# Can I delete VirtualBox VMs in the VirtualBox VMs folder?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/vm-virtualbox
- Item: VirtualBox virtual machines
- Location: `~/VirtualBox VMs` (items inside)
- Verdict: Keep — your data — Your data. Shrink it from its app; don’t delete the folder.
- Comes back on its own: no
- Typical size: 10–100 GB per VM
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

VirtualBox keeps each virtual machine in its own folder in `~/VirtualBox VMs`, with its `.vbox` settings file, `.vdi` or `.vmdk` disks, snapshots and logs. Each holds a complete guest system with your files. Typically 10–100 GB per VM.

## What happens if you delete it?

No. A deleted VM and its files are gone unless you have exported or backed it up.

## How to remove it properly

In VirtualBox, select a VM you no longer need and choose Machine › Remove › Delete all files. For VMs you keep, delete old snapshots; a dynamically allocated VDI can be compacted with `VBoxManage modifymedium disk <file.vdi> --compact` after zeroing free space inside the guest.

## Before you delete it

Copy out your files before removing a VM, and check it is not used by a tool such as Vagrant.