pyvbox 1.3.1

Installation

To get the latest released version of pyvbox from PyPI run the following:: Simply run the following:

$ pip install pyvbox

or to install the latest development version from GitHub:

$ git clone https://github.com/mjdorma/pyvbox
$ cd pyvbox
$ python setup.py install

Getting Started

Exploring the library:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: virtualbox?

In [3]: virtualbox.VirtualBox?

In [4]: virtualbox.library.IMachine?

In [5]: virtualbox.library.MachineState?

In [6]: virtualbox.library.MachineState.teleported?

Listing machines:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [3]: print("VM(s):\n + %s" % "\n + ".join([vm.name for vm in vbox.machines]))
VM(s):
 + filestore
 + xpsp3
 + win7
 + win8
 + test_vm

Launch machine, take a screen shot, stop machine:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [3]: session = virtualbox.Session()

In [4]: vm = vbox.find_machine('test_vm')

In [5]: progress = vm.launch_vm_process(session, 'gui', '')

In [6]: h, w, _, _, _, _ = session.console.display.get_screen_resolution(0)

In [7]: png = session.console.display.take_screen_shot_to_array(0, h, w, virtualbox.library.BitmapFormat.png)

In [8]: with open('screenshot.png', 'wb') as f:
  ....:     f.write(png)

In [9]: print(session.state)
Locked

In [10]: session.state
Out[10]: SessionState(2)

In [11]: session.state >= 2
Out[11]: True

In [12]: session.console.power_down()

Write text into a window on a running machine:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [3]: vm = vbox.find_machine('test_vm')

In [4]: session = vm.create_session()

In [5]: session.console.keyboard.put_keys("Q: 'You want control?'\nA: 'Yes, but just a tad...'")

Execute a command in the guest:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [3]: vm = vbox.find_machine('test_vm')

In [4]: session = vm.create_session()

In [5]: gs = session.console.guest.create_session('Michael Dorman', 'password')

In [6]: process, stdout, stderr = gs.execute('C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe', ['/C', 'tasklist'])

In [7]: print stdout

Image Name                   PID Session Name     Session#    Mem Usage
========================= ====== ================ ======== ============
System Idle Process            0 Console                 0         28 K
System                         4 Console                 0        236 K
smss.exe                     532 Console                 0        432 K
csrss.exe                    596 Console                 0      3,440 K
winlogon.exe                 620 Console                 0      2,380 K
services.exe                 664 Console                 0      3,780 K
lsass.exe                    676 Console                 0      6,276 K
VBoxService.exe              856 Console                 0      3,972 K
svchost.exe                  900 Console                 0      4,908 K
svchost.exe                 1016 Console                 0      4,264 K
svchost.exe                 1144 Console                 0     18,344 K
svchost.exe                 1268 Console                 0      2,992 K
svchost.exe                 1372 Console                 0      3,948 K
spoolsv.exe                 1468 Console                 0      4,712 K
svchost.exe                 2000 Console                 0      3,856 K
wuauclt.exe                  400 Console                 0      7,176 K
alg.exe                     1092 Console                 0      3,656 K
wscntfy.exe                 1532 Console                 0      2,396 K
explorer.exe                1728 Console                 0     14,796 K
wmiprvse.exe                1832 Console                 0      7,096 K
VBoxTray.exe                1940 Console                 0      3,196 K
ctfmon.exe                  1948 Console                 0      3,292 K
cmd.exe                     1284 Console                 0      2,576 K
tasklist.exe                 124 Console                 0      4,584 K

Using context to manage opened sessions and locks:

> ipython
In [1]: import virtualbox

In [2]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [3]: vm = vbox.find_machine('test_vm')

In [4]: with vm.create_session() as session:
   ...:     with session.console.guest.create_session('Michael Dorman', 'password') as gs:
   ...:         print(gs.directory_exists("C:\\Windows"))
   ...:
True

On an already running VM, register to receive on guest keyboard events:

>ipython
In [1]: from virtualbox import library

In [2]: import virtualbox

In [3]: vbox = virtualbox.VirtualBox()

In [4]: vm = vbox.find_machine('test_vm')

In [5]: s = vm.create_session()

In [6]: def test(a):
   ...:     print(a.scancodes)
   ...:

In [7]: s.console.keyboard.set_on_guest_keyboard(test)
Out[7]: 140448201250560

In [8]: [35]
[23]
[163]
[151]
[57]
[185]
[35]
[24]
[163]
[152]

See gist for more pyvbox examples.

Issues

Source code for pyvbox is hosted on GitHub. Please file bug reports with GitHub’s issues system.

Compatibility

pyvbox utilises the VirtualBox project’s vboxapi to gain access to the underlying COM API primitives. Therefore, pyvbox is compatible on systems which have a running vboxapi.