||<>|| = Introduction = This explains how to share files and folders (directories) between host and guest. (Files are shared over a network, in other words, you access remote files. For virtual machines, the network between host and guest is virtual since they are on the same real machine. But the steps you take are similar to setting up file sharing over real networks.) = Required: Virtualbox Guest Additions = Before sharing folders, you must install '''Guest Additions'''. For instructions on how to do this, see [[VirtualBox/GuestAdditions|Guest Additions]]. = Creating a shared folder = * Create a folder on the Host computer (ubuntu) that you would like to share, for example `~/share` * Boot the Guest operating system in VirtualBox. * Select Devices -> Shared Folders... * Choose the 'Add' button. * Select `~/share` * Optionally select the 'Make permanent' option = Prepare the folder = == Linux == With a shared folder named `share`, as above, the folder can be mounted as the directory `~/host` with the command {{{ sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=$UID,gid=$(id -g) share ~/host }}} == Windows == On the Windows Guest, run {{{ net use x: \\vboxsvr\share }}} Now anything placed in this folder should be visible from the host in the `~/share` folder. = Troubleshooting = This can be done more generically with the following: {{{ sharename="whatever.you.want.to.call.it"; sudo mkdir /mnt/$sharename sudo chmod 777 /mnt/$sharename sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=1000,gid=1000 $sharename /mnt/$sharename ln -s /mnt/$sharename $HOME/Desktop/$sharename }}} For the above command if you get the following error: {{{ mount: unknown filesystem type 'vboxsf' }}} Then just change the vboxsf to vbox'''fs''' If you want to have it mount automatically upon each boot, put the mount command in /etc/rc.local Debian distros (e.g. Ubuntu 10.04 and later) [[http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15868|HOWTO Use Shared Folders]] See Section 4.4 "Folder Sharing" in the VirtualBox documentation. Note: if you want to mount the directory as owned and writable only by root, omit the ` -o uid=1000,gid=1000 ` option to the `mount` command {{{ /sbin/mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: Protocol error }}} The above error could be one of the following. == The name was not valid == Make sure you specified the right name on the bash commands. If the guest machine is expecting "share" (as we did in the Prepare Host section) and you wrote {{{ sharename="donotshare" sudo mkdir /mnt/$sharename sudo chmod 777 /mnt/$sharename sudo mount -t vboxsf -o uid=1000,gid=1000 $sharename /mnt/$sharename ln -s /mnt/$sharename $HOME/Desktop/$sharename }}} it will not work. = Ubuntu 10.04 host = Note: Running on Ubuntu 10.04 host and Mint 14 as virtual system, the system would not accept a ~/share. It complained that it was not an absolute address. I entered /home/jim/share and it worked fine. e. g. * Create a folder on the Host computer (ubuntu) that you would like to share, for example `~/share` * Boot the Guest operating system in VirtualBox. * Select Devices -> Shared Folders... * Choose the 'Add' button. * Select '`/home//share`' for Folder Path * Select 'share' for Folder Name * Optionally select the 'Make permanent' option