VirtualBox AutoStart

This article has been expanded to cover not just macOS but Linux (Specifically Ubuntu Tested) as well.

Note

Some steps are the same for both macOS and Linux, but there are a couple that deviate.

AutoStart Systems

This first step is requried for both Linux and macOS, but is different in how you get to step two.

Linux

You should have a default file inside of /etc/default for virtualbox.

sudo nano /etc/default/virtualbox

If this is your first time editing this file, it should be blank. This file is sourced by any number of VirtualBox’s autostart files/scripts/etc. that the program utilizes at any one time.

Then you will insert:

VBOXAUTOSTART_DB=/etc/vbox
VBOXAUTOSTART_CONFIG=/etc/vbox/autostart.cfg

VBOXAUTOSTART_DB which contains an absolute path to the autostart database directory
VBOXAUTOSTART_CONFIG which contains the location of the autostart config settings.

Next, jump to Linux Autostart

macOS

First, we need to copy - or rather, link - over the VirtualBox-provided default .plist file - aka: what macOS uses as their “services” files. Or, in comparison, like Linux’s /etc/init.d/ files or the like.

This how-to was lightly copied over from ReidRansom’s Gist.

Linking The .plist

sudo ln -s  \
  "/Application/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/org.virtualbox.vboxautostart.plist" \
  /Library/LaunchDaemons/

There is another directory that has similar files - /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/LaunchDaemons/ - but those don’t seem to like to work properly… So, we’re ignoring those.

Note

In case you aren’t sure, the extra - - is how you tell the linux command line “Don’t run this code yet, even though I am pressing enter or return!”. Its basically a newline-signifier. You’ll notice it way way more often in how-to’s, where it is an attempt to break up the code so its easier to see, visually, for you.

Edit The .plist

And next we make our edits to /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.virtualbox.vboxautostart.plist

The default option Disabled is set to true, so even if launchctl loads it mistakenly, it wont work. So, therefore, that needs to be changed to false to activate it.

Set Disabled to false
Adding KeepAlive and <true/>
Adding <string>--start</string> after the .sh line
Set RunAtLoad to true
Set LaunchOnlyOnce to true - which this one is probably the 2nd most self-explanatory line.

My personal .plist file looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>

  <key>Disabled</key>
  <false/>
  <key>KeepAlive</key>
  <true/>
  <key>Label</key>
  <string>org.virtualbox.vboxautostart</string>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxAutostartDarwin.sh</string>
    <string>--start</string>
    <string>/usr/local/etc/vbox/autostart.cfg</string>
  </array>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key>
  <true/>
  <key>LaunchOnlyOnce</key>
  <true/>

</dict>
</plist>

Next, jump to macOS Autostart

AutoStart.cfg File

The final file will look roughly the same for both Ubuntu and macOS systems, but where to place the file is different for both.

Linux Autostart

As we referenced above inside of your /etc/default/virtualbox file, we need a corresponding /etc/vbox/autostart.cfg file now, as well as a directory at /etc/vbox

If /etc/vbox is not created:

sudo mkdir /etc/vbox

And then:

sudo nano /etc/vbox/autostart.cfg

Now, the autostart.cfg file that we are creating here is specifically geared towards managing user permissions in relation to if the VirtualMachines will autostart upon that specific user logging into the system. So, if you have more than one user, and they don’t use VirtualBox, or you don’t WANT them to autostart boxes, you can deny them that access.

VirtualBox states that its best to have a “Deny by Default” setup. Even with just one single user on your machine, its basically a nice, peace of mind that, even if you ever add another user, nothing hanky will occur with VirtualBox.

And, of course, you can also use allow in lieu of deny, if you so choose.

default_policy = deny

berto = {
    allow = true
    startup_delay = 30
}

The startup_delay line is a means of controlling whether your Virtual Machines attempt to start exactly with the system or delayed, in seconds, afterwards. Which, I have it set to a 30 second delay, so it isn’t competing with the rest of the bulk of the startup items.

And, of course, make sure to change berto to the username on your system that the VirtualMachines are running under.

macOS Autostart

Now, different online how-to’s elsewhere often say to make a directory within your /etc directory. But, if you are a user of Homebrew, you’ll likely know that, often times, the better location for user-used files of most any kind would prefer to reside inside of /usr/local. The reason for this, as the directory names suggest, is more geared towards the users specific files, binaries, configuration files, etc.

Often times, on a mac system, programs that normally on a Linux machine would stick their files within /etc, instead, use the /usr/local/etc location. One reason for this is the more lax permissions set for these locations. Plus, Apple has publicly stated that this directory is more or less hands off from their constant meddling when it comes to updates for the system. Therefore, your files are much more likely to remain untouched by the OS.

Now, the autostart.cfg file that we are creating here is specifically geared towards managing user permissions in relation to if the VirtualMachines will autostart upon that specific user logging into the system. So, if you have more than one user, and they don’t use VirtualBox, or you don’t WANT them to autostart boxes, you can deny them that access.

So, first, create the vbox directory: mkdir /usr/local/etc/vbox

And then:

nano /usr/local/etc/vbox/autostart.cfg

VirtualBox states that its best to have a “Deny by Default” setup. Even with just one single user on your machine, its basically a nice, peace of mind that, even if you ever add another user, nothing hanky will occur with VirtualBox.

And, of course, you can also use allow in lieu of deny, if you so choose.

default_policy = deny

berto = {
    allow = true
    startup_delay = 30
}

The startup_delay line is a means of controlling whether your Virtual Machines attempt to start exactly with the system or delayed, in seconds, afterwards. Which, I have it set to a 30 second delay, so it isn’t competing with the rest of the bulk of the startup items.

And, of course, make sure to change berto to the username on your system that the VirtualMachines are running under.

File Permissions

And now, we need to go through and make sure the different files permissions are set properly.

Linux File Permissions

sudo chgrp vboxusers /etc/vbox
sudo chmod 1775 /etc/vbox

Then, for each username you will be using for the AutoStart:

sudo usermod -aG vboxusers $USER

macOS File Permissions

sudo chmod +x /Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxAutostartDarwin.sh
sudo chown -R root:wheel /usr/local/etc/vbox
sudo chown -R root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.virtualbox.startup.plist

Note

You’ll notice I used the -R flag for the final item, even though it itself is just a file. But, remember, its a linked file, which do not change their permissions on the linked location without the -R flag.

`VBoxManage modifyvm`

Note

This final step is the same for both systems (YAY!)

Now we need to run VBoxManage to change the settings for the VirtualMachines that we want to start at boot.

Which, there is almost a literal ton of settings, commands and options you can set through the command line, of which the large majority of them you’ll never see in the GUI program. Why? I have no clue.

Make sure the guest machine you’re changing settings on is not currently running. Then:

VBoxManage modifyvm "$VM_NAME" --autostop-type acpishutdown
VBoxManage modifyvm "$VM_NAME" --autostart-enabled on

The first line specifies how VirtualBox should try to shut the machines down, if they are still running when the system starts shutting itself down. acpishutdown corresponds to sending the machine a acpipowerbutton shutdown command. Which is to say, the normal means of properly shutting down a machine. You can also select disabled, savestate or poweroff.
The second line is the actual option for telling VirtualBox that “this VirtualMachine we want to autostart.”

And make sure to replace $VM_NAME with your VirtualMachines registered names.

Testing

Finally, we can now test our configs without having to restart our machine.

Note

Before running this, make sure your machines are turned off, so you can watch them turn on.

Linux

sudo service vboxautostart-service start

macOS

sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.virtualbox.startup.plist

At this point, your configured guest VM’s should begin running. You can test what VM’s are running by the command:

VBoxManage list runningvms

VirtualBox AutoStart

AutoStart Systems

Linux

macOS

Linking The .plist

Edit The .plist

AutoStart.cfg File

Linux Autostart

macOS Autostart

File Permissions

Linux File Permissions

macOS File Permissions

VBoxManage modifyvm

Testing

Linux

macOS

`VBoxManage modifyvm`