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layout	page_title	description
docs	VirtualBox Builder (from an OVF/OVA)	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).

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",
  "ssh_wait_timeout": "30s",
  "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.
ssh_username (string) - The username to use to SSH into the machine once the OS is installed.

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.
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.
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.
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 (integer) - 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.
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.
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.
ssh_host_port_min and ssh_host_port_max (integer) - 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 (bool) - 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
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.
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.

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.

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