How to Install VirtualBox on Debian 11 (Bullseye)

As we all know that VirtualBox is a free virtualization tool which allows us to install and run multiple virtual machines of different distributions at the same time. VirtualBox is generally used at desktop level where geeks used to create test environment inside the virtual machines.

Recently Debian 11 (bullseye) is released with latest updates and improved features. In this post, we will cover how to install VirtualBox and its extension pack on Debian 11 system.

Minimum System Requirements for VirtualBox

• Minimal Debian 11 Installation
• Sudo User with admin rights
• Internet Connection

Let’s deep dive into the installation steps of VirtualBox

Step 1) Configure VirtualBox Package Repository

Login to Debian 11 system and open the terminal and run following commands to import repository gpg keys

$ 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 -

Run beneath command to configure Oracle VirtualBox Package repository

$ echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bullseye contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list

Run below Command to update apt repositories index,

$ sudo apt update

Output of above commands would like below,

Step 2) Install VirtualBox 6.1 using apt command

As we have configured virtualbox package repository, so now, we are all set to install virtualbox.

Use below command to check available virtualbox along with its version,

$ sudo apt-cache search virtualbox

In the output, we will see ‘virtualbox-6.1 – Oracle VM VirtualBox’. Run below command to install it,

$ sudo apt install virtualbox-6.1 -y

Output

Step 3) Launch VirtualBox

Once the VirtualBox and its dependencies are installed in step 2, then launch the VirtualBox,

From Activities -> Search virtualbox -> Click on its icon

Above window confirms that VirtualBox is installed and started successfully.

To add additional functionalities to VirtualBox, it is always recommended to install its Extension pack. So in the next step we are going to install the same.

Step 4) Install VirtualBox Extension Pack

Use below command to download Extension pack for VirtualBox 6.1,

$ wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.26/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.26-145957.vbox-extpack

Now install it using following vboxmanage command

$ sudo vboxmanage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.26-145957.vbox-extpack

It will prompt you to agree the License’s terms and conditions, Press ‘y’ to accept it and finish the installation.

To Verify whether extension is installed or not, start the VirtualBox, Go to File –> Preferences –> Extensions

Great, above confirms that extension pack is successfully added to the virtualbox.

That’s all from this post, please do share your queries and feedback in below comments section.