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Update VirtualBox Guest Section #614

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5f5416f
Update VirtualBox guest section
jlenthe Feb 24, 2026
b4b7945
Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into update/virtual-box-guest
jlenthe May 5, 2026
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78 changes: 62 additions & 16 deletions documentation/content/en/books/handbook/virtualization/_index.adoc
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -296,42 +296,85 @@ The virtualization software is available for most common operating systems, incl

The VirtualBox(TM) guest additions provide support for:

* Clipboard sharing.
* Mouse pointer integration.
* Host time synchronization.
* Window scaling.
* Seamless mode.
* Clipboard sharing
* Mouse pointer integration
* Host time synchronization
* Window scaling
* Seamless mode

[[virtualization-virtualbox-vm-setup]]
=== Virtual Machine Setup

The FreeBSD project provides VM images that have FreeBSD pre-installed.
Files in VHD format can be imported into VirtualBox(TM) media manager and used to create a new VM, avoiding the OS installation process.

Alternatively, a FreeBSD ISO image can be used as media for the VM's optical drive and the crossref:bsdinstall[bsdinstall,installation process] performed as normal.

Most VirtualBox(TM) VM defaults are suitable to running FreeBSD.
Memory and CPU resources should be allocated based on the intended workload.
However, consideration should be given to the following values in particular:

* _Hardware Clock in UTC_ - Select this option, if using host time synchronization.
* _Graphics controller_ - Select `VBoxSVGA`, if running X11.
Warnings that `VBoxSVGA` is not the recommended option may be safely ignored.

[[virtualization-virtualbox-guest-additions]]
=== Guest Additions Setup

First, install the package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-72[virtualbox-ose-additions] package that corresponds to the version of VirtualBox(TM) installed on the host machine and whether support for X11 is desired or not, as in the following table.

[cols="1,2,2", options="header"]
|===
|VirtualBox(TM) Version | Guest Additions Package (with X11) |Guest Additions Package (without X11)
| 7.2 | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-72[virtualbox-ose-additions-72] | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-72[virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-72]
| 7.1 | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-71[virtualbox-ose-additions-71] | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-71[virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-71]
| 7.0 | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-70[virtualbox-ose-additions-70] | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-70[virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11-70]
| 6.1 | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions[virtualbox-ose-additions] | package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11[virtualbox-ose-additions-nox11]
|===

Or identify newer versions released after the time of this writing with:

[source,shell]
....
# pkg search virtualbox-ose-additions
....

[NOTE]
====
These commands are run in the FreeBSD guest.
====

First, install the package:emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions[] package or port in the FreeBSD guest.
This will install the port:
As an example, guest additions for VirtualBox(TM) version 7.2 with X11 support are installed with:

[source,shell]
....
# cd /usr/ports/emulators/virtualbox-ose-additions && make install clean
# pkg install virtualbox-ose-additions-72
....

Add these lines to [.filename]#/etc/rc.conf#:
Enable the `vboxguest` and `vboxservice` daemons:

[.programlisting]
[source,shell]
....
vboxguest_enable="YES"
vboxservice_enable="YES"
# sysrc vboxguest_enable="YES"
# sysrc vboxservice_enable="YES"
....

If man:ntpd[8] or man:ntpdate[8] is used, disable host time synchronization:

[.programlisting]
[source,shell]
....
vboxservice_flags="--disable-timesync"
# sysrc vboxservice_flags="--disable-timesync"
....

Xorg will automatically recognize the `vboxvideo` driver.
It can also be manually entered in [.filename]#/etc/X11/xorg.conf#:
Restart the guest system for the changes to take effect.

[[virtualization-virtualbox-x11]]
=== X11 Configuration

When the `VBoxSVGA` graphics controller is selected for the VM, the `vboxvideo` driver from the guest additions package auto-detects the graphics controller when Xorg starts.
Usually no further configuration is needed.

These drivers can also be configured manually, if necessary, in [.filename]#/etc/X11/xorg.conf#:

[.programlisting]
....
Expand All @@ -353,6 +396,9 @@ Section "InputDevice"
EndSection
....

[[virtualization-virtualbox-shared-folders]]
=== Shared Folders

Shared folders for file transfers between host and VM are accessible by mounting them using `mount_vboxvfs`.
A shared folder can be created on the host using the VirtualBox GUI or via `vboxmanage`.
For example, to create a shared folder called _myshare_ under [.filename]#/mnt/bsdboxshare# for the VM named _BSDBox_, run:
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