# VBoxManage startvm

VBoxManage-startvm

1

VBoxManage-startvm

start a virtual machine

&product-name;

          VBoxManage startvm
          --putenv=name[=value]
          --type=
              gui
              headless
              sdl
              separate

          --password=file
          --password-id=password-identifier

            uuid
            vmname

## Description

The `VBoxManage startvm` command starts an &product-name; virtual machine (VM) that is in the Powered Off or Saved state.

``uuid` | `vmname``

- Specifies the name or Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) of the VM.

`--putenv=`name`=`value``

- Assigns a value to an environment variable as a name-value pair. For example, VBOX_DISABLE_HOST_DISK_CACHE=1.

  The short form of this option is `-E`.

`--type=gui | headless | sdl | separate`

- Specifies the frontend used to start the VM.

  You can use the `VBoxManage setproperty` command to set a global default value for the frontend. Alternatively, you can use the `VBoxManage modifyvm` command to specify a default frontend value for a specific VM. If neither a global or per-VM default value is set and you do not specify the `--type` option, then the VM opens in a window on the host desktop.

  The `--type` option accepts the following values:

  `gui`

- Starts a VM in a graphical user interface (GUI) window. This is the default.

`headless`

- Starts a VM for remote display only.

`sdl`

- Starts a VM using the VBoxSDL frontend.

`separate`

- Starts a VM with a detachable user interface (UI), which means that the VM runs headless with the UI in a separate process.

`--password`

- Use the `--password` to supply the encryption password. Either specify the absolute pathname of a password file on the host operating system, or `-` to prompt you for the password on the command line.

`--password-id`

- Use the `--password-id` option to specify the id the password is supplied for.

If a VM fails to start with a particular frontend and the error information is inconclusive, consider starting the VM directly by running the frontend. This workaround might provide additional error information.

## Examples

The following command starts the `ol7u6` VM:

    $ VBoxManage startvm ol7u6

The following command starts the `ol7u6-mininstall` VM in headless mode.

    $ VBoxManage startvm ol7u6-mininstall --type headless

## See Also

headless-mode, vboxmanage-setproperty, vboxmanage-modifyvm.