community.vmware.vmware_vm_shell module – Run commands in a VMware guest operating system
Note
This module is part of the community.vmware collection (version 5.9.0).
You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package.
It is not included in ansible-core.
To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.
To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.vmware.
To use it in a playbook, specify: community.vmware.vmware_vm_shell.
Synopsis
Module allows user to run common system administration commands in the guest operating system.
Parameters
Parameter |
Comments |
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The cluster hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search. |
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The datacenter hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search. |
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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 Required if |
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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 |
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The password of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable |
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The port number of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable Default: |
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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 |
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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 |
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Timeout in seconds. If set to positive integers, then Default: |
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The username of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable |
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Allows connection when SSL certificates are not valid. Set to If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable Choices:
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Name of the virtual machine to work with. |
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The VMware identification method by which the virtual machine will be identified. Choices:
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The password used to login-in to the virtual machine. |
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The absolute path to the program to start. On Linux, shell is executed via bash. |
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The argument to the program. The characters which must be escaped to the shell also be escaped on the command line provided. Default: |
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The current working directory of the application from which it will be run. |
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Comma separated list of environment variable, specified in the guest OS notation. |
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The user to login-in to the virtual machine. |
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If set to Choices:
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Notes
Note
Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches.
All modules requires API write access and hence is not supported on a free ESXi license.
All variables and VMware object names are case sensitive.
Examples
- name: Run command inside a virtual machine
community.vmware.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
community.vmware.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
community.vmware.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/$$.txt 2>&1"
delegate_to: localhost
- name: Change hostname of guest machine
community.vmware.vmware_vm_shell:
hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
folder: "/{{datacenter}}/vm"
vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
vm_username: testUser
vm_password: SuperSecretPassword
vm_shell: "/usr/bin/hostnamectl"
vm_shell_args: "set-hostname new_hostname > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
delegate_to: localhost
Return Values
Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
Key |
Description |
|---|---|
metadata about the new process after completion with wait_for_process Returned: on success Sample: |