Shared folders help you to access files placed in your host system from a guest system. It is similar to network sharing, except that the shared folders do not need a network. They must physically reside on the host and are then to be shared with the guest. A special file system driver gets installed while installing the add-on. Shared folders are implemented as network redirectors in the case of a Windows guest, and for Linux and Solaris guest VMs, Guest Additions provide a virtual filesystem.
To share a folder with a guest VM in VirtualBox, you must specify the path of that folder and choose for it a "share name”that the guest can use to access it. Hence, first create the shared folder on the host, then in the guest connect to the host.
The ways by which shared folders can be configured are as follows:
- If the guest VM is running, select Shared Folders from the Devices menu, or click on the folder icon on the status bar in the bottom right-hand corner
- If the guest VM is not running, go to the Settings tab of the VM to configure the shared folder
- You can use the
VBoxManagecommand to create the shared folder