How to Install VirtualBox on Debian 9

VirtualBox is an open source and free virtualization software which allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. It’s also a cross-platform software which is available for Linux, Windows, and MacOS etc. The VirtualBox package is not also available in Debian repositories. So we will install through Oracle repositories. In this tutorial we are going to show you how to install VirtualBox on Debian 9 machine.

Prerequisites#

Before you go ahead with tutorial, Make sure that you are logged in as a non-root user with sudo privileges.

Install VirtualBox from Oracle Repositories#

At the time of writing this article, the latest version of VirtualBox is 6.0.8. You should check the latest version of VirtualBox at VirtualBox Download page.

Perform the below steps to install VirtualBox from the Oracle repositories on your Debian system:

At first, import GPG keys of the Oracle VirtualBox repository to your system using wget commands:

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 -

On successfully importing both commands will show OK as output.

Next, add the VirtualBox repository using the add-apt-repository command as shown below:

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

Note : If you get an error message saying add-apt-repository command not found then you need to install the software-properties-common package.

Once the repository is enabled, you have to update the apt package list by typing:

sudo apt update

At last, install VirtualBox using below command:

sudo apt install virtualbox-6.0

Install VirtualBox Extension Pack#

VirtualBox Extension Pack should install to get several useful features for guest machines. It will provides features such as virtual USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices, images encryption and support for RDP etc. Run the below command to download extension:

wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.0.8/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.8.vbox-extpack

Once the download completed, import the extension pack using the following command:

sudo VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.8.vbox-extpack

It will show you Oracle license and ask to accept their terms and conditions.

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

Press y to continue, Once the installation is completed 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#

Now that VirtualBox is installed on your Debian system and ready to use. You can launch using terminal by typing virtualbox or you can by clicking on VirtualBox icon from (Applications -> System -> Oracle VM VirtualBox).

You will show window as following on start up of VirtualBox.

Conclusion#

You have learned how to install VirtualBox on your Debian 9 system. You also can install your favorite another operating system on guest machine. If you would like to get more details about VirtualBox visit the official VirtualBox documentation page.

If you have any question or suggestion, please leave comment below.