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This VirtualBox Packer builder is able to create VirtualBox virtual machines and export them in the OVF format, starting from an existing OVF/OVA (exported virtual machine image). docs VirtualBox OVF/OVA - Builders docs-builders-virtualbox-ovf

VirtualBox Builder (from an OVF/OVA)

Type: virtualbox-ovf

This VirtualBox Packer builder is able to create VirtualBox virtual machines and export them in the OVF format, starting from an existing OVF/OVA (exported virtual machine image).

When exporting from VirtualBox make sure to choose OVF Version 2, since Version 1 is not compatible and will generate errors like this:

==> virtualbox-ovf: Progress state: VBOX_E_FILE_ERROR
==> virtualbox-ovf: VBoxManage: error: Appliance read failed
==> virtualbox-ovf: VBoxManage: error: Error reading "source.ova": element "Section" has no "type" attribute, line 21
==> virtualbox-ovf: VBoxManage: error: Details: code VBOX_E_FILE_ERROR (0x80bb0004), component Appliance, interface IAppliance
==> virtualbox-ovf: VBoxManage: error: Context: "int handleImportAppliance(HandlerArg*)" at line 304 of file VBoxManageAppliance.cpp

The builder builds a virtual machine by importing an existing OVF or OVA file. It then boots this image, runs provisioners on this new VM, and exports that VM to create the image. The imported machine is deleted prior to finishing the build.

Basic Example

Here is a basic example. This example is functional if you have an OVF matching the settings here.

{
  "type": "virtualbox-ovf",
  "source_path": "source.ovf",
  "ssh_username": "packer",
  "ssh_password": "packer",
  "shutdown_command": "echo 'packer' | sudo -S shutdown -P now"
}

It is important to add a shutdown_command. By default Packer halts the virtual machine and the file system may not be sync'd. Thus, changes made in a provisioner might not be saved.

Configuration Reference

There are many configuration options available for the VirtualBox builder. They are organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within each category, the available options are alphabetized and described.

In addition to the options listed here, a communicator can be configured for this builder.

Required:

  • source_path (string) - The path to an OVF or OVA file that acts as the source of this build. It can also be a URL.

Optional:

  • boot_command (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type when the virtual machine is first booted. The goal of these commands should be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the boot command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will start itself.

  • boot_wait (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual machine before typing the boot_command. The value of this should be a duration. Examples are "5s" and "1m30s" which will cause Packer to wait five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't specified, the default is 10 seconds.

  • checksum (string) - The checksum for the OVA file. The type of the checksum is specified with checksum_type, documented below.

  • checksum_type (string) - The type of the checksum specified in checksum. Valid values are "none", "md5", "sha1", "sha256", or "sha512". Although the checksum will not be verified when checksum_type is set to "none", this is not recommended since OVA files can be very large and corruption does happen from time to time.

  • export_opts (array of strings) - Additional options to pass to the VBoxManage export. This can be useful for passing product information to include in the resulting appliance file. Packer JSON configuration file example:

    {
  "type": "virtualbox-ovf",
  "export_opts":
  [
    "--manifest",
    "--vsys", "0",
    "--description", "{{user `vm_description`}}",
    "--version", "{{user `vm_version`}}"
  ],
  "format": "ova",
}

    A VirtualBox VM description may contain arbitrary strings; the GUI interprets HTML formatting. However, the JSON format does not allow arbitrary newlines within a value. Add a multi-line description by preparing the string in the shell before the packer call like this (shell > continuation character snipped for easier copy & paste):

    
vm_description='some
multiline
description'

vm_version='0.2.0'

packer build \
    -var "vm_description=${vm_description}" \
    -var "vm_version=${vm_version}"         \
    "packer_conf.json"

  • floppy_files (array of strings) - A list of files to place onto a floppy disk that is attached when the VM is booted. This is most useful for unattended Windows installs, which look for an Autounattend.xml file on removable media. By default, no floppy will be attached. All files listed in this setting get placed into the root directory of the floppy and the floppy is attached as the first floppy device. Currently, no support exists for creating sub-directories on the floppy. Wildcard characters (*, ?, and []) are allowed. Directory names are also allowed, which will add all the files found in the directory to the floppy.

  • floppy_dirs (array of strings) - A list of directories to place onto the floppy disk recursively. This is similar to the floppy_files option except that the directory structure is preserved. This is useful for when your floppy disk includes drivers or if you just want to organize it's contents as a hierarchy. Wildcard characters (*, ?, and []) are allowed.

  • format (string) - Either "ovf" or "ova", this specifies the output format of the exported virtual machine. This defaults to "ovf".

  • guest_additions_mode (string) - The method by which guest additions are made available to the guest for installation. Valid options are "upload", "attach", or "disable". If the mode is "attach" the guest additions ISO will be attached as a CD device to the virtual machine. If the mode is "upload" the guest additions ISO will be uploaded to the path specified by guest_additions_path. The default value is "upload". If "disable" is used, guest additions won't be downloaded, either.

  • guest_additions_path (string) - The path on the guest virtual machine where the VirtualBox guest additions ISO will be uploaded. By default this is "VBoxGuestAdditions.iso" which should upload into the login directory of the user. This is a configuration template where the Version variable is replaced with the VirtualBox version.

  • guest_additions_sha256 (string) - The SHA256 checksum of the guest additions ISO that will be uploaded to the guest VM. By default the checksums will be downloaded from the VirtualBox website, so this only needs to be set if you want to be explicit about the checksum.

  • guest_additions_url (string) - The URL to the guest additions ISO to upload. This can also be a file URL if the ISO is at a local path. By default the VirtualBox builder will go and download the proper guest additions ISO from the internet.

  • headless (boolean) - Packer defaults to building VirtualBox virtual machines by launching a GUI that shows the console of the machine being built. When this value is set to true, the machine will start without a console.

  • http_directory (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an HTTP server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that will be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting kickstart files and so on. By default this is "", which means no HTTP server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will be available as variables in boot_command. This is covered in more detail below.

  • http_port_min and http_port_max (number) - These are the minimum and maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the http_directory. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want to force the HTTP server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum port the same. By default the values are 8000 and 9000, respectively.

  • import_flags (array of strings) - Additional flags to pass to VBoxManage import. This can be used to add additional command-line flags such as --eula-accept to accept a EULA in the OVF.

  • import_opts (string) - Additional options to pass to the VBoxManage import. This can be useful for passing "keepallmacs" or "keepnatmacs" options for existing ovf images.

  • keep_registered (boolean) - Set this to true if you would like to keep the VM registered with virtualbox. Defaults to false.

  • output_directory (string) - This is the path to the directory where the resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute. If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when packer is executed. This directory must not exist or be empty prior to running the builder. By default this is "output-BUILDNAME" where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build.

  • post_shutdown_delay (string) - The amount of time to wait after shutting down the virtual machine. If you get the error Error removing floppy controller, you might need to set this to 5m or so. By default, the delay is 0s, or disabled.

  • shutdown_command (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down the machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine unless a shutdown command takes place inside script so this may safely be omitted. If one or more scripts require a reboot it is suggested to leave this blank since reboots may fail and specify the final shutdown command in your last script.

  • shutdown_timeout (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing the shutdown_command for the virtual machine to actually shut down. If it doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout is "5m", or five minutes.

  • skip_export (boolean) - Defaults to false. When enabled, Packer will not export the VM. Useful if the build output is not the resultant image, but created inside the VM.

  • ssh_host_port_min and ssh_host_port_max (number) - The minimum and maximum port to use for the SSH port on the host machine which is forwarded to the SSH port on the guest machine. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to use as the host port.

  • ssh_skip_nat_mapping (boolean) - Defaults to false. When enabled, Packer does not setup forwarded port mapping for SSH requests and uses ssh_port on the host to communicate to the virtual machine

  • target_path (string) - The path where the OVA should be saved after download. By default, it will go in the packer cache, with a hash of the original filename as its name.

  • vboxmanage (array of array of strings) - Custom VBoxManage commands to execute in order to further customize the virtual machine being created. The value of this is an array of commands to execute. The commands are executed in the order defined in the template. For each command, the command is defined itself as an array of strings, where each string represents a single argument on the command-line to VBoxManage (but excluding VBoxManage itself). Each arg is treated as a configuration template, where the Name variable is replaced with the VM name. More details on how to use VBoxManage are below.

  • vboxmanage_post (array of array of strings) - Identical to vboxmanage, except that it is run after the virtual machine is shutdown, and before the virtual machine is exported.

  • virtualbox_version_file (string) - The path within the virtual machine to upload a file that contains the VirtualBox version that was used to create the machine. This information can be useful for provisioning. By default this is ".vbox_version", which will generally be upload it into the home directory. Set to an empty string to skip uploading this file, which can be useful when using the none communicator.

  • vm_name (string) - This is the name of the virtual machine when it is imported as well as the name of the OVF file when the virtual machine is exported. By default this is "packer-BUILDNAME", where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build.

  • vrdp_bind_address (string / IP address) - The IP address that should be binded to for VRDP. By default packer will use 127.0.0.1 for this.

  • vrdp_port_min and vrdp_port_max (number) - The minimum and maximum port to use for VRDP access to the virtual machine. Packer uses a randomly chosen port in this range that appears available. By default this is 5900 to 6000. The minimum and maximum ports are inclusive.

Boot Command

The boot_command configuration is very important: it specifies the keys to type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the OS installer. This command is typed after boot_wait.

As documented above, the boot_command is an array of strings. The strings are all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability within the template.

The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection to the machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard. There are a set of special keys available. If these are in your boot command, they will be replaced by the proper key:

  • <bs> - Backspace

  • <del> - Delete

  • <enter> and <return> - Simulates an actual "enter" or "return" keypress.

  • <esc> - Simulates pressing the escape key.

  • <tab> - Simulates pressing the tab key.

  • <f1> - <f12> - Simulates pressing a function key.

  • <up> <down> <left> <right> - Simulates pressing an arrow key.

  • <spacebar> - Simulates pressing the spacebar.

  • <insert> - Simulates pressing the insert key.

  • <home> <end> - Simulates pressing the home and end keys.

  • <pageUp> <pageDown> - Simulates pressing the page up and page down keys.

  • <leftAlt> <rightAlt> - Simulates pressing the alt key.

  • <leftCtrl> <rightCtrl> - Simulates pressing the ctrl key.

  • <leftShift> <rightShift> - Simulates pressing the shift key.

  • <leftAltOn> <rightAltOn> - Simulates pressing and holding the alt key.

  • <leftCtrlOn> <rightCtrlOn> - Simulates pressing and holding the ctrl key.

  • <leftShiftOn> <rightShiftOn> - Simulates pressing and holding the shift key.

  • <leftAltOff> <rightAltOff> - Simulates releasing a held alt key.

  • <leftCtrlOff> <rightCtrlOff> - Simulates releasing a held ctrl key.

  • <leftShiftOff> <rightShiftOff> - Simulates releasing a held shift key.

  • <wait> <wait5> <wait10> - Adds a 1, 5 or 10 second pause before sending any additional keys. This is useful if you have to generally wait for the UI to update before typing more.

In addition to the special keys, each command to type is treated as a template engine. The available variables are:

  • HTTPIP and HTTPPort - The IP and port, respectively of an HTTP server that is started serving the directory specified by the http_directory configuration parameter. If http_directory isn't specified, these will be blank!

Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start an Ubuntu 12.04 installer:

[
  "<esc><esc><enter><wait>",
  "/install/vmlinuz noapic ",
  "preseed/url=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/preseed.cfg ",
  "debian-installer=en_US auto locale=en_US kbd-chooser/method=us ",
  "hostname={{ .Name }} ",
  "fb=false debconf/frontend=noninteractive ",
  "keyboard-configuration/modelcode=SKIP keyboard-configuration/layout=USA ",
  "keyboard-configuration/variant=USA console-setup/ask_detect=false ",
  "initrd=/install/initrd.gz -- <enter>"
]

For more examples of various boot commands, see the sample projects from our community templates page.

Guest Additions

Packer will automatically download the proper guest additions for the version of VirtualBox that is running and upload those guest additions into the virtual machine so that provisioners can easily install them.

Packer downloads the guest additions from the official VirtualBox website, and verifies the file with the official checksums released by VirtualBox.

After the virtual machine is up and the operating system is installed, Packer uploads the guest additions into the virtual machine. The path where they are uploaded is controllable by guest_additions_path, and defaults to "VBoxGuestAdditions.iso". Without an absolute path, it is uploaded to the home directory of the SSH user.

VBoxManage Commands

In order to perform extra customization of the virtual machine, a template can define extra calls to VBoxManage to perform. VBoxManage is the command-line interface to VirtualBox where you can completely control VirtualBox. It can be used to do things such as set RAM, CPUs, etc.

Extra VBoxManage commands are defined in the template in the vboxmanage section. An example is shown below that sets the memory and number of CPUs within the virtual machine:

{
  "vboxmanage": [
    ["modifyvm", "{{.Name}}", "--memory", "1024"],
    ["modifyvm", "{{.Name}}", "--cpus", "2"]
  ]
}

The value of vboxmanage is an array of commands to execute. These commands are executed in the order defined. So in the above example, the memory will be set followed by the CPUs.

Each command itself is an array of strings, where each string is an argument to VBoxManage. Each argument is treated as a configuration template. The only available variable is Name which is replaced with the unique name of the VM, which is required for many VBoxManage calls.