Sometimes you may want to install Pop!_OS on a virtual machine. However, you may have realized that communication between the host and the VM machine doesn’t exist. Luckily, many distributions now carry the open-source VM tools that can be used for many of the most popular Virtual Machine products such as VMware.
In the following small tutorial, you will learn how to install these tools on your Pop!_OS desktop.
Prerequisites
- Recommended operating system: Pop!_OS 20.04 or higher.
- User Account: A user account with sudo or root access.
- Internet access
Update the operating system
Update your Pop!_OS operating system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgradeThe tutorial will use the sudo command and assume you have sudo status.
To check the sudo status on your account:
sudo whoamiExample output showing the sudo state:
[joshua@popos ~]$ sudo whoami
rootTo set up an existing or new sudo account, visit our tutorial on adding a User to Sudoers on Pop!_OS.
To use the root account, use the following command with the root password to log in.
suThe tutorial will use the terminal for installation found in Activities> Show Applications > Terminal.
Example:
Install Open VM Tools Desktop Package
To install Open VM Tools on Pop!_OS is quite simple. The tutorial will demonstrate using Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS however, the same method will typically work with other versions.
In your terminal, execute the following command.
sudo apt install open-vm-tools-desktopExample output:
Alternatively, you can install the dev version if needed; however, this would only be required by a small userbase.
sudo apt install open-vm-tools-devOnce complete, you need to reboot your PC for the changes to take effect, and this can be done quickly while in your terminal.
rebootVerify the Installation
Once back inside, verify that everything is in working order using the following command.
apt-cache policy open-vm-tools-desktopExample output:
As above, everything is installed and working.
Comments and Conclusion
In the following tutorial, you have learned how to install Open VM Tools on Pop!_OS. Overall, Open VM Tools are not needed unless you use a VM Machine for your distribution. Given the type of userbase that Pop!_OS has many users install directly onto their PC, but if the needs arise, sometimes using a VM to test a new version or a beta version of Pop!_OS isn’t a bad idea.
