This article is here focused to allow users regarding how to install the latest VirtualBox in Debian Linux versions like 9, 10, and 11.
VirtualBox is one of the widely renowned virtualization software that is suitable for all platforms based on AMD64/Intel64, and so on. With the help of this application, home users as well as organizations can easily extend the capabilities of their existing computer, so that they can easily access multiple operating systems. This featured rich and high performance software is actually available free of cost as open source project that comes under the terms of GNU General Public License.
Since the app is available for cross platforms, it can also be used easily on Debian Linux versions. And if you want to access its features too on your Debian system, then here included steps will help you to install the latest version of VirtualBox on your machine. Just follow the instructions as mentioned:
Step 1: Update and Upgrade installed packages
Before installing any new packages on a Linux, it’s good practice update installed packages on system first. In order to do this, login to Debian system using sudo privileges, and run the following commands:
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade
Step 2: Adding Oracle public key and repository
Since the VirtualBox for Linux is offered by Oracle repositories, it’s essential to add Oracle public key in your system that has signed the Debian package. This step is essential to add Oracle’s repository on your machine. You can add the public key with following 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 -
After you have added the keys on your Debian machine, you can now add the Oracle’s repository to install VirtualBox package. Adding the repo requires you to run this command:
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib"
Important Note The specific section $(lsb_release -cs) in the command above is actually used to print the Debian codename like stretch or buster or bullseye. Actually, the command is here made generalized to add the repo in any Debian Linux versions easily. If you end up getting an error message stating add-apt-repository command not found, you need to install software-properties-common package first to fix the error, then run aforementioned command once again.
Step 3: Install the latest VirtualBox package
Since you have successfully added required repository on your machine, now install VirtualBox on Debian system by running this command. Even if you are using an older VirtualBox version on your machine, the command will update it to newer or latest version.
sudo apt update sudo apt install virtualbox-6.1
Important Note If you are not known what latest version is available in current scenario, just run “sudo apt install virtualbox-” and press Tab button on keyboard to see the suggestions regarding available versions. Based on what version you need, you can type its version details completely.
Step 4: Launch the VirtualBox
In order to launch the app, navigate to your applications list on Debian operating system and search for VirtualBox, and click its icon. Alternatively, you can also run the following command to launch the app through command line.
virtualbox
Conclusion
VirtualBox is a free and open source tool allowing users to access various operating systems from a single machine. It easily extends your computer’s capabilities by offering a virtualization platform. In the above steps, we have successfully learned how to install VirtualBox on a Debian Linux machine, and we hope it might helped you. Do share this tutorial with your friends. If you have any question, you can click to Visit Our Discussion Board.
Nishant Verma is a senior web developer who love to share his knowledge about Linux, SysAdmin, and more other web handlers. Currently, he loves to write as content contributor for ServoNode.
