Virtualbox: install guest additions on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8

In this tutorial we will be installing the Virtualbox guest additions on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux. Virtualbox guest additions allows for better screen resolution and mouse integration.

In this tutorial you will learn:* How to install Virtualbox guest additions compilation prerequisites.

How to mount Virtualbox guest additions ISO image.
How to execute Virtualbox guest additions compilation and installation.
How to check Virtualbox guest additions installation.

"Installed Virtualbox guest additions on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux"

Installed Virtualbox guest additions on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux.

Software Requirements and Conventions Used

Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions

Category	Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System	RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 Linux
Software	N/A
Other	Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the `sudo` command.
Conventions	# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of `sudo` command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Virtualbox: install guest additions on RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 step by step instructions

Install all packages required for VirtualBox guest addition compilation. Open the terminal window and execute the following command:

# dnf install tar bzip2 kernel-devel-$(uname -r) kernel-headers perl gcc make elfutils-libelf-devel

Insert Virtualbox guest additions ISO image

NOTEUse the latest Virtualbox Guest addition CD image if possible. The ISO supplied with your VirtualBox may be outdated which might result in compilation errors. I have tested VBoxGuestAdditions version 5.2.23 which worked great so aim for 5.2.23 or higher. Use the following link to download the latest Virtualbox Guest addition ISO image. "Click on the Devices menu and select Insert Guest Additions CD image..." Click on the Devices menu and select Insert Guest Additions CD image...

Compile and install Virtualbox guest additions. Once you insert the Virtualbox Guest addition ISO image the window may pop-up. You can hit the Run button to begin the installation.

"Begin the Virtualbox guest additions installation" Begin the Virtualbox guest additions installation. However, I suggest to start the installation from the command line in order to get more verbose output from the installation process. This way it is easier to troubleshoot any possible issues you encounter. "Mounted Virtualbox guest additions ISO location" Mounted Virtualbox guest additions ISO location. To do so run the following command: $ cd /run/media/`whoami`/VB* Change to the root user and begin installation: $ su # ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run if successful you should see the following output: Installing additional modules ... VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel modules. This may take a while. VirtualBox Guest Additions: Running kernel modules will not be replaced until the system is restarted VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.

Reboot your system to enable the Virtualbox guest additions.
Confirm that Virtualbox guest additions are installed and loaded:

# lsmod | grep vbox