Copying and pasting from a VirtualBox VM to the host operating system

If you wish to be able to be able to copy text from within a virtual machine (VM) running on VirtualBox to the host operating system (OS) clipboard, e.g., from a Microsoft Windows guest VM to a Linux host, take the following steps:
  1. Shut down the VM
  2. With the VM selected, click on Settings, then General, then select Features. Change the Shared Clipboard setting from Disabled to Bidirectional then click on OK.

    Shared Clipboard - Bidirectional

  3. Start the VM.
  4. In the running VM, click on Devices then select Shared Clipboard . Make sure it is set to Bidirectional.

    Shared Clipboard - Bidirectional

  5. Select Devices then Insert GUest Additions CD image....

    Insert Guest Additions CD image

  6. When you see the "VirtualBox - Question" window with the message "Do you wish to download this disk image file fromt he Internet?", click on Download.

    VirtualBox - Question

  7. If you see a window asking you to confirm the VirtualBox Guest Additions disk image file followed by the URL for the download, e.g., https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.2.6/VBoxGuestAdditions_7.2.6.iso, click on Download.

    VirtualBox Guest Additions confirmation

  8. You should then see a window informing you that the VirtualBox Guest Additions disk image file has been successfully downloaded and saved locally. The download location is ~/.config/VirtualBox/VBoxGuestAdditions_x.y.z where x.y.z is the version of the ISO file, e.g. VBoxGuestAdditions_7.2.6.iso. You will be asked "Do you wish to continue with Guest Additions installation?" Click on Continue.
  9. Open the Windows File Explorer, then navigate to "CD Drive (D:) VirtualBox Guest Additions" in the left pane and with it selected, in the right pane, right-click on VBoxWindowsAdditions and select "Run as administrator". When asked if you wish to allow the program to make changes", click on "Yes".

    VBoxWindowsAdditions

  10. You will then see a "Welcome to the Oracle VirtualBox Guest Additions Setup" window which will inform you "It is recommended that you close all other applications before starting Setup. This will make it possible to update relevant system files without haviging to reboot your computer." Close any applications you are running in the Windows VM and then click on Next.

    VBoxWindowsAdditions Setup

  11. At the next window you can "Choose Install Location". Unless you need to change the location, just click on Next.

    Choose Install Location

  12. The next window is one where you can "Choose Components". You can click on Install to proceed with the default options. The space required is 675.0 KB.

    Choose Components

  13. At the next window you will be informed "Your computer must be restarted in order to complete the installation of Oracle VirtualBox Guest Additions..." and asked "Do you want to reboot now?" You can click on Finish to immediately reboot. Once you have rebooted, you should be able to copy and paste between the host and guest operating systems.

    Reboot now or later

    You should also see the "VirtualBox Guest Additions Service" and "VirtualBox Guest Additions Tray Application" processes running if you bring up the Windows Task Manager.

    Task Manager VirtualBox processes

References:

  1. Guest Additions
    VirtualBox