path: root/doc/manual/en_US/man_VBoxManage-snapshot.xml

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<refentry id="vboxmanage-snapshot" lang="en">
  <refentryinfo>
    <pubdate>$Date: 2023-01-17 15:15:46 +0100 (Tue, 17 Jan 2023) $</pubdate>
    <title>VBoxManage snapshot</title>
  </refentryinfo>

  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>VBoxManage-snapshot</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>VBoxManage-snapshot</refname>
    <refpurpose>manage virtual machine snapshots</refpurpose>
    <refclass>&product-name;</refclass>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot">
<!-- The 'id' is mandatory and must start with 'synopsis-'. -->
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-take">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">take</arg>

      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></arg>

      <arg>--description=<replaceable>description</replaceable></arg>

      <arg>--live</arg>

      <arg>--uniquename Number,Timestamp,Space,Force</arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-delete">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">delete</arg>

      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-restore">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">restore</arg>

      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-restorecurrent">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">restorecurrent</arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-edit">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">edit</arg>

      <group choice="req">
        <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></arg>
        <arg choice="plain">--current</arg>
      </group>

      <arg>--description=<replaceable>description</replaceable></arg>

      <arg>--name=<replaceable>new-name</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-list">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">list</arg>

      <group><arg>--details</arg><arg>--machinereadable</arg></group>
    </cmdsynopsis>

    <cmdsynopsis id="synopsis-vboxmanage-snapshot-showvminfo">
      <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></arg>

      <arg choice="plain">showvminfo</arg>

      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>
    <para>
      The <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command> command manages
      snapshots.
    </para>
    <para>
      &product-name; uses the snapshot to capture the state of a virtual
      machine (VM). You can later use the snapshot to revert to the
      state described by the snapshot.
    </para>
    <para>
      A snapshot is a complete copy of a VM's settings. If you take the
      snapshot while the VM is running, the snapshot also includes the
      VM's state file.
    </para>
    <para>
      After you take a snapshot, &product-name; creates a
      <emphasis>differencing hard disk</emphasis> for each normal hard
      disk that is associated with the host machine. When you restore a
      snapshot, &product-name; uses these differencing files to quickly
      reset the contents of the VM's virtual hard disks.
    </para>
    <para>
      For each <command>VBoxManage snapshot</command> command, you must
      specify the name or the universal unique identifier (UUID) of the
      VM for which you want to take a snapshot.
    </para>
    <refsect2>
      <title>General Command Operand</title>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>uuid|vmname</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the UUID or name of the VM.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-take">
      <title>Take a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot take</command> command takes a
        snapshot of the current state of the VM. You must supply a name
        for the snapshot and can optionally supply a description. The
        new snapshot is inserted into the snapshots tree as a child of
        the current snapshot and then becomes the new current snapshot.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--description=<replaceable>description</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies a description of the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--live</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies that the VM is not stopped while you create the
              snapshot. This operation is know as live snapshotting.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--uniquename Number,Timestamp,Space,Force</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              TBD.
            </para><remark>
              What does this option do and how is it used?
            </remark></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the name of the snapshot to create.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-delete">
      <title>Delete a Snapshot</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot delete</command> command
        removes the specified snapshot.
      </para>
      <para>
        The delete operation may take some time to finish. This is
        because the differencing images that are associated with the
        snapshot may need to be merged with their child differencing
        images.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the UUID or name of the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-restore">
      <title>Restore a Snapshot</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot restore</command> command
        restores the specified snapshot. This operation resets the VM's
        settings and current state to that of the snapshot. The state of
        the VM on which you restore a snapshot is lost. When restored,
        the specified snapshot becomes the new current snapshot and
        subsequent snapshots are children of that snapshot.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the UUID or name of the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-restorecurrent">
      <title>Restore the Current Snapshot</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot restorecurrent</command>
        command restores the current snapshot. The current snapshot is
        the one from which the current state is derived. This command is
        equivalent to using the <command>VBoxManage snapshot
        restore</command> command and specifying the name or UUID of the
        current snapshot.
      </para>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-edit">
      <title>Change the Name or Description of an Existing Snapshot</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot edit</command> command enables
        you to change the name or the description of a specified
        snapshot.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the UUID or name of the snapshot to edit.
            </para><para>
              This option is mutually exclusive with the
              <option>--current</option> option.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--current</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies that you update the current version of the
              snapshot.
            </para><para>
              This option is mutually exclusive with a specific snapshot
              name or its UUID.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--description=<replaceable>description</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies a new description for the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--name=<replaceable>new-name</replaceable></option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies a new name for the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-list">
      <title>List the Snapshots</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot list</command> command lists
        all the snapshots for a VM.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--details</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies that the output shows detailed information about
              the snapshot.
            </para><para>
              This option is mutually exclusive with the
              <option>--machinereadable</option> option.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><option>--machinereadable</option></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies that the output is shown in a machine-readable
              format.
            </para><para>
              This option is mutually exclusive with the
              <option>--details</option> option.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
    <refsect2 id="vboxmanage-snapshot-showvminfo">
      <title>Show Information About a Snapshot's Settings</title>
      <remark role="help-copy-synopsis"/>
      <para>
        The <command>VBoxManage snapshot showvminfo</command> command
        enables you to view the VM settings that are part of an existing
        snapshot.
      </para>
      <variablelist>
        <varlistentry>
          <term><replaceable>snapshot-name</replaceable></term>
          <listitem><para>
              Specifies the UUID or name of the snapshot.
            </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
    </refsect2>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Examples</title>
    <remark role="help-scope" condition="GLOBAL"/>
    <para>
      The following command creates a snapshot of the
      <computeroutput>ol7u4</computeroutput> VM. The snapshot is called
      <computeroutput>ol7u4-snap-001</computeroutput>. The command uses
      the <option>--description</option> option to provide a description
      of the snapshot contents.
    </para>
<screen>
$ VBoxManage snapshot ol7u4 take ol7u4-snap-001 \
--description="Oracle Linux 7.4"
</screen>
    <para>
      The following command lists the snapshots for the
      <computeroutput>ol7u4</computeroutput> VM.
    </para>
<screen>
$ VBoxManage snapshot ol7u4 list
</screen>
    <para>
      The following command changes the description for the
      <computeroutput>ol7u4-snap-001</computeroutput> snapshot of the
      <computeroutput>ol7u4</computeroutput> VM.
    </para>
<screen>
$ VBoxManage snapshot ol7u4 edit ol7u4-snap-001 \
--description="Oracle Linux 7.4 with UEK4 kernel"
</screen>
    <para>
      The following command shows VM settings for the
      <computeroutput>ol7u1-snap-001</computeroutput> snapshot of the
      <computeroutput>ol7u4</computeroutput> VM.
    </para>
<screen>
$ VBoxManage snapshot ol7u4 showvminfo ol7u4-snap-001
Name:            ol7u4
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Oracle (64-bit)
UUID:            43349d78-2ab3-4cb8-978f-0e755cd98090
Config file:     C:\Users\user1\VirtualBox VMs\ol7u4\ol7u4.vbox
...
Snapshots:

   Name: ol7u4-snap-001 (UUID: 1cffc37d-5c37-4b86-b9c5-a0f157a55f43)
   Description: Oracle Linux 7.4 with UEK4 kernel
</screen>
  </refsect1>
</refentry>