This study systematically catalogs and analyzes auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) encoded by viruses in the global oceans, aiming to understand their ecological and metabolic impacts. By integrating previously described and newly identified AMGs from 7.6 terabases of *Tara* Oceans paired prokaryote- and virus-enriched metagenomic data, the researchers identified 86,913 AMGs, grouped into 22,779 sequence-based gene clusters, with 7248 being novel. The analysis revealed that approximately 19% of ocean virus populations carry at least one AMG, and these AMGs map to 128 metabolic pathways. Notably, nine pathways were targeted by virus AMGs with ≥75% of steps, including carbohydrate, amino acid, fatty acid, and nucleotide metabolism. The study also identified metabolic "hot spots" where virus AMGs outnumber cellular homologs, such as lipid A phosphates, phosphatidylethanolamine, creatine biosynthesis, phosphoribosylamine-glycine ligase, and carbamoyl-phosphate synthase pathways. The findings provide a valuable resource for understanding the role of viruses in modulating global ocean metabolisms and their biogeochemical implications.This study systematically catalogs and analyzes auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) encoded by viruses in the global oceans, aiming to understand their ecological and metabolic impacts. By integrating previously described and newly identified AMGs from 7.6 terabases of *Tara* Oceans paired prokaryote- and virus-enriched metagenomic data, the researchers identified 86,913 AMGs, grouped into 22,779 sequence-based gene clusters, with 7248 being novel. The analysis revealed that approximately 19% of ocean virus populations carry at least one AMG, and these AMGs map to 128 metabolic pathways. Notably, nine pathways were targeted by virus AMGs with ≥75% of steps, including carbohydrate, amino acid, fatty acid, and nucleotide metabolism. The study also identified metabolic "hot spots" where virus AMGs outnumber cellular homologs, such as lipid A phosphates, phosphatidylethanolamine, creatine biosynthesis, phosphoribosylamine-glycine ligase, and carbamoyl-phosphate synthase pathways. The findings provide a valuable resource for understanding the role of viruses in modulating global ocean metabolisms and their biogeochemical implications.