How to Install VirtualBox on Debian 9

Install VirtualBox on Debian 9

VirtualBox is a free open source virtualization software allows you to run multiple operating systems. VirtualBox is also a cross-platform software which is available for Linux, Windows, and MacOS etc. operating systems. The Best way to installation the latest VirtualBox version is through Oracle repositories. In this tutorial, you are going to learn how to install VirtualBox on Debian 9.

Prerequisites

Before you start to install VirtualBox on Debian 9. You must have the credentials of user with sudo privileges.

Install VirtualBox from Oracle Repositories

Here in this method, we will install VirtualBox from Oracle Repositories. At the time of writing this tutorial, the current latest version available is 6.0.4. You can also check the latest version visiting VirtualBox download page.

First, Install software-properties-common package which is required for add-apt-repository command execution by typing following command in terminal:

sudo apt install software-properties-common

Now import GPG keys of VirtualBox Repositories provided by Oracle using following wget commands. On successfully importing GPG key you will see OK as output:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

After importing GPG key add VirtualBox repository using add-apt-repository command:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib"

Update the apt package manager index by typing:

sudo apt update

Now install VirtualBox typing following command:

sudo apt install virtualbox-6.0

Install VirtualBox Extension Pack

To get some additional features you should install VirtualBox Extension Pack. It provides features like support for images encryption, virtual USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices etc. To download Extension pack run below command:

wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.0.4/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.4.vbox-extpack

After the download completes, import the extension package using VBoxManage command typing:

sudo VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.4.vbox-extpack

It will ask you the following question:

Do you agree to these license terms and conditions (y/n)?

Enter ‘y’ to continue, after completing import you will see the following output:

0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Successfully installed "Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack".

Start VirtualBox

You can start VirtualBox in two ways first from command line typing virtualbox and by visiting Applications -> System -> Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Conclusion

You have successfully learned how to install VirtualBox on Debian 9. If you have any queries please don’t forget to comment below.