A VirtualBox-ready appliance featuring Debian 12 (64-bit) with Exegol free pre-installed.

• Operating System: Debian 12 “Bookworm” (64-bit)
• Exegol free installed via pipx/Docker
• User account:
  • Username: jul (sudo privileges)
  • Password: jul
• Root user: disabled by default (no password set)
• SSH: enabled and ready to use

Below are the VirtualBox settings used for the Debian 12 virtual machine :

git clone https://github.com/Jul1111/Debian12-Exegol-VM

• 🔗 GitHub Releases (split archive)
• 🔗 Direct Mega Link (full .ova file)

🖥️ On Windows (with 7-Zip installed): 7z x Debian12.7z.001

🐧 On Linux/macOS (with p7zip-full installed) : 7z x Debian12.7z.001

From the Debian 12 VM command line (Docker, pipx, and Exegol are already installed):

exegol update    # Updates the Exegol wrapper and all installed images :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

exegol start <container_name> <image_name> [options]

Example:

exegol start default

• If <container_name> is omitted, it defaults to the <image_name>

• Process:

  • If the image isn’t installed, Exegol prompts for installation
  • Creates the container with the provided settings
  • Starts it and drops you into an interactive shell

-w, --workspace <path>: bind host folder to /workspace

-cwd: mount current directory as workspace

--vpn <file.ovpn>: launch VPN at startup

-V, --volume <host>:<container>: add volume mount

-d, --device <dev>: add host device (e.g., /dev/ttyACM0)

--disable-X11: disable GUI sharing

--desktop: enable full GUI desktop via HTTP/VNC 

-l, --log: enable shell logging (asciinema by default) 

-e, --env KEY=VALUE: set environment variable

-s, --shell <shell>: choose shell (default: zsh)

--privileged/--cap: add Linux capabilities or privileged mode when needed (e.g., VPN, devices)

Run

exegol start -h

After extracting Debian12.7z, you will get a .ova file.

To verify that the file was not corrupted or altered, run:

sha256sum Debian12.ova

Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\Debian12.ova

890F4F754B0EE504AC61EE9CB886CD77B3A11F6DC2F17791F50A8EA9C1A79B39

⚠️ Security Note: This VM is provided as-is. Ensure you review its contents before using it in sensitive environments.