Oracle VM VirtualBox is such a powerful virtualization tool for Desktop users running Linux, Windows and macOS operating system. VirtualBox software is shipped in many different packages whose installation highly depends on your host OS. The Oracle VM VirtualBox has two main components:

• Base package – This consists of all open source components and is licensed under the GNU General Public License V2.
• Extension packs – These are downloaded as additions to extend the functionality of the Oracle VM VirtualBox base package

The extension pack provides the following additional features in Oracle VM VirtualBox platform:

• The virtual USB 3.0 (xHCI) device
• The virtual USB 2.0 (EHCI) device
• VirtualBox Remote Desktop Protocol (VRDP) support
• Intel PXE boot ROM
• Host webcam passthrough
• Disk image encryption with AES algorithm
• Cloud integration features
• Among other features

Any Oracle VM VirtualBox extension package will have a .vbox-extpack file name extension. The installation can be done by simply double-clicking on the package file or by using the VBoxManage command line tool. VBoxManage is the command-line interface to Oracle VM VirtualBox, from where you can perform all VM operations without GUI.

In this brief article we shall look at the installation process of VirtualBox extension pack from the command line using VBoxManage commands. Check if VBoxManage is available on the system:

$ VBoxManage --version
7.1.66r145957

Getting help page:

VBoxManage --help

Download VirtualBox extension pack

The VirtualBox extension pack package can be downloaded from VirtualBox binaries Downloads page. Here is a wget and curl commands for downloading the package.

cd /tmp

## Download using wget ###
wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.1.6/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack

## Download using curl ###
curl -O https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.1.6/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack

Confirm download is successful by checking the file size:

$ file Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack
Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack: gzip compressed data, max compression, from TOPS/20, original size modulo 2^32 42703360

Install VirtualBox extension pack using VBoxManage

With the package downloaded, we can install it with VBoxManage command:

VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack

Agree to the license terms and conditions to proceed with the installation:

10 MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement is the entire agreement between you
and Oracle relating to its subject matter. It supersedes all prior or
contemporaneous oral or written communications, proposals, representations
and warranties and prevails over any conflicting or additional terms
of any quote, order, acknowledgment, or other communication between
the parties relating to its subject matter during the term of this
Agreement. No modification of this Agreement will be binding, unless in
writing and signed by an authorized representative of each party. If any
provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, this Agreement
will remain in effect with the provision omitted, unless omission would
frustrate the intent of the parties, in which case this Agreement will
immediately terminate. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the
State of California, USA, and you and Oracle agree to submit to the
exclusive jurisdiction of, and venue in, the courts of San Francisco
or Santa Clara counties in California in any dispute arising out of or
relating to this Agreement. Upon 45 days written notice, Oracle may
audit your use of the Product to confirm that you are in compliance
with the terms of this Agreement. You agree to cooperate with Oracle's
audit and provide reasonable assistance and access to information. Any
such audit shall not unreasonably interfere with your normal business
operations. You agree to pay within 30 days of written notification
any fees applicable to your unlicensed use of the Product. You agree
that Oracle shall not be responsible for any of your costs incurred in
cooperating with the audit. If a legal action or proceeding is commenced
by either party in connection with the enforcement of this Agreement,
the prevailing party shall be entitled to its costs and attorneys'
fees actually incurred in connection with such action or proceeding.

Do you agree to these license terms and conditions (y/n)? y

Provide sudo user password when prompted to escalate privileges:

Installation of VirtualBox extension pack using VBoxManage should progress.

0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Successfully installed "Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack".

Installation on Windows

Access VirtualBox directory

cd c:\program files\oracle\virtualbox

Use vboxmanage to install VirtualBox extension pack:

vboxmanage extpack install c:\virtualbox\Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.1.6.vbox-extpack

List installed extension packs:

$ VBoxManage list extpacks
Extension Packs: 1
Pack no. 0:   Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
Version:      7.1.6
Revision:     148432
Edition:
Description:  Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integration, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 Host Controller, Host Webcam, VirtualBox RDP, PXE ROM, Disk Encryption, NVMe.
VRDE Module:  VBoxVRDP
Usable:       true
Why unusable:

For a detailed article on the usage of VBoxManage, refer to the the content in the following link;

• How To Install VirtualBox 7.1 on Rocky / AlmaLinux 8
• Using Vagrant with VirtualBox and KVM on Debian 12
• Install VirtualBox 7 and Extensions Pack on Debian 12 (Bookworm)