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<refentry id="vboxmanage-import" lang="en">
  <refentryinfo>
    <pubdate>$Date: 2024-09-16 16:03:52 +0200 (Mon, 16 Sep 2024) $</pubdate>
    <title>VBoxManage import</title>
  </refentryinfo>

  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>VBoxManage-import</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>VBoxManage-import</refname>
    <refpurpose>import a virtual appliance in OVF format or from a cloud service and create virtual machines</refpurpose>
    <refclass>&product-name;</refclass>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-import-ovf">
<!-- The 'id' is mandatory and must start with 'synopsis-'. -->
      <command>VBoxManage import</command>
      <group choice="req">
        <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>ovfname</replaceable></arg>
        <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>ovaname</replaceable></arg>
      </group>
      <arg>--dry-run</arg>
      <arg>--options=<group choice="plain">
          <arg choice="plain">keepallmacs</arg>
          <arg choice="plain">keepnatmacs</arg>
          <arg choice="plain">importtovdi</arg>
        </group></arg>
      <arg>--vsys=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--ostype=<replaceable>ostype</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--vmname=<replaceable>name</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--settingsfile=<replaceable>filename</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--basefolder=<replaceable>folder</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--group=<replaceable>group</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--memory=<replaceable>MB</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--cpus=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--description=<replaceable>text</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--eula=<group choice="plain">
          <arg choice="plain">show</arg>
          <arg choice="plain">accept</arg>
        </group></arg>
      <arg>--unit=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--ignore</arg>
      <arg>--scsitype=<group choice="plain">
          <arg choice="plain">BusLogic</arg>
          <arg choice="plain">LsiLogic</arg>
        </group></arg>
      <!-- <arg>&#45;&#45;controller=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg> -->
      <arg>--disk=<replaceable>path</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--controller=<replaceable>index</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--port=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-import-cloud">
<!-- The 'id' is mandatory and must start with 'synopsis-'. -->
      <command>VBoxManage import</command>
      <arg choice="plain">OCI://</arg>
      <arg choice="plain">--cloud</arg>
      <arg>--ostype=<replaceable>ostype</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--vmname=<replaceable>name</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--basefolder=<replaceable>folder</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--memory=<replaceable>MB</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--cpus=<replaceable>n</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--description=<replaceable>text</replaceable></arg>
      <arg choice="req">--cloudprofile=<replaceable>profile</replaceable></arg>
      <arg choice="req">--cloudinstanceid=<replaceable>id</replaceable></arg>
      <arg>--cloudbucket=<replaceable>bucket</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsect1 id="vboxmanage-import-description">
    <title>Description</title>
    <para>
      The <command>VBoxManage import</command> command imports a virtual
      appliance either in OVF format or from a cloud service such as &oci; (OCI).
      The import is performed by copying virtual disk images (by default using
      the VMDK image format) and by creating virtual machines (VMs) in
      &product-name;. See <xref linkend="ovf" />.
    </para>
    <para>
      You must specify the path name of an OVF file or OVA archive to
      use as input, or a placeholder for the cloud case. For OVF appliances
      ensure that any disk images are in the same directory as the OVF file.
    </para>
    <para>
      Note that any options you specify to control the imported virtual
      appliance or to modify the import parameters rely on the contents
      of the OVF file or the information from the cloud service.
    </para>
    <para>
      Before you use the import operation to create the VM, perform a
      dry run to verify the correctness of your configuration. This is more
      useful with an OVF or OVA appliance, because with a cloud service even
      a dry run needs to perform most of the time consuming steps.
    </para>
    <para>
      The import from a cloud service downloads a temporary file containing
      both the boot image and some metadata describing the details of the
      VM instance. The temporary file is deleted after successful import.
    </para>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-import-common-options">
      <title>Common Options</title>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>ovfname</replaceable> | <replaceable>ovaname</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the name of the OVF file or OVA archive that
              describes the appliance. In the cloud case this is usually
              a fixed string such as <literal>OCI://</literal>.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--dry-run</option></term>
          <!-- Does this option really work for cloud import? -->
          <listitem><para>
              Performs a dry run of the <command>VBoxManage
              import</command> command instead of performing the actual
              import operation. A dry run operation does the following:
            </para><itemizedlist>
              <listitem><para>
                  Outputs a description of the appliance's contents
                  based on the specified OVF or OVA file.
                </para></listitem>
              <listitem><para>
                  Shows how the appliance would be imported into
                  &product-name;. In addition, the output shows any
                  options that you can use to change the import
                  behavior.
                </para></listitem>
            </itemizedlist><para>
              The shortened form of this option is <option>-n</option>.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--options=keepallmacs | keepnatmacs | importtovdi</option></term>
          <!-- Does this option really work for cloud import? -->
          <listitem><para>
              Enables you to fine-tune the import operation.
            </para><para>
              Valid arguments are as follows:
            </para><itemizedlist>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>keepallmacs</literal>: Specifies that the MAC
                  addresses of every virtual network card are left
                  unchanged.
                </para></listitem>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>keepnatmacs</literal>: Specifies that the MAC
                  addresses of every virtual network card are left
                  unchanged if the network type is NAT.
                </para></listitem>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>importtovdi</literal>: Specifies that all new
                  disk images are to be created using the VDI file format.
                </para></listitem>
            </itemizedlist></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--ostype=<replaceable>ostype</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the guest operating system (OS) information for
              the VM. Use the <command>VBoxManage list ostypes</command>
              command to view the OS type identifiers.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--vmname=<replaceable>name</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the name for the imported VM to be used by &product-name;.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--basefolder=<replaceable>folder</replaceable></option></term>
          <!-- Does this option really work for cloud import? -->
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the folder where the files of the imported VM
              are stored.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--memory=<replaceable>MB</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the memory size in Megabytes for the imported VM.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--cpus=<replaceable>n</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the number of CPUs for the imported VM.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--description=<replaceable>text</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the description text visible in the GUI and
              CLI when checking the VM details.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>

    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-import-ovf">
      <title>OVF / OVA Import Options</title>
      <para>
        The following options are specific to importing a virtual appliance
        in OVF or OVA format. Such an appliance can contain one or more VMs,
        which requires specifying which VM configuration should be adjusted
        in case you want to change it. See <xref linkend="ovf-import-appliance" />.
      </para>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--vsys=<replaceable>n</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the index selecting a specific VM within the
              appliance. Affects the following options.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--unit=<replaceable>n</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the index selecting a specific unit of a VM
              within the appliance. Affects the following options.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--settingsfile=<replaceable>filename</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the filename (as a relative or absolute path) of
              the VM config file which will be created as part of the
              import. The preferred way to rename the settings file is to
              override the VM name using the <option>--vmname</option> option
              and if necessary specify the folder in which to create the VM with
              <option>--basefolder</option>.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--group=<replaceable>group</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the primary group of the imported VM.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--eula=show | accept</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Enables you to show or accept the license conditions of a
              VM within the appliance,
            </para><para>
              Valid arguments are as follows:
            </para><itemizedlist>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>show</literal>: Shows the EULA of a VM.
                </para></listitem>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>accepts</literal>: Accepts the EULA of a VM.
                  Any VMs in an appliance which have an EULA require
                  accepting it, otherwise the import will fail.
                </para></listitem>
            </itemizedlist></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--ignore</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Ignores the hardware associated with the VM specified with
              the <option>--unit</option> option when importing the VM,
              effectively removing all of its associated hardware.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--scsitype=BusLogic | LsiLogic</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Enables you to select the type of the SCSI controller for
              the current unit of an imported VM.
            </para><para>
              Valid arguments are as follows:
            </para><itemizedlist>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>BusLogic</literal>: Uses the (very old) BusLogic
                  SCSI controller type.
                </para></listitem>
              <listitem><para>
                  <literal>LsiLogic</literal>: Uses the (more modern)
                  LsiLogic SCSI controller type.
                </para></listitem>
            </itemizedlist></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>

    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-import-cloud">
      <title>Cloud Import Options</title>
      <para>
        The following options are specific to importing a VM instance
        from a cloud service provider. It always deals with a single VM.
        See <xref linkend="cloud-import-oci" />.
      </para>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--cloud</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies that the import should be from the cloud.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--cloudprofile=<replaceable>profile</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the cloud profile which is used to connect to the
              cloud service provider. The cloud profile contains your &oci;
              account details, such as your user OCID and the fingerprint
              for your public key. To use a cloud profile, you must have
              the required permissions on &oci;.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--cloudinstanceid=<replaceable>id</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the ID of an existing instance in the cloud.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--cloudbucket=<replaceable>bucket</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the bucket name in which to store the object created
              from the instance. In &oci;, a bucket is a logical container
              for storing objects. By default the first bucket available with
              the cloud profile is used.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1  id="vboxmanage-import-examples">
    <title>Examples</title>
    <remark role="help-scope" condition="GLOBAL"/>
    <para>
      The following example performs the dry run of an OVF import operation
      for a sample appliance that contains a Windows 10 guest:
    </para>
<screen>$ VBoxManage import Windows10.ovf --dry-run
Interpreting Windows10.ovf...
OK.
Virtual system 0:
 0: Suggested OS type: "Windows10_64"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --ostype &lt;type&gt;"; use "list ostypes" to list all)
 1: Suggested VM name "win10-appliance"
    (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/user1/VirtualBox VMs/win10-appliance/win10-appliance.vbox"
    (change with "--vsys 0 --settingsfile &lt;filename&gt;")
 4: Suggested VM base folder "/home/user1/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: 2048 MB (change with "--vsys 0 --memory &lt;MB&gt;")
 8: Sound card (appliance expects "ensoniq1371", can change on import)
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 8 --ignore")
 9: USB controller
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 9 --ignore")
10: Network adapter: orig bridged, config 2, extra type=bridged
11: Floppy
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 11 --ignore")
12: SCSI controller, type BusLogic
    (change with "--vsys 0 --unit 12 --scsitype {BusLogic|LsiLogic}";
    disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 12 --ignore")
13: IDE controller, type PIIX4
    (disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 13 --ignore")
14: Hard disk image: source image=Windows10.vmdk,
      target path=/home/user1/disks/Windows10.vmdk, controller=12;channel=0
    (change target path with "--vsys 0 --unit 14 --disk &lt;path&gt;";
    change controller with "--vsys 0 --unit 14 --controller &lt;index&gt;";
    change controller port with "--vsys 0 --unit 14 --port &lt;n&gt;";
    disable with "--vsys 0 --unit 14 --ignore")</screen>
    <para>
      The dry run output lists and numbers the individual configuration
      items that are described in the <filename>Windows10.ovf</filename>
      file. Some of the items include information about how to disable
      or change the configuration of the item.
    </para>
    <para>
      You can disable many of the items by using the <option>--vsys
      <replaceable>X</replaceable> --unit <replaceable>Y</replaceable>
      --ignore</option> options. <replaceable>X</replaceable> is the
      number of the virtual system. The value is <literal>0</literal>
      unless the appliance includes several virtual system descriptions.
      <replaceable>Y</replaceable> is the configuration item number.
    </para>
    <para>
      Item 1 in the example command output specifies the name of the
      target machine. Items 12 and 13 specify the IDE and SCSI hard disk
      controllers, respectively.
    </para>
    <para>
      Item 14 indicates the hard disk image and the
      <option>--disk</option> option specifies the target path where the
      image will be stored, the <option>--controller</option> option specifies
      which controller the disk will be attached to, and the
      <option>--port</option> option specifies which port on the controller the
      disk will be attached to.  The default values are specified in the OVF file.
    </para>
    <para>
      You can combine several items for the same virtual system by
      specifying the same value for the <option>--vsys</option> option.
      For example use the following command to import a machine as
      described in the OVF, exclude the sound card and USB controller
      and specify that the disk image is stored with a different name.
    </para>
<screen>$ VBoxManage import Windows10.ovf --vsys 0 --unit 8 --ignore \
  --unit 9 --ignore --unit 14 --disk Windows10_disk0.vmdk</screen>
    <para>
      The following example illustrates how to import a VM from &oci;. To find
      the &oci; VM instances and its ID you can list all available instances
      with:
    </para>
<screen>$ VBoxManage cloud --provider=OCI --profile=<replaceable>cloud-profile-name</replaceable> list instances</screen>
    <para>
      Once you know the ID the following command imports the instance from
      &oci;:
    </para>
<screen>$ VBoxManage import OCI:// --cloud --vmname OCI_FreeBSD_VM --memory 4000 \
  --cpus 3 --ostype FreeBSD_64 --cloudprofile "standard user" \
  --cloudinstanceid ocid1.instance.oc1.iad.abuwc... --cloudbucket myBucket</screen>
  </refsect1>
</refentry>