To install them, you first need to remove your existing VirtualBox installation (but not your virtual machines - they will continue to work with the test build) and then execute the installer. Test builds for Linux hosts are generally packed up in a shell script installer with the extension ".run". Please report development build problems on IRC or the developer mailing list, not on the bug tracker.Ī list of things worth testing for in test builds can be found here: Regression Testing. The builds are usually usable for day-to-day work - we use them ourselves - for people who can deal with occasional surprises. Catching problems at the development stage greatly improves your chances of having them solved before they reach a stable release, and increases your voice in the development process. If you make any sort of mission-critical use of VirtualBox - particularly if you do not have a support contract - you are advised to regularly try out our development branch builds to make sure that everything you depend on still works as you expect. For any mission critical use of VirtualBox we of course always recommend purchasing a support contract.ĭevelopment branch builds (bottom of page) They may contain some features which we plan to include in a future stable release but not necessarily the next. These builds are expected to be almost as stable as released versions, and we accept bug reports against them. If you are experiencing some problem with VirtualBox and want to find out whether it has been fixed before you file a bug report, if you want to help our quality testing, or if you just want a particular fix early, you may wish to try out a test build of the current release series. If in doubt, download the Guest Additions build as well (or instead). The version of the Guest Additions contained in a package is usually one or two revisions older than the package revision.snapshots (and saved states of running machines) taken with more recent branches or development builds are likely not to work with older branches or releases.
(And using development test builds increases the chances of your voice being heard in our development process.)
And if you do not have a support contract, a willingness to use test builds increases your chances of receiving informal support. Regularly installing stable or development test builds and using them in your day-to-day work is one of the best ways you can help us improve the VirtualBox user experience. See below for information about installing Linux packages.
If one of these links does not work at any time feel free to ask us to update it on IRC or the development mailing list. Here we provide you with regularly updated links to recent builds.