How can I start a VM without getting a window?

Question

VirtualBox has a window showing the display of the guest OS. I am connecting to VirtualBox with Remote Desktop, so I don't need VirtualBox to show that window in the host OS.

Of course, I can minimize it, but is there a way to tell VirtualBox not to display that window?

Tarka · Answer 1 · 2016-06-13T20:36:04.437

94

Old question, but an update is in order:

As of VirtualBox 4.2, you can start a headless machine from the GUI by holding Shift while you click the Start button.

Horribly unintuitive, but that, and other new features, are outlined in an Oracle blog post.

EDIT: As of VirtualBox 5.0, there's a dropdown on the Start button that allows you to choose how to start the VM, including in headless mode.

edited Jun 13 '16 at 20:36

answered Jan 07 '13 at 00:31

Tarka

1,585
1
11
11

4

How to open the window after I start a headless machine ? – wener Apr 10 '14 at 01:21
3

In VirtualBox 5.0, there is a drop down arrow next to the start button. Using that, you can select between a normal, headless, or detachable start. – Bastian35022 Nov 13 '15 at 08:50

score 55 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 19 '09 at 03:09

First, make sure that the Virtual Box binaries are in your path. This is done by default on Linux, but in Windows, you might have to manually add the installation directory's bin folder to your path.

Then, you need to know either your Guest OS name or UUID number. You can find both of these by typing

VBoxManage list vms

into a terminal. From there, simply type

VBoxHeadless -s <Guest-OS-Name>

or

VBoxHeadless -s <UUID>

This launches the VM without attaching its display to a window. Now all you have to do is set this command as a boot-time service that runs in the background, and you'll be set.

Is there a way to add this as a parameter (or something) to the machines settings? — MrGlass, Aug 15 '12 at 16:30

score 19 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 15 '12 at 19:09

19

You can tell VirtualBox to start the VM in headless mode, not using the gui start button - but its the same.

VBoxManage startvm <guest-os-name> --type headless

answered Aug 15 '12 at 19:09

Evgeny Zislis

923

That works excellent for windows. – antitoxic Apr 03 '13 at 19:17
1

Yes really good for windows! Launching from a startup script doesn't leave you with a command prompt window open. – Soth Aug 08 '14 at 02:31
1

That solution is IMO better than the accepted one because it starts new VirtualBox instance in a background service process that better suits my needs. – ForNeVeR Jan 10 '15 at 06:42

How can I start a VM without getting a window?

3 Answers3

Linked