# VirtualBox/virtualbox

Source code for Oracle VirtualBox

Repository: https://github.com/VirtualBox/virtualbox
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/virtualbox
Homepage: https://www.virtualbox.org/
Language: C
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: emulation, networking, virtual-machine, virtualbox, virtualization, vm
Last push: 2026-08-25T11:42:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 63/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 33
- inputs: {"age_days": 474, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1366, forks 202 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:31.308234+00:00)

## What it is
Oracle VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualization (hypervisor) application for x86_64 hardware, with Arm support on macOS and Windows in recent versions. It provides a user-friendly GUI and CLI (VBoxManage) for running multiple guest operating systems simultaneously on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Solaris hosts.

## Use cases
- run multiple operating systems simultaneously on one machine
- test software on different OSes without dedicated hardware
- set up a virtual machine lab for learning or development
- create isolated sandbox environments for untrusted software
- run a Linux VM on a Windows or macOS desktop
- snapshot and restore VM states for reproducible testing

## When to choose
- you need a free, general-purpose desktop hypervisor with a friendly GUI
- you want flexible virtual networking options (NAT, host-only, bridged)
- you need cross-platform VMs across Linux, Windows, and macOS hosts
- you want snapshot, cloning, and OVF import/export support

## When to avoid
- you need high-density production server virtualization (use KVM, ESXi, or Proxmox)
- you require bare-metal performance or nested virtualization at scale
- you need container-based workloads rather than full OS virtualization
- you need a headless-only, API-driven cloud hypervisor

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: simulation, networking, gui, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems, cross-platform
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: virtualization, virtual-machine, hypervisor, emulation, vm, oracle, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- VirtualBox/virtualbox (main) score 63

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:31.308234+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:41:10.999947+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/VirtualBox/virtualbox (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:31.308234+00:00, sha a5d19448e6ce)
  - homepage: https://www.virtualbox.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:58:21.243504+00:00, sha 9f8877ac542d)
  - site_page: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Documentation (fetched 2026-08-29T11:58:21.247271+00:00, sha f7795ebd84a4)
  - site_page: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-7.2 (fetched 2026-08-29T11:58:21.249120+00:00, sha 11725dfcba1c)
  - site_page: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-7.1 (fetched 2026-08-29T11:58:21.251413+00:00, sha d8249d21d976)
  - site_page: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-7.0 (fetched 2026-08-29T11:58:21.253800+00:00, sha 607e4ddbaa7f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.