How to use the command 'vboxmanage-showvminfo' (with examples)

The ‘vboxmanage-showvminfo’ command is used to show information about a registered virtual machine in Oracle VM VirtualBox. This command provides various options to retrieve different levels of information about a specific virtual machine.

Use case 1: Show information about a particular virtual machine

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo vm_name|uuid

Motivation: The command ‘vboxmanage-showvminfo’ is especially useful when you want to obtain general information about a specific virtual machine, such as its name, UUID, operating system, memory, and network configuration.

Explanation:

• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to retrieve the information.

Example output:

Name:            MyVM
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Linux 64-bit
UUID:            01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
Memory size:     4096MB
VRAM size:       64MB
CPU exec cap:    100%

Use case 2: Show more detailed information about a particular virtual machine

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo --details vm_name|uuid

Motivation: Sometimes, you may need more detailed information about a virtual machine, including the full configuration and runtimestatus. The ‘–details’ option provides a comprehensive view of the virtual machine’s settings and states.

Explanation:

• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to retrieve detailed information.
• ‘–details’ is an option that instructs the command to display additional details about the virtual machine.

Example output:

Name:            MyVM
UUID:            01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
Config file:     /path/to/MyVM.vbox
Snapshots:       2
State:           running (since 2022-01-01 10:00:00)
...

Use case 3: Show information in a machine readable format

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo --machinereadable vm_name|uuid

Motivation: When you require programmatically processing the information about a virtual machine, the ‘–machinereadable’ option can be useful. This option presents the output in a format that can be easily parsed by scripts or other automation tools.

Explanation:

• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to retrieve information.
• ‘–machinereadable’ is an option that instructs the command to output the information in a machine-readable format.

Example output:

name="MyVM"
UUID="01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef"
memory=4096
VRAM=64

Use case 4: Specify password ID if the virtual machine is encrypted

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo --password-id password_id vm_name|uuid

Motivation: If a virtual machine is encrypted and requires a password to access, you can specify the password ID using this command. It allows you to retrieve information about the virtual machine by providing the correct password ID.

Explanation:

• ‘–password-id’ is an option followed by ‘password_id’ that specifies the ID of the password used to decrypt the virtual machine.
• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to retrieve information.

Example output:

Name:            MyVM
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Linux 64-bit
UUID:            01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
Memory size:     4096MB
VRAM size:       64MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
...

Use case 5: Specify the password file if the virtual machine is encrypted

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo --password path/to/password_file vm_name|uuid

Motivation: When a virtual machine is encrypted, this command allows you to provide the password file to access the encrypted virtual machine. It facilitates retrieving information about the virtual machine by using the correct password file.

Explanation:

• ‘–password’ is an option followed by ‘path/to/password_file’ that specifies the path to the file containing the password used to decrypt the virtual machine.
• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to retrieve information.

Example output:

Name:            MyVM
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Linux 64-bit
UUID:            01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef
Memory size:     4096MB
VRAM size:       64MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
...

Use case 6: Show the logs of a specific virtual machine

Code:

VBoxManage showvminfo --log vm_name|uuid

Motivation: If you’re troubleshooting issues with a virtual machine, the command can help you by displaying the relevant logs for a specific virtual machine. This information can assist in diagnosing and resolving problems.

Explanation:

• ‘–log’ is an option that instructs the command to show the logs of the virtual machine.
• ‘vm_name’ or ‘uuid’ specifies the name or UUID of the virtual machine for which you want to display the logs.

Example output:

## Log file: /path/to/MyVM.log
...
Contents of the log file...
...

Conclusion:

The ‘vboxmanage-showvminfo’ command is a versatile utility that provides a wealth of information about registered virtual machines. Whether you need a general overview or specific details, the available options allow you to retrieve the desired information.