* [[VirtualBox/Installer|VirtualBox Linux Installer]]
* [[Linux|{{project_name_long}} Linux Installer]]
* [[VirtualBox/Guest_Additions|Guest Additions and Shared Folders]]
* [[VirtualBox/Troubleshooting|VirtualBox Troubleshooting]]
[[File:Virtualbox-installer.png|thumb|200px|VirtualBox Installer Logo]]
{{intro|
The VirtualBox Linux Installer offers a user-friendly method to install VirtualBox on Linux systems.
It supports Debian, Fedora, and their derivatives such as Ubuntu (starting from version: Ubuntu Jammy (22.04) (LTS)), Linux Mint, RedHat, and Kicksecure.
Designed by {{project_name_short}} developers, not Oracle (
VirtualBox Installer for Linux only automates things which could, in principle, be done manually by the user. [[Advanced Users|Advanced users]] will not see many advantages. If you are interested, please click "Learn More" on the right side.
If the user can manage to install VirtualBox according to the instructions of their operating system, following Oracle's instructions on [https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads], using prebuilt packages for their operating system, Oracle's virtualbox.org provided packages, or even compiling VirtualBox from source code, there is little additional benefit to using this installer. The main benefit of the installer is that it resolves many usability issues users might experience during the installation of VirtualBox.
* Skills gap: Following provided instructions requires skills that many laymen users do not possess, such as:
** Finding instructions: Locating the installation instructions.
** Choosing downloads: Knowing what to download (whether to download prebuilt packages directly or add a package repository).
** Dependencies: Understanding the requirements for dependency installations, such as kernel headers (which have different names depending on the distribution).
** TLS prerequisites: Knowing about packages like apt-transport-https and ca-certificates when using Debian and TLS.
** Undocumented dependencies: Installation of undocumented dependencies:
*** Udev: [https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/21804 (udev)]
*** Fedora kernel headers: kernel-devel (Fedora)
*** Fedora DKMS: dkms (Fedora)
** Root file edits: Editing files with root permissions, such as /etc/apt/sources.list.
** Distribution codename: Recognizing the codename of their distribution and replacing deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/oracle-virtualbox-2016.gpg] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian contrib
** Avoiding outdated commands: Avoiding the simple copying and pasting of outdated commands, like sudo apt-get install virtualbox-6.1, and replacing virtualbox-6.1 with virtualbox-7.1
** Repository awareness: Being aware of the existence of Debian backports or fasttrack.
** vboxusers group: Adding a Linux user account to the Linux user group [https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch02.html#install-linux-vboxusersarchive.or vboxusers] (otherwise, using USB devices from VirtualBox VMs will not work).
* VirtualBox packaging gaps: As of September 2023, when Debian 12 ("bookworm") was released as Debian stable, virtualbox.org does not provide packages or instructions on how to install VirtualBox on Debian testing, Debian unstable ("sid"), or Linux Mint.
** Debian unstable: Installing VirtualBox on Debian unstable is relatively straightforward since VirtualBox is available in Debian unstable. However, it is not in the main component but only in the contrib component.
** Debian testing: Installing VirtualBox on Debian testing is not as straightforward. However, it can be done using APT pinning to download only VirtualBox from Debian sid and not install any other packages from sid. Only relatively advanced users are typically aware of APT pinning. The author of this text could not even find third-party instructions on search engines on how to achieve this.
* Unmet dependencies: Users often encounter numerous package manager unmet dependency issues. For a demonstration, try the following search engine query: site:https://unix.stackexchange.com/ virtualbox unmet dependencies
* Debian 12 delay: After Debian 12 ("bookworm") was released as Debian stable, [https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/21524 VirtualBox was unavailable as prebuilt packages] for approximately 6 months. (The ticket was created on Feb 27, 2023, and closed on Aug 16, 2023.)
** Fasttrack gap: Simultaneously, [https://salsa.debian.org/fasttrack-team/support/-/issues/51 Debian did not provide prebuilt packages] for roughly 3 months. However, this installer managed to install VirtualBox during that period. This was achieved by Kicksecure maintainers downloading VirtualBox from Debian testing, uploading it to the Kicksecure (Debian-based) stable repository, and the installer then installed VirtualBox from the Kicksecure repository.
* Prebuilt package failures: Sometimes, prebuilt packages from virtualbox.org fail to install. For reference, see this [https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/21796 VirtualBox on Fedora bug report] which also [https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1050096 affected Debian].
** Installer mitigation: This installer did not face this issue since it prioritizes packages from the user's distribution (like Debian) over prebuilt packages from virtualbox.org.
* Guest additions compatibility: Using distribution packages offers the added advantage of allowing users to install VirtualBox guest additions from the same source. This ensures version compatibility and increases the likelihood that features such as virtual screen size adjustment and seamless VM copy/paste will function as expected.
** Guest additions packaging: [https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/734 VirtualBox Guest Additions Debian Packages are not available from the Oracle Repository]. Oracle provides only an installer, not distribution packages.
* Future work: A VirtualBox guest additions installer is not yet provided by {{project_name_short}} developers, but it might be in the future.
* Debian complexity: Installing VirtualBox on Debian is complex because [[Dev/VirtualBox#VirtualBox_Unavailable_in_Debian_stable_and_backports_due_to_Debian_Stable_Security_Maintenance_Issues|VirtualBox is unavailable from both the Debian stable and backports (repository)]] and [[Dev/VirtualBox#VirtualBox_Unavailable_in_Debian_main_due_to_Licensing_Issues|it is also unavailable from the Debian main (component)]].
** Foreign repositories: It is preferable to avoid adding foreign sources (extra package repositories) from third parties if possible. In the case of Debian and VirtualBox, this is achievable by using Debian's lesser-known fasttrack repository.
* Virtualization checks: The installer verifies if virtualization support is present. If not, it warns the user and displays a clear message, including a link to detailed documentation.
** ([[VirtualBox/Troubleshooting#Enable_VT-x|VT-x issues]]) This approach is more user-friendly than the [[:File:VirtualBox_VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED.png|cryptic error message displayed by VirtualBox]].
* Upstream usability issues: While VirtualBox is nice, it has some usability issues. The author of this wiki page wishes that there was not a need for a VirtualBox installer and hopes these issues will be addressed by Oracle.
** Debian integration: For instance, if Oracle addressed the [[Dev/VirtualBox#VirtualBox_Unavailable_in_Debian_main_due_to_Licensing_Issues|compilation toolchain software freedom issue]] and [https://bugs.debian.org/794466 provided stable security support], then installing VirtualBox would be as simple as installing any other software package from distribution repositories. This would make distributions like Debian more inclined to host VirtualBox in their stable repository (and main component instead of contrib).
* Usability research: As a theoretic alternative would be for users to possess enhanced technical skills, negating the need for assistance. However, in practice, laymen users often struggle even with comparatively simpler tasks. Refer, for instance, to this usability research, [https://www.petsymposium.org/2012/papers/hotpets12-1-usability.pdf "Eliminating Stop-Points in the Installation and Use of Anonymity Systems: a Usability Evaluation of the Tor Browser Bundle"], or to this [https://forums.whonix.org/t/usability-compilation-of-materials/6507 "small usability research compilation"].
* Design rationale: For technical reasons why the installer was implemented the way it has been, see [[Dev/Linux_Installer#Design|Dev/Linux_Installer, Design]].