VirtualBox / Export Appliance / Overview
A VirtualBox virtual machine (VM) can be exported at any point to create an "appliance",
which is a self-contained environment that can be used as the starting point for work on the virtual machine.
Exported VMs are saved in a standard format such as an ova file that can be imported to create a new VM instance.
Examples of appliances include:
- "Fresh" ("bare") operating system that is the foundation for additional software installation and configuration.
- Pre-configured environments for development, test, and production software environments. For example, use these appliances to help a development team be efficient.
- Self-contained machines for deployment in production environments. For example, create deployable VMs to install on many desktop computers that need to run a system.
See the following examples of how to export an appliance: