vboxmanage-controlvm
Control running VirtualBox virtual machines
TLDR
Pause VM
$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] pause
Resume VM$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] resume
Reset VM$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] reset
Power off VM$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] poweroff
Save state$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] savestate
Send ACPI shutdown signal (graceful)$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] acpipowerbutton
Take screenshot$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] screenshotpng [file.png]
Set shared clipboard mode$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] clipboard mode bidirectional
Connect/disconnect network cable$ vboxmanage controlvm [vmname] setlinkstate1 [on|off]
SYNOPSIS
vboxmanage controlvm vmname command [options]
DESCRIPTION
vboxmanage controlvm controls running virtual machines. Manage VM state, send input, modify settings on running VMs. Central command for VM runtime control.
PARAMETERS
pause
Suspend VM execution.resume
Resume paused VM.reset
Hard reset VM.poweroff
Force power off.savestate
Save and stop VM.acpipowerbutton
Send ACPI shutdown.screenshotpng file
Capture screen.setvideomodehint w h bpp
Set video mode.clipboard mode disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional
Set shared clipboard mode.setlinkstateN on|off
Connect or disconnect virtual network cable N.nicN null|nat|bridged|intnet|hostonly
Change the type of network adapter N.nicpromiscN deny|allow-vms|allow-all
Set promiscuous mode for network adapter N.draganddrop disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost|bidirectional
Set drag and drop mode.
CAVEATS
The poweroff and reset commands are equivalent to pulling the power cord — use acpipowerbutton for graceful shutdown. The VM must be in a running state for most commands. Network-related changes (nic, setlinkstate) take effect immediately on the running VM.
SEE ALSO
vboxmanage(1), vboxmanage-startvm(1), vboxmanage-modifyvm(1), vboxmanage-showvminfo(1)