GNOME Boxes as a Linux alternative to VMware Player
Updated
Our verdict
GNOME Boxes is a reasonable replacement for casual users who value simplicity over control. It handles basic VM creation, running, and snapshotting well via QEMU. However, it lacks the advanced configuration options found in VMware Player, such as detailed network settings or granular USB device mapping. If you just need to test an OS or run a lightweight Linux instance, Boxes works fine. For production-like tasks, complex networking, or heavy resource management, you will likely outgrow it quickly and should consider VirtualBox or KVM directly.
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Price
- Free
- Latest version
- 50.0
- Rating
- —
What works the same
- Both allow creating and running virtual machines on Linux.
- Both support common guest operating systems including Windows and Linux.
- Both provide basic snapshot functionality for saving state.
- Both are free to use for personal purposes.
What is different
- GNOME Boxes offers a stripped-down interface with limited manual configuration options.
- VMware Player provides more granular control over hardware resources and network types.
- Boxes relies on libvirt/QEMU, while VMware uses its own proprietary hypervisor.
- VMware Player has more mature support for specific USB device passthrough scenarios.
Opening your VMware Player files
GNOME Boxes does not natively open VMware Player .vmx or .vmdk files directly. You must convert the virtual disk images to a format QEMU understands, such as qcow2, using command-line tools like qemu-img. The configuration file .vmx is not imported; you must recreate the VM settings manually in Boxes.
Switching from VMware Player to GNOME Boxes, step by step
- Export or copy your .vmdk disk file from the VMware Player environment.
- Convert the .vmdk file to qcow2 format using qemu-img convert.
- Launch GNOME Boxes and start a new virtual machine.
- Select the converted qcow2 file as the disk image during setup.
- Adjust CPU and RAM settings to match your original VM.
- Start the VM and install any necessary guest drivers if booting fails.
Key features of GNOME Boxes
- Uses libvirt/QEMU backend
- Simple drag‑and‑drop VM creation
- Automatic guest OS detection
- Snapshot support (basic)
- Remote host access via SSH
- Integration with GNOME Shell
- Supports ISO, disk image, or network install
How to install GNOME Boxes on Linux
sudo apt install gnome-boxessudo apt install gnome-boxessudo dnf install gnome-boxessudo pacman -S gnome-boxessudo zypper install gnome-boxesFrequently asked questions
Can I use GNOME Boxes for production workloads?
No. It is designed for casual use and testing. For stability and advanced features, use KVM with a full-featured manager like virt-manager.
Does Boxes support shared folders?
Yes, it supports shared folders via the virtiofs or 9p protocols, though setup can be less intuitive than VMware's shared folders.
Is GNOME Boxes available on all Linux distributions?
It is packaged in major distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch, but may not be in the default repositories of every niche distro.