutput> Specifies that the
          share will be automatically mounted. On Linux distros, this
          will be to either /media/USER/sf_&lt;name&gt; or
          /media/sf_&lt;name&gt; - depending on your guest OS. Where
          &lt;name&gt; is the share name. Optional.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

<screen>
VBoxManage sharedfolder     remove &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;
                            --name &lt;name&gt; [--transient]

</screen>

    <para>
      This command allows you to delete shared folders on the host
      computer shares with the guest operating systems. For this, the
      guest systems must have a version of the VirtualBox Guest
      Additions installed which supports this functionality.
    </para>

    <para>
      Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput> Specifies
          the UUID or name of the VM whose guest operating system is
          sharing folders with the host computer. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>--name &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput> Specifies
          the name of the share to be removed. Each share has a unique
          name within the namespace of the host operating system.
          Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>-transient</computeroutput> Specifies that the
          share is 'transient', meaning that it can be added and removed
          at runtime and does not persist after the VM has stopped.
          Optional.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      Shared folders are described in <xref linkend="sharedfolders" />.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-guestproperty">

    <title>VBoxManage guestproperty</title>

    <para>
      The "guestproperty" commands allow you to get or set properties of
      a running virtual machine. See
      <xref linkend="guestadd-guestprops" /> for an introduction. As
      explained there, guest properties are arbitrary key/value string
      pairs which can be written to and read from by either the guest or
      the host, so they can be used as a low-volume communication
      channel for strings, provided that a guest is running and has the
      Guest Additions installed. In addition, a number of values whose
      keys begin with "/VirtualBox/" are automatically set and
      maintained by the Guest Additions.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following subcommands are available, where
      <computeroutput>&lt;vm&gt;</computeroutput> can either be a VM
      name or a VM UUID, as with the other VBoxManage commands:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>enumerate &lt;vm&gt; [--patterns
          &lt;pattern&gt;]</computeroutput>: This lists all the guest
          properties that are available for the given VM, including the
          value. This list will be very limited if the guest's service
          process cannot be contacted, e.g. because the VM is not
          running or the Guest Additions are not installed.
        </para>

        <para>
          If <computeroutput>--patterns &lt;pattern&gt;</computeroutput>
          is specified, it acts as a filter to only list properties that
          match the given pattern. The pattern can contain the following
          wildcard characters:
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>*</computeroutput> (asterisk): represents
              any number of characters; for example,
              "<computeroutput>/VirtualBox*</computeroutput>" would
              match all properties beginning with "/VirtualBox".
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>?</computeroutput> (question mark):
              represents a single arbitrary character; for example,
              "<computeroutput>fo?</computeroutput>" would match both
              "foo" and "for".
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>|</computeroutput> (pipe symbol): can be
              used to specify multiple alternative patterns; for
              example, "<computeroutput>s*|t*</computeroutput>" would
              match anything starting with either "s" or "t".
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>get &lt;vm&gt; &lt;property&gt;
          </computeroutput>: This retrieves the value of a single
          property only. If the property cannot be found (e.g. because
          the guest is not running), this will print

<screen>No value set!</screen>
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>set &lt;vm&gt; &lt;property&gt; [&lt;value&gt;
          [--flags &lt;flags&gt;]]</computeroutput>: This allows you to
          set a guest property by specifying the key and value. If
          <computeroutput>&lt;value&gt;</computeroutput> is omitted, the
          property is deleted. With
          <computeroutput>--flags</computeroutput>, you can specify
          additional behavior. You can combine several flags by
          separating them with commas.
        </para>

        <itemizedlist>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>TRANSIENT</computeroutput>: The value will
              not be stored with the VM data when the VM exits.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>TRANSRESET</computeroutput>: The value
              will be deleted as soon as the VM restarts and/or exits.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>RDONLYGUEST</computeroutput>: The value
              can only be changed by the host, but the guest can only
              read it.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>RDONLYHOST</computeroutput>: The value can
              only be changed by the guest, but the host can only read
              it.
            </para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>
              <computeroutput>READONLY</computeroutput>: The value
              cannot be changed at all.
            </para>
          </listitem>

        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>wait &lt;vm&gt; &lt;pattern&gt; --timeout
          &lt;timeout&gt;</computeroutput>: This waits for a particular
          value described by "pattern" to change or to be deleted or
          created. The pattern rules are the same as for the "enumerate"
          subcommand above.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <computeroutput>delete &lt;vm&gt;
          &lt;property&gt;</computeroutput>: Deletes a formerly set
          guest property.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-guestcontrol">

    <title>VBoxManage guestcontrol</title>

    <para>
      The <computeroutput>guestcontrol</computeroutput> commands enable
      control of the guest from the host. See
      <xref
    linkend="guestadd-guestcontrol" /> for an introduction.
    </para>

    <para>
      guestcontrol has two sets of subcommands. The first set requires
      guest credentials to be specified, the second does not.
    </para>

    <para>
      The first set of subcommands is of the form:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; &lt;sub-command&gt;
            [--username &lt;name&gt; ]
            [--passwordfile &lt;file&gt; | --password &lt;password&gt;]
            [--domain &lt;domain&gt; ]
            [-v|--verbose] [-q|quiet] ...
    </screen>

    <para>
      The "common-options" are:
    </para>

<screen>
           [--username &lt;name&gt; ]
           [--passwordfile &lt;file&gt; | --password &lt;password&gt;]
           [--domain &lt;domain&gt; ]
           [-v|--verbose] [-q|quiet]
    </screen>

    <para>
      Where details of the common options for the first set of
      subcommands are:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--username &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the user name on guest OS under which the process
            should run. This user name must already exist on the guest
            OS. If unspecified, the host user name is used. Optional
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--passwordfile
          &lt;file&gt;|--password</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Specifies the absolute path on guest file system of password
            file containing the password for the specified user account
            or password for the specified user account. Optional. If
            both are omitted, empty password is assumed.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--domain &lt;domain&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            User domain for Windows guests. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>-v|--verbose</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Makes the subcommand execution more verbose. Optional
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>-q|--quiet</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Makes the subcommand execution quieter. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <para>
      The first set of subcommands:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>run</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Executes a guest program - forwarding stdout, stderr and stdin
          to/from the host until it completes.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; run [common-options]
            --exe &lt;path to executable&gt; [--timeout &lt;msec&gt;]
           [-E|--putenv &lt;NAME&gt;[=&lt;VALUE&gt;]] [--unquoted-args]
           [--ignore-operhaned-processes] [--profile]
           [--no-wait-stdout|--wait-stdout]
           [--no-wait-stderr|--wait-stderr]
           [--dos2unix] [--unix2dos]
            -- &lt;program/arg0&gt; [argument1] ... [argumentN]]
          </screen>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--exe &lt;path to
              executable&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the executable on the
                guest OS file system. Mandatory. e.g.:
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--timeout &lt;msec&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the maximum time (microseconds) that the
                executable can run, during which VBoxManage receives its
                output. Optional. If unspecified, VBoxManage waits
                indefinitely for the process to end, or an error occurs.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>-E|--putenv &lt;NAME&gt;=&lt;VALUE&gt;
              </computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Sets/modifies/unsets environment variable(s) in the
                environment in which the program will run. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                The guest process is created with the standard default
                guest OS environment. Use this option to modify that
                default environment. To set/modify a variable use:
                <computeroutput>&lt;NAME&gt;=&lt;VALUE&gt;</computeroutput>.
                To unset a variable use:
                <computeroutput>&lt;NAME&gt;=</computeroutput>
              </para>

              <para>
                Any spaces in names/values should be enclosed by quotes.
              </para>

              <para>
                To set/modify/unset multiple variables, use multiple
                instances of the
                <computeroutput>--E|--putenv</computeroutput> option.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--unquoted-args</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Disables escaped double quoting (e.g. \"fred\") on
                arguments passed to the executed program. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--ignore-operhaned-processes</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Ignore orphaned processes. Not yet implemented.
                Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--profile</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Use Profile. Not yet implemented. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--no-wait-stdout|--wait-stdout</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Does not wait/waits until the guest process ends and
                receives its exit code and reason/flags. In the case of
                --wait-stdout - while the process runs, VBoxManage
                receives its stdout. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--no-wait-stderr|--wait-stderr</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Does not wait/waits until the guest process ends and
                receives its exit code and reason/flags. In case of
                --wait-stderr - while the process runs, VBoxManage
                receives its stderr. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--dos2unix</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Converts output from DOS/Windows guests to
                UNIX/Linux-compatible line endings, CR + LF to LF. Not
                yet implemented. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--unix2dos</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Converts output from a UNIX/Linux guests to
                DOS/Windows-compatible line endings, LF to CR + LF. Not
                yet implemented. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>[-- &lt;program/arg0&gt;
              [&lt;argument1&gt;] ...
              [&lt;argumentN&gt;]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies program name, followed by one or more
                arguments to pass to the program. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                Note: Any spaces in arguments should be enclosed by
                quotes.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>

        <para>
          <note>
            <para>
              On Windows there are certain limitations for graphical
              applications; please see <xref linkend="KnownIssues" />
              for more information.
            </para>
          </note>

          Examples:

<screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" run --exe "/bin/ls"
          --username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout -- -l /usr</screen>

<screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" run --exe "c:\\windows\\system32\\ipconfig.exe"
          --username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout</screen>

          Note that the double backslashes in the second example are
          only required on Unix hosts.
        </para>

        <para>
          <note>
            <para>
              For certain commands a user name of an existing user
              account on the guest must be specified; anonymous
              executions are not supported for security reasons. A user
              account password, however, is optional and depends on the
              guest's OS security policy or rules. If no password is
              specified for a given user name, an empty password will be
              used. On certain OSes like Windows the security policy may
              needs to be adjusted in order to allow user accounts with
              an empty password set. Also, global domain rules might
              apply and therefore cannot be changed.
            </para>
          </note>
        </para>

        <para>
          Starting at VirtualBox 4.1.2 guest process execution by
          default is limited to serve up to 5 guest processes at a time.
          If a new guest process gets started which would exceed this
          limit, the oldest not running guest process will be discarded
          in order to be able to run that new process. Also, retrieving
          output from this old guest process will not be possible
          anymore then. If all 5 guest processes are still active and
          running, starting a new guest process will result in an
          appropriate error message.
        </para>

        <para>
          To raise or lower the guest process execution limit, either
          the guest property
          <computeroutput>/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
          or VBoxService' command line by specifying
          <computeroutput>--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
          needs to be modified. A restart of the guest OS is required
          afterwards. To serve unlimited guest processes, a value of
          <computeroutput>0</computeroutput> needs to be set (not
          recommended).
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>start</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Executes a guest program until it completes.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; start [common-options]
           [--exe &lt;path to executable&gt;] [--timeout &lt;msec&gt;]
           [-E|--putenv &lt;NAME&gt;[=&lt;VALUE&gt;]] [--unquoted-args]
           [--ignore-operhaned-processes] [--profile]
            -- &lt;program/arg0&gt; [argument1] ... [argumentN]]
          </screen>

        <para>
          Where the options are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--exe &lt;path to
              executable&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the executable on the
                guest OS file system. Mandatory. e.g.:
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--timeout &lt;msec&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the maximum time (microseconds) that the
                executable can run. Optional. If unspecified, VBoxManage
                waits indefinitely for the process to end, or an error
                occurs.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>-E|--putenv &lt;NAME&gt;=&lt;VALUE&gt;
              </computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Sets/modifies/unsets environment variable(s) in the
                environment in which the program will run. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                The guest process is created with the standard default
                guest OS environment. Use this option to modify that
                default environment. To set/modify a variable use:
                <computeroutput>&lt;NAME&gt;=&lt;VALUE&gt;</computeroutput>.
                To unset a variable use:
                <computeroutput>&lt;NAME&gt;=</computeroutput>
              </para>

              <para>
                Any spaces in names/values should be enclosed by quotes.
              </para>

              <para>
                To set/modify/unset multiple variables, use multiple
                instances of the
                <computeroutput>--E|--putenv</computeroutput> option.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--unquoted-args</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Disables escaped double quoting (e.g. \"fred\") on
                arguments passed to the executed program. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--ignore-operhaned-processes</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Ignores orphaned processes. Not yet implemented.
                Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--profile</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Use a profile. Not yet implemented. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>[-- &lt;program/arg0&gt;
              [&lt;argument1&gt;] ...
              [&lt;argumentN&gt;]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies program name, followed by one or more
                arguments to pass to the program. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                Note: Any spaces in arguments should be enclosed by
                quotes.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>

        <note>
          <para>
            On Windows there are certain limitations for graphical
            applications; please see <xref linkend="KnownIssues" /> for
            more information.
          </para>
        </note>

        <para>
          Examples:

<screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" start --exe "/bin/ls"
          --username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout -- -l /usr</screen>

<screen>VBoxManage --nologo guestcontrol "My VM" start --exe "c:\\windows\\system32\\ipconfig.exe"
          --username foo --passwordfile bar.txt --wait-exit --wait-stdout</screen>

          Note that the double backslashes in the second example are
          only required on Unix hosts.
        </para>

        <note>
          <para>
            For certain commands a user name of an existing user account
            on the guest must be specified; anonymous executions are not
            supported for security reasons. A user account password,
            however, is optional and depends on the guest's OS security
            policy or rules. If no password is specified for a given
            user name, an empty password will be used. On certain OSes
            like Windows the security policy may needs to be adjusted in
            order to allow user accounts with an empty password set.
            Also, global domain rules might apply and therefore cannot
            be changed.
          </para>
        </note>

        <para>
          Starting at VirtualBox 4.1.2 guest process execution by
          default is limited to serve up to 5 guest processes at a time.
          If a new guest process gets started which would exceed this
          limit, the oldest not running guest process will be discarded
          in order to be able to run that new process. Also, retrieving
          output from this old guest process will not be possible
          anymore then. If all 5 guest processes are still active and
          running, starting a new guest process will result in an
          appropriate error message.
        </para>

        <para>
          To raise or lower the guest process execution limit, either
          the guest property
          <computeroutput>/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
          or VBoxService' command line by specifying
          <computeroutput>--control-procs-max-kept</computeroutput>
          needs to be modified. A restart of the guest OS is required
          afterwards. To serve unlimited guest processes, a value of
          <computeroutput>0</computeroutput> needs to be set (not
          recommended).
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>copyfrom</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Copies files from the guest to the host file system. (Note -
          only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; copyfrom [common-options]
           [--follow] [--R|recursive]
            --target-directory &lt;host-dst-dir&gt;
            &lt;guest-src0&gt; [&lt;guest-src1&gt; [...]] </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--follow</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enables symlink following on the guest file system.
                Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>-R|--recursive</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enables recursive copying of files/directories from the
                specified guest file system directory. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--target-directory
              &lt;host-dst-dir&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the host file system
                destination directory. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Temp</computeroutput>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;guest-src0&gt; [&lt;guest-src1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path(s) of guest file system
                file(s) to be copied. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.
                Wildcards can be used in the expression(s), e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System*\*.dll</computeroutput>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>copyto</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Copies files from the host to the guest file system. (Note -
          only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; copyto [common-options]
           [--follow] [--R|recursive]
            --target-directory &lt;guest-dst&gt;
            &lt;host-src0&gt; [&lt;host-src1&gt; [...]] </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--follow</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enables symlink following on the host file system.
                Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>-R|--recursive</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enables recursive copying of files/directories from the
                specified host file system directory(ies). Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--target-directory
              &lt;guest-dst&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the guest file system
                destination directory. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Temp</computeroutput>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;host-src0&gt; [&lt;host-src1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path(s) of host file system
                file(s) to be copied. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe</computeroutput>.
                Wildcards can be used in the expression(s), e.g.
                <computeroutput>C:\Windows\System*\*.dll</computeroutput>.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>md|mkdir|createdir|createdirectory</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Creates one or more directory(ies) on the guest file system.
          (Note - only with Guest Additions 4.0 or later installed).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt;  md|mkdir|createdir|createdirectory [common-options]
            [--parents] [--mode &lt;mode&gt;]
            &lt;guest-dir0&gt; [&lt;guest-dir1&gt; [...]] </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Creates any absent parent directory(ies) of the
                specified directory. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                e.g. If specified directory is
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar</computeroutput> and
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo</computeroutput> is absent, it
                will be created. In such a case, had the
                <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput> option not
                been used, this command would have failed.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--mode &lt;mode&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the permission mode on the specified
                directory(ies) (and any parents, where
                <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput> option used).
                Currently octal modes (e.g.
                <computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>) only are
                supported.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;guest-dir0&gt; [&lt;guest-dir1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies list of absolute path(s) of directory(ies) to
                be created on guest file system. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar</computeroutput>.
              </para>

              <para>
                All parent directories must already exist unless switch
                <computeroutput>--parents</computeroutput> used. (e.g.
                in the above example
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo</computeroutput>). The specified
                user must have sufficient rights to create the specified
                directory(ies), and any parents that need to be created.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>rmdir|removedir|removedirectory</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Deletes specified guest file system directories. (Only with
          installed Guest Additions 4.3.2 and later).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; rmdir|removedir|removedirectory [common-options]
           [--recursive|-R]
            &lt;guest-dir0&gt; [&lt;guest-dir1&gt; [...]]
          </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--recursive</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Recursively removes directories and contents. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;guest-dir0&gt; [&lt;guest-dir1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies list of the absolute path(s) of directory(ies)
                to be deleted on guest file system. Mandatory. Wildcards
                are allowed. e.g.
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo\*Bar</computeroutput>. The
                specified user must have sufficient rights to delete the
                specified directory(ies).
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>rm|removefile</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Deletes specified files on the guest file system. (Only with
          installed Guest Additions 4.3.2 and later).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; rm|removefile [common-options]
           [-f|--force]
            &lt;guest-file0&gt; [&lt;guest-file1&gt; [...]] </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>-f|--force</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enforce operation (override any requests for
                confirmations). Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;guest-file0&gt; [&lt;guest-file1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies list of absolute path(s) of file(s) to be
                deleted on guest file system. Mandatory. Wildcards are
                allowed. e.g.
                <computeroutput>D:\Foo\Bar\text*.txt</computeroutput>.
                The specified user should have sufficient rights to
                delete the specified file(s).
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>mv|move|ren|rename</computeroutput></emphasis>
          This subcommand renames file(s) and/or directory(ies) on the
          guest file system. (Only with installed Guest Additions 4.3.2
          and later).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; mv|move|ren|rename [common-options]
           &lt;guest-source0&gt; [&lt;guest-source1&gt; [...]] &lt;guest-dest&gt;</screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;guest-source0&gt;
              [&lt;guest-source1&gt; [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies absolute path(s) of file(s) and/or single
                directory to be moved/renamed on guest file system.
                Mandatory. Wildcards are allowed in file names(s). The
                specified user should have sufficient rights to access
                the specified file(s).
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;dest&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the destination
                file/directory to which the file(s) are to be moved.
                Mandatory. If only one file to be moved, &lt;dest&gt;
                can be file or directory, else it must be a directory.
                The specified user must have sufficient rights to access
                the destination file/directory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>mktemp|createtemp|createtemporary</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Creates a temporary file/directory on the guest file system,
          to assist subsequent copying of files from the host to the
          guest file systems. By default, the file/directory is created
          in the guest's platform specific temp directory. Not currently
          supported. (Only with installed Guest Additions 4.2 and
          later).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; mktemp|createtemp|createtemporary [common-options]
           [--directory] [--secure] [--mode &lt;mode&gt;] [--tmpdir &lt;directory&gt;]
            &lt;template&gt;
            </screen>

        <para>
          The parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--directory</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Creates a temporary directory instead of a file,
                specified by the &lt;template&gt; parameter. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--secure</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Enforces secure file/directory creation. Optional. The
                permission mode is set to
                <computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>. Operation fails
                if it cannot be performed securely.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--mode &lt;mode&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the permission mode of the specified
                directory. Optional. Currently only octal modes (e.g.
                <computeroutput>0755</computeroutput>) are supported.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--tmpdir
              &lt;directory&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path of the directory on the
                guest file system into which the file/directory
                specified in will be created. Optional. If unspecified,
                the platform-specific temp directory is used.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;template&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies a file name without a directory path,
                containing at least one sequence comprising three
                consecutive 'X' characters, or ending in 'X'. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>stat</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Displays file or file system status(es) on the guest.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; stat [common-options]
           &lt;file0&gt; [&lt;file1&gt; [...]]</screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;file0&gt; [&lt;file1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies absolute path(s) of file(s) and/or file
                system(s) on guest file system. Mandatory. e.g.
                <computeroutput>/home/foo/a.out</computeroutput>. The
                specified user should have sufficient rights to access
                the specified file(s)/file system(s).
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      The second set of subcommands is of the form:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; &lt;sub-command&gt;
           [-v|--verbose] [-q|quiet] ...
    </screen>

    <para>
      The "common-options" are:
    </para>

<screen>
            [-v|--verbose] [-q|--quiet]
    </screen>

    <para>
      Where details of the common options for the second set of
      subcommands are:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>-v|--verbose</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Makes the sub-command execution more verbose. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>-q|--quiet</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Makes the sub-command execution quieter. Optional.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    <para>
      The second set of subcommands:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>list</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Lists guest control configuration and status data, e.g. open
          guest sessions, guest processes and files.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; list [common-opts]
           &lt;all|sessions|processes|files&gt; </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>all|sessions|processes|files</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Indicates whether to list all available data or guest
                sessions, processes or files. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>closeprocess</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Terminates guest processes specified by PID(s))running in
          guest session(s), specified by the session ID or name(s).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; closeprocess [common-options]
           --session-id &lt;ID&gt; | --session-name &lt;name or pattern&gt;
           &lt;PID0&gt; [&lt;PID1&gt; [...]] </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--session-id &lt;ID&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the guest session by its ID. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--session-name &lt;name or
              pattern&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the guest session by its name, or multiple
                sessions using a pattern containing wildcards. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;PID0&gt; [&lt;PID1&gt;
              [...]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies a list of process identifiers (PIDs) of guest
                processes to be terminated. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>closesession</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Closes specified guest sessions, specified either by session
          ID or name.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; closesession [common-options]
           --session-id &lt;ID&gt; | --session-name &lt;name or pattern&gt; | --all </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--session-id &lt;ID&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the guest session to be closed by ID.
                Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--session-name &lt;name or
              pattern&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the guest session to be closed by name.
                Optional. Multiple sessions can be specified by using a
                pattern containing wildcards.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--all</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Close all guest sessions. Optional.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>updatega|updateadditions|updateguestadditions</computeroutput></emphasis>
          Ugrades Guest Additions already installed on the guest. (Only
          already installed Guest Additions 4.0 and later).
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; updatega|updateadditions|updateguestadditions
           [common-options]
           [--source &lt;New .ISO path&gt;]
           [--wait-start]
           [-- &lt;argument0&gt; [&lt;argument1&gt; [...]]]</screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--source</computeroutput> &lt;New .ISO
              path&gt;
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the absolute path on guest file system of the
                .ISO file for Guest Additions update. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>--wait-start</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Indicates that VBoxManage starts the usual updating
                process on the guest and then waits until the actual
                Guest Additions updating begins, at which point
                VBoxManage self-terminates. Optional.
              </para>

              <para>
                Default behavior is that VBoxManage waits for completion
                of the Guest Additions update before terminating. Use of
                this option is sometimes necessary, as a running
                VBoxManage can affect the interaction between the
                installer and the guest OS.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>[-- &lt;argument0&gt; [&lt;argument1&gt;
              [...]]]</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies optional command line arguments to be supplied
                to the Guest Additions updater. Useful for retrofitting
                features which are not currently installed.
              </para>

              <para>
                Arguments containing spaces should be enclosed by
                quotes.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>watch</computeroutput></emphasis>
          This subcommand prints current guest control activity.
        </para>

<screen>VBoxManage guestcontrol &lt;uuid|vmname&gt; watch [common-options]
          </screen>

        <para>
          Where the parameters are:
        </para>

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term>
              <computeroutput>&lt;uuid|vmname&gt;</computeroutput>
            </term>

            <listitem>
              <para>
                Specifies the VM UUID or VM name. Mandatory.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-metrics">

    <title>VBoxManage metrics</title>

    <para>
      This command supports monitoring the usage of system resources.
      Resources are represented by various metrics associated with the
      host system or a particular VM. For example, the host system has a
      <computeroutput>CPU/Load/User</computeroutput> metric that shows
      the percentage of time CPUs spend executing in user mode over a
      specific sampling period.
    </para>

    <para>
      Metric data is collected and retained internally; it may be
      retrieved at any time with the <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
      query</computeroutput> subcommand. The data is available as long
      as the background <computeroutput>VBoxSVC</computeroutput> process
      is alive. That process terminates shortly after all VMs and
      frontends have been closed.
    </para>

    <para>
      By default no metrics are collected at all. Metrics collection
      does not start until <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
      setup</computeroutput> is invoked with a proper sampling interval
      and the number of metrics to be retained. The interval is measured
      in seconds. For example, to enable collecting the host processor
      and memory usage metrics every second and keeping the 5 most
      current samples, the following command can be used:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage metrics setup --period 1 --samples 5 host CPU/Load,RAM/Usage</screen>

    <para>
      Metric collection can only be enabled for started VMs. Collected
      data and collection settings for a particular VM will disappear as
      soon as it shuts down. Use <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics list
      </computeroutput> subcommand to see which metrics are currently
      available. You can also use
      <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> option with any subcommand
      that modifies metric settings to find out which metrics were
      affected.
    </para>

    <para>
      Note that the <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics
      setup</computeroutput> subcommand discards all samples that may
      have been previously collected for the specified set of objects
      and metrics.
    </para>

    <para>
      To enable or disable metrics collection without discarding the
      data <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics enable</computeroutput>
      and <computeroutput>VBoxManage metrics disable</computeroutput>
      subcommands can be used. Note that these subcommands expect
      metrics, not submetrics, like <code>CPU/Load</code> or
      <code>RAM/Usage</code> as parameters. In other words enabling
      <code>CPU/Load/User</code> while disabling
      <code>CPU/Load/Kernel</code> is not supported.
    </para>

    <para>
      The host and VMs have different sets of associated metrics.
      Available metrics can be listed with <computeroutput>VBoxManage
      metrics list</computeroutput> subcommand.
    </para>

    <para>
      A complete metric name may include an aggregate function. The name
      has the following form:
      <computeroutput>Category/Metric[/SubMetric][:aggregate]</computeroutput>.
      For example, <computeroutput>RAM/Usage/Free:min</computeroutput>
      stands for the minimum amount of available memory over all
      retained data if applied to the host object.
    </para>

    <para>
      Subcommands may apply to all objects and metrics or can be limited
      to one object or/and a list of metrics. If no objects or metrics
      are given in the parameters, the subcommands will apply to all
      available metrics of all objects. You may use an asterisk
      ("<computeroutput>*</computeroutput>") to explicitly specify that
      the command should be applied to all objects or metrics. Use
      "host" as the object name to limit the scope of the command to
      host-related metrics. To limit the scope to a subset of metrics,
      use a metric list with names separated by commas.
    </para>

    <para>
      For example, to query metric data on the CPU time spent in user
      and kernel modes by the virtual machine named "test", you can use
      the following command:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage metrics query test CPU/Load/User,CPU/Load/Kernel</screen>

    <para>
      The following list summarizes the available subcommands:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>list</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand shows the parameters of the currently
            existing metrics. Note that VM-specific metrics are only
            available when a particular VM is running.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>setup</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand sets the interval between taking two samples
            of metric data and the number of samples retained
            internally. The retained data is available for displaying
            with the <code>query</code> subcommand. The
            <computeroutput>--list </computeroutput> option shows which
            metrics have been modified as the result of the command
            execution.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>enable</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand "resumes" data collection after it has been
            stopped with <code>disable</code> subcommand. Note that
            specifying submetrics as parameters will not enable
            underlying metrics. Use
            <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> to find out if the
            command did what was expected.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>disable</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand "suspends" data collection without affecting
            collection parameters or collected data. Note that
            specifying submetrics as parameters will not disable
            underlying metrics. Use
            <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> to find out if the
            command did what was expected.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>query</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand retrieves and displays the currently
            retained metric data.

            <note>
              <para>
                The <code>query</code> subcommand does not remove or
                "flush" retained data. If you query often enough you
                will see how old samples are gradually being "phased
                out" by new samples.
              </para>
            </note>
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>collect</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            This subcommand sets the interval between taking two samples
            of metric data and the number of samples retained
            internally. The collected data is displayed periodically
            until Ctrl-C is pressed unless the
            <computeroutput>--detach</computeroutput> option is
            specified. With the
            <computeroutput>--detach</computeroutput> option, this
            subcommand operates the same way as <code>setup</code> does.
            The <computeroutput>--list</computeroutput> option shows
            which metrics match the specified filter.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-natnetwork">

    <title>VBoxManage natnetwork</title>

    <para>
      NAT networks use the Network Address Translation (NAT) service,
      which works in a similar way to a home router. It groups systems
      using it into a network and prevents outside systems from directly
      accessing those inside, while letting systems inside communicate
      with each other and outside systems using TCP and UDP over IPv4
      and IPv6.
    </para>

    <para>
      A NAT service is attached to an internal network. Virtual machines
      to make use of one should be attached to it. The name of an
      internal network is chosen when the NAT service is created, and
      the internal network will be created if it does not already exist.
      An example command to create a NAT network:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname natnet1 --network "192.168.15.0/24" --enable</screen>

    <para>
      Here, "natnet1" is the name of the internal network to be used and
      "192.168.15.0/24" is the network address and mask of the NAT
      service interface. By default, in this static configuration the
      gateway will be assigned the address 192.168.15.1, the address
      after the interface address, though this is subject to change.
    </para>

    <para>
      To add a DHCP server to the NAT network after creation:
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname natnet1 --dhcp on</screen>

    <para>
      Below are the subcommands for
      <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      </computeroutput></emphasis>
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork add --netname &lt;name&gt;
                         [--network &lt;network&gt;]
                         [--enable|--disable]
                         [--dhcp on|off]
                         [--port-forward-4 &lt;rule&gt;]
                         [--loopback-4 &lt;rule&gt;]
                         [--ipv6 on|off]
                         [--port-forward-6 &lt;rule&gt;]
                         [--loopback-6 &lt;rule&gt;]
    </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      add</computeroutput></emphasis> Creates a new internal network
      interface, and adds a NAT network service. This command is a
      prerequisite for enabling attachment of VMs to the NAT network.
      Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--netname &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;name&gt; is the name of the new internal network
            interface on the host OS.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--network &lt;network&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;network&gt; specifies the static(default)/DHCP
            network address and mask of the NAT service interface.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--enable|--disable</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables/disables the NAT network service.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--dhcp on|off</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables/disables DHCP server specified by --netname; its use
            also indicates that it is a DHCP server.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--port-forward-4 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv4 port forwarding, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--loopback-4 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv4 loopback interface, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--ipv6 on|off</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables/disables IPv6 (default is IPv4, disables gives
            IPv4).
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--port-forward-6 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv6 port forwarding, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--loopback-6 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv6 loopback interface, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork remove --netname &lt;name&gt; </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      remove</computeroutput></emphasis> Removes a NAT network service.
      Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--netname &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;name&gt; specifies an existing NAT network
            service. Does not remove any DHCP server enabled on the
            network.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork modify --netname &lt;name&gt;
                            [--network &lt;network&gt;]
                            [--enable|--disable]
                            [--dhcp on|off]
                            [--port-forward-4 &lt;rule&gt;]
                            [--loopback-4 &lt;rule&gt;]
                            [--ipv6 on|off]
                            [--port-forward-6 &lt;rule&gt;]
                            [--loopback-6 &lt;rule&gt;]
    </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      modify</computeroutput></emphasis> Modifies an existing NAT
      network service. Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--netname &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;name&gt; specifies an existing NAT network
            service.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--network &lt;network&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;network&gt; specifies the new static(default)/DHCP
            network address and mask of the NAT service interface.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--enable|--disable</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables/disables the NAT network service.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--dhcp on|off</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables (and if absent, adds)/disables (if any) DHCP server.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--port-forward-4 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv4 port forwarding, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--loopback-4 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv4 loopback interface, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--ipv6 on|off</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables/disables IPv6 (default is IPv4, disables gives
            IPv4).
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--port-forward-6 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv6 port forwarding, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--loopback-6 &lt;rule&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Enables IPv6 loopback interface, rule specified by
            &lt;rule&gt;.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork start --netname &lt;name&gt;
    </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis  role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      start</computeroutput></emphasis> Starts specified NAT network
      service and any associated DHCP server. Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--netname &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;name&gt; specifies an existing NAT network
            service.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork stop --netname &lt;name&gt;
    </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis  role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      stop</computeroutput></emphasis> Stops specified NAT network
      service and any DHCP server. Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>--netname &lt;name&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;name&gt; specifies an existing NAT network
            service.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

<screen>VBoxManage natnetwork list [&lt;pattern&gt;] </screen>

    <para>
      <emphasis  role="bold"><computeroutput>VBoxManage natnetwork
      list</computeroutput></emphasis> Lists all NAT network services
      with optional filtering. Parameters are as follows:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>[&lt;pattern&gt;]</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Where &lt;pattern&gt; is optional filtering pattern.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-hostonlyif">

    <title>VBoxManage hostonlyif</title>

    <para>
      With "hostonlyif" you can change the IP configuration of a
      host-only network interface. For a description of host-only
      networking, see <xref linkend="network_hostonly" />. Each
      host-only interface is identified by a name and can either use the
      internal DHCP server or a manual IP configuration, both IP4 and
      IP6.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following list summarizes the available subcommands:
    </para>

    <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>ipconfig "&lt;name&gt;"</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Configure a host-only interface
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>create</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Creates a new vboxnet&lt;N&gt; interface on the host OS.
            This command is essential before you can attach VMs to a
            host-only network.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>
          <computeroutput>remove vboxnet&lt;N&gt;</computeroutput>
        </term>

        <listitem>
          <para>
            Removes a vboxnet&lt;N&gt; interface from the host OS.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-dhcpserver">

    <title>VBoxManage dhcpserver</title>

    <para>
      The "dhcpserver" commands allow you to control the DHCP server
      that is built into VirtualBox. You may find this useful when using
      internal or host-only networking. Theoretically, you can enable it
      for a bridged network as well, but that will likely cause
      conflicts with other DHCP servers in your physical network.
    </para>

    <para>
      Use the following command line options:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          If you use internal networking for a virtual network adapter
          of a virtual machine, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage
          dhcpserver add --netname
          &lt;network_name&gt;</computeroutput>, where
          <computeroutput>&lt;network_name&gt;</computeroutput> is the
          same network name you used with <computeroutput>VBoxManage
          modifyvm &lt;vmname&gt; --intnet&lt;X&gt;
          &lt;network_name&gt;</computeroutput>.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          If you use host-only networking for a virtual network adapter
          of a virtual machine, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage
          dhcpserver add --ifname
          &lt;hostonly_if_name&gt;</computeroutput> instead, where
          <computeroutput>&lt;hostonly_if_name&gt;</computeroutput> is
          the same host-only interface name you used with
          <computeroutput>VBoxManage modifyvm &lt;vmname&gt;
          --hostonlyadapter&lt;X&gt;
          &lt;hostonly_if_name&gt;</computeroutput>.
        </para>

        <para>
          Alternatively, you can also use the
          <computeroutput>--netname</computeroutput> option as with
          internal networks if you know the host-only network's name.
          You can see the names with <computeroutput>VBoxManage list
          hostonlyifs</computeroutput>. See
          <xref linkend="vboxmanage-list" />.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      The following additional parameters are required when first adding
      a DHCP server:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          With <computeroutput>--ip</computeroutput>, specify the IP
          address of the DHCP server itself.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          With <computeroutput>--netmask</computeroutput>, specify the
          netmask of the network.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          With <computeroutput>--lowerip</computeroutput> and
          <computeroutput>--upperip</computeroutput>, you can specify
          the lowest and highest IP address, respectively, that the DHCP
          server will hand out to clients.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      Finally, you must specify
      <computeroutput>--enable</computeroutput> or the DHCP server will
      be created in the disabled state, doing nothing.
    </para>

    <para>
      After this, VirtualBox will automatically start the DHCP server
      for given internal or host-only network as soon as the first
      virtual machine which uses that network is started.
    </para>

    <para>
      Reversely, use <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver
      remove</computeroutput> with the given <computeroutput>--netname
      &lt;network_name&gt;</computeroutput> or <computeroutput>--ifname
      &lt;hostonly_if_name&gt;</computeroutput> to remove the DHCP
      server again for the given internal or host-only network.
    </para>

    <para>
      To modify the settings of a DHCP server created earlier with
      <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver add</computeroutput>, you
      can use <computeroutput>VBoxManage dhcpserver
      modify</computeroutput> for a given network or host-only interface
      name. This has the same parameters as <computeroutput>VBoxManage
      dhcpserver add</computeroutput>.
    </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="vboxmanage-usbdevsource">

    <title>VBoxManage usbdevsource</title>

    <para>
      The "usbdevsource" commands enable you to add and remove USB
      devices globally.
    </para>

    <para>
      The following command adds a USB device.
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage usbdevsource add &lt;source name&gt;
                            --backend &lt;backend&gt;
                            --address &lt;address&gt;
    </screen>

    <para>
      Where the command line options are:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          &lt;source name&gt; specifies the ID of the 'source' USB
          device to be added. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          --backend &lt;backend&gt; specifies the USB proxy service
          backend to use. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          --address &lt;address&gt; specifies the backend specific
          address. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>
      The following command removes a USB device.
    </para>

<screen>VBoxManage usbdevsource remove &lt;source name&gt;
    </screen>

    <para>
      Where the command line options are:
    </para>

    <itemizedlist>

      <listitem>
        <para>
          &lt;source name&gt; specifies the ID of the 'source' USB
          device to be removed. Mandatory.
        </para>
      </listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

  </sect1>

  <xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-mediumio.xml"   xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />

  <xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-debugvm.xml"    xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />

  <xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-extpack.xml"    xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />

  <xi:include href="user_man_VBoxManage-unattended.xml" xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" />

</chapter>