VirtualBox is a free virtualization solution from Oracle. Recently, VirtualBox 6.0 was released, which is a major update over VirtualBox 5.2. In this article, I will show you how to install VirtualBox 6.0 on Debian. I will be using Debian 9 Stretch for the demonstration. But the procedures shown here should work on Debian 8, and Debian 10 as well. So, let’s get started.

Enabling Hardware Virtualization:

Before you read any further, please enable VT-x/VT-d/AMD-v from the BIOS of your computer. VT-x/VT-d for Intel processors and AMD-v is for AMD processors. You should be able to find one of these in the BIOS depending on the processor you’re using. Without hardware virtualization enabled, the performance of your virtual machines will be really bad. It is obviously not what you want.

Downloading VirtualBox 6.0:

VirtualBox 6.0 is not available in the official package repository of Debian 8, Debian 9 or Debian 10. But, you can easily download and install it from the official website of VirtualBox.

First, visit the official website of VirtualBox at https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

Now, click on either Debian 8, Debian 9, or Debian 10 link depending on the version of Debian you’re using.

Your browser should prompt you to download the DEB package file. Select Save File and click on OK.

Your download should start. It may take a while to complete.

Installing Required Build Tools for Compiling VirtualBox 6.0 Kernel Modules:

In order to successfully compile the VirtualBox 6.0 kernel module, you have to have the required build tools installed on your Debian machine. Otherwise, VirtualBox 6.0 may not work correctly.

First, update the APT package repository cache with the following command:

$ sudo apt update

Now, install all the required build tools with the following command:

$ sudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to continue.

All the required packages should be downloaded and installed.

All the required build tools are installed at this point.

Installing VirtualBox 6.0:

Now that VirtualBox 6.0 DEB package is downloaded and the system is ready to compile the VirtualBox kernel modules, we can install VirtualBox 6.0 on our Debian machine very easily.

First, navigate to the directory where you downloaded the VirtualBox 6.0 DEB file with the following command:

$ cd ~/Downloads

As you can see, the VirtualBox DEB package file is here.

Now, install VirtualBox 6.0 with the following command:

$ sudo dpkg -i virtualbox-6.0_6.0.0-127566~Debian~stretch_amd64.deb

You may see the following errors.

To fix that and install VirtualBox 6.0, just run the following command:

$ sudo apt -f install

Now, press y and then press <Enter>.

VirtualBox 6.0 should be installed.

Starting VirtualBox 6.0:

Now that VirtualBox 6.0 is installed, you can run it from the Application Menu of your desired desktop environment.

VirtualBox 6.0 has started. This is the dashboard of VirtualBox 6.0. From here you can create and manage virtual machines. You can also configure VirtualBox 6.0.

Downloading VirtualBox Extension Pack:

VirtualBox Extension Pack adds features such as USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 support, RDP, disk encryption etc on top of VirtualBox. I highly recommend you download and install it for a smooth VirtualBox 6.0 experience.

To download VirtualBox Extension Pack, go to the official website of VirtualBox at https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads and navigate to the VirtualBox 6.0.0 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack section. Now, click on All supported platforms as marked in the screenshot below.