8.21. VBoxManage unattended

Unattended guest OS installation.

Synopsis

VBoxManage unattended detect <--iso=install-iso> [--machine-readable]

VBoxManage unattended install <uuid|vmname> <--iso=install-iso> [--user=login] [--password=password] [--password-file=file] [--full-user-name=name] [--key=product-key] [--install-additions] [--no-install-additions] [--additions-iso=add-iso] [--install-txs] [--no-install-txs] [--validation-kit-iso=testing-iso] [--locale=ll_CC] [--country=CC] [--time-zone=tz] [--hostname=fqdn] [--package-selection-adjustment=keyword] [--dry-run] [--auxiliary-base-path=path] [--image-index=number] [--script-template=file] [--post-install-template=file] [--post-install-command=command] [--extra-install-kernel-parameters=params] [--language=lang] [--start-vm=session-type]

Description

unattended detect

VBoxManage unattended detect <--iso=install-iso> [--machine-readable]

Detects the guest operating system (OS) on the specified installation ISO and displays the result. This can be used as input when creating a VM for the ISO to be installed in.

--iso=install-iso: The installation ISO to run the detection on.
--machine-readable: Produce output that is simpler to parse from a script.

unattended install

Reconfigures the specified VM for installation and optionally starts it up.

uuid|vmname: Either the UUID or the name (case sensitive) of a VM.
--iso=install-iso: The installation ISO to run the detection on.
--user=login: The login name. (default: vboxuser)
--password=password: The login password. This is used for the user given by --user as well as the root/administrator user. (default: changeme)
--password-file=file: Alternative to --password for providing the password. Special filename stdin can be used to read the password from standard input.
--full-user-name=name: The full user name. (default: --user)
--key=product-key: The guest OS product key. Not all guest OSes requires this.
--install-additions, --no-install-additions: Whether to install the VirtualBox guest additions. (default: --no-install-addations)
--additions-iso=add-iso: Path to the VirtualBox guest additions ISO. (default: installed/downloaded GAs)
--install-txs, --no-install-txs: Whether to install the test execution service (TXS) from the VirtualBox ValidationKit. This is useful when preparing VMs for testing or similar. (default: --no-install-txs)
--validation-kit-iso=testing-iso: Path to the VirtualBox ValidationKit ISO. This is required if --install-txs is specified.
--locale=ll_CC: The base locale specification for the guest, like en_US, de_CH, or nn_NO. (default: host or en_US)
--country=CC: The two letter country code if it differs from the specified by --location.
--time-zone=tz: The time zone to set up the guest OS with. (default: host time zone or UTC)
--hostname=fqdn: The fully qualified domain name of the guest machine. (default: vmname.myguest.virtualbox.org)
--package-selection-adjustment=keyword: Adjustments to the guest OS packages/components selection. This can be specfied more than once. Currently the only recognized keyword is minimal which triggers a minimal installation for some of the guest OSes.
--dry-run: Do not create any files or make any changes to the VM configuration.
--start-vm=session-type: Start the VM using the front end given by session-type. This is the same as the --type option for the startvm command, but we have add none for indicating that the VM should not be started. (default: none)

Advanced options:

--auxiliary-base-path=path: The path prefix to the media related files generated for the installation. (default: vm-config-dir/Unattended-vm-uuid-)
--image-index=number: Windows installation image index. (default: 1)
--script-template=file: The unattended installation script template. (default: IMachine::OSTypeId dependent)
--post-install-template=file: The post installation script template. (default: IMachine::OSTypeId dependent)
--post-install-command=command: A single command to run after the installation is completed. The exact format and exactly when this is run is guest OS installer dependent.
--extra-install-kernel-parameters=params: List of extra linux kernel parameters to use during the installation. (default: IMachine::OSTypeId dependent)
--language=lang: Specifies the UI language for a Windows installation. The lang is generally on the form {ll}-{CC}. See detectedOSLanguages results from VBoxManage unattended detect. (default: detectedOSLanguages[0])