# vmware_vm_shell – Run commands in a VMware guest operating system

- Synopsis

- Requirements

- Parameters

- Notes

- Examples

- Return Values

- Status

## Synopsis

- Module allows user to run common system administration commands in the guest operating system.

## Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

- python >= 2.6

- PyVmomi

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
cluster string |  | The cluster hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.
datacenter string |  | The datacenter hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.

folder
string
added in 2.4

Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest or create the new guest.
The folder should include the datacenter. ESX's datacenter is ha-datacenter.
Examples:
folder: /ha-datacenter/vm
folder: ha-datacenter/vm
folder: /datacenter1/vm
folder: datacenter1/vm
folder: /datacenter1/vm/folder1
folder: datacenter1/vm/folder1
folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm
folder: folder1/datacenter1/vm
folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm/folder2

hostname string |  | The hostname or IP address of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_HOST` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6.
password string |  | The password of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PASSWORD` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6. aliases: pass, pwd
port integer added in 2.5 | Default: 443 | The port number of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PORT` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6.
proxy_host string added in 2.9 |  | Address of a proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them. The format is a hostname or a IP. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PROXY_HOST` will be used instead. This feature depends on a version of pyvmomi greater than v6.7.1.2018.12
proxy_port integer added in 2.9 |  | Port of the HTTP proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PROXY_PORT` will be used instead.
timeout integer added in 2.7 | Default: 3600 | Timeout in seconds. If set to positive integers, then `wait_for_process` will honor this parameter and will exit after this timeout.
username string |  | The username of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_USER` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6. aliases: admin, user

validate_certs
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

Allows connection when SSL certificates are not valid. Set to `false` when certificates are not trusted.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_VALIDATE_CERTS` will be used instead.
Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6.
If set to `yes`, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine.

vm_id string / required |  | Name of the virtual machine to work with.

vm_id_type
string

Choices:
- uuid
- instance_uuid
- dns_name
- inventory_path
- vm_name ←

The VMware identification method by which the virtual machine will be identified.

vm_password string / required |  | The password used to login-in to the virtual machine.
vm_shell string / required |  | The absolute path to the program to start. On Linux, shell is executed via bash.
vm_shell_args string | Default: " " | The argument to the program. The characters which must be escaped to the shell also be escaped on the command line provided.
vm_shell_cwd string |  | The current working directory of the application from which it will be run.
vm_shell_env list |  | Comma separated list of environment variable, specified in the guest OS notation.
vm_username string / required |  | The user to login-in to the virtual machine.

wait_for_process
boolean
added in 2.7

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

If set to `True`, module will wait for process to complete in the given virtual machine.

## Notes

Note

- Tested on vSphere 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5.

- Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches.

## Examples

    - name: Run command inside a virtual machine
      vmware_vm_shell:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
        folder: "/{{datacenter}}/vm"
        vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
        vm_username: root
        vm_password: superSecret
        vm_shell: /bin/echo
        vm_shell_args: " $var >> myFile "
        vm_shell_env:
          - "PATH=/bin"
          - "VAR=test"
        vm_shell_cwd: "/tmp"
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: shell_command_output

    - name: Run command inside a virtual machine with wait and timeout
      vmware_vm_shell:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
        folder: "/{{datacenter}}/vm"
        vm_id: NameOfVM
        vm_username: root
        vm_password: superSecret
        vm_shell: /bin/sleep
        vm_shell_args: 100
        wait_for_process: True
        timeout: 2000
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: shell_command_with_wait_timeout

    - name: Change user password in the guest machine
      vmware_vm_shell:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
        folder: "/{{datacenter}}/vm"
        vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
        vm_username: sample
        vm_password: old_password
        vm_shell: "/bin/echo"
        vm_shell_args: "-e 'old_password\nnew_password\nnew_password' | passwd sample > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
      delegate_to: localhost

    - name: Change hostname of guest machine
      vmware_vm_shell:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: no
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
        folder: "/{{datacenter}}/vm"
        vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
        vm_username: testUser
        vm_password: SuperSecretPassword
        vm_shell: "/usr/bin/hostnamectl"
        vm_shell_args: "set-hostname new_hostname > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
      delegate_to: localhost

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
results dictionary | on success | metadata about the new process after completion with wait_for_process Sample: {'cmd_line': '"/bin/sleep" 1', 'end_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:21+00:00', 'exit_code': 0, 'name': 'sleep', 'owner': 'dev1', 'start_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:19+00:00', 'uuid': '564db1e2-a3ff-3b0e-8b77-49c25570bb66'}

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]

- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Ritesh Khadgaray (@ritzk)

- Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)

Hint

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