VMware ESXi Command Line Cheat Sheet
Below we list over 120+ common and useful CLI commands (including esxcli) for VMware ESXi Host and VM management. Keep in mind, these shell commands are to be ran at the host CLI, not from the VCSA command line.
Knowing how to work with ESXi CLI commands is an underappreciated skill as a system administrator or infrastructure engineer. Command-line access grants you the ability to configure settings not available in the GUI (of which there are still many), providing greater flexibility in managing your VMware ESXi environment. It significantly enhances your troubleshooting capabilities by allowing you to access detailed system information, logs, and performance metrics quickly. The CLI also enables automation through scripting for handling repetitive tasks, saving you time and streamlining routine maintenance tasks.
Free ESXi CLI Cheat Sheet
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General
Get ESXi build and version numbers
esxcli system version get
Get host hostname, domain, and FQDN
esxcli system hostname get
Get date and time ESXi was installed
esxcli system stats installtime get
List local users on ESXi host
esxcli system account list
Create local ESXi user
esxcli system account add -d="Description" -i="username" -p="password" -c="password"
List available commands with descriptions
esxcli command getdetails
List all available namespaces with corresponding commands
esxcli esxcli command list
Check maintenance mode
esxcli system maintenanceMode get
Enable/Disable maintenance mode
esxcli system maintenanceMode set –enable true
Reboot/Restart ESXi host
esxcli system shutdown reboot -r "message"
Reboot/Restart ESXi maintenance mode host with countdown timer
esxcli system shutdown reboot -d 10 -r "Patch Updates"
Get CPU information of host (family, model, and cache)
esxcli hardware cpu list
Get memory information (available and non-uniform memory access)
esxcli hardware memory get
Configuration of and information about syslog
esxcli system syslog
Generate support and log information bundle from host
vm-support
Management
Restart Management, HA Services (change to /sbin/services directory)
restart
List Virtual Machines (VMIDs)
vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
List running VMs with world ID
esxcli vm process list
Terminate running VM process (forcibly powers off VM)
esxcli vm process kill
Power On
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on
Power Off (Soft)
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off
Power Off (Hard)
esxcli vm process kill -w [worldID] -t [soft,hard,force]
Reboot VM
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reboot
Suspend VM
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.suspend
Resume VM
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.suspendResume
Reset VM
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reset
Shutdown VM
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.shutdown
Show VM info summary
vim-cmd vmsvc/get.summary
Check Host Performance
esxtop
Check storage I/O performance
vscsiStats
Install Software
Lists currently installed software and drivers (VIBs) on ESXi
esxcli software vib list
Install package (VIB)
esxcli software vib install -v file:/tmp/[NewVIB].vib
Uninstall VIB
esxcli software vib remove -n VIBname
Update installed VIB on ESXi
esxcli software vib update -d “/tmp/update.zip”
Install patch
esxcli software vib install /tmp/[patchName].zip
Virtual Disks
Extend virtual disk
vmkfstools -X 1500G /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/Example/Example.vmdk
Rename disk
mv Name.vmdk Name_changed.vmdk
Clone disk
vmkfstools -i Name_changed.vmdk -d zeroedthick Name_changed_clone.vmdk
Remove disk
rm Name.vmdk
Jump to directory of VM and monitor activity of delta, flat, and sesparse files
cd /vmfs/volumes/esxdatastore0/vm/vmfs/volumes/510a4e43-4bf56f05-5a34-0034791e8a3/vm # watch -d 'ls -luth | grep -E "delta|flat|sesparse"'
Delete all snapshots and power off VM. Convert thick provisioned disk to thin disk.
vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/vm/diskname.vmdk -d thin /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/vm/diskname-thin.vmdk
Delete VM thick disk
rm /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/vm/diskname-flat.vmdk.thick
Determine configured size of thin disk
ls -lh /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/vm/diskname-flat.vmdk
Determine used size of thin disk
du -h /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/vm/diskname-flat.vmdk
Snapshots
List all VM snapshots
vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.get
Create snapshot for running VM
vmware-cmd vmsvc/snapshot createsnapshot "New Snaphot Name" "Snapshop Description"
Create snapshot for running VM, with RAM
vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.create "New Snaphot Name" "Snapshop Description" includeMemory
Delete a snapshot
vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.remove
Monitor deleting of snapshot from VM on host
vim-cmd vimsvc/task_list (to get task ID)
vim-cmd vimsvc/task_info <task ID>
Remove all snapshots
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/local0/Example/Example.vmx removesnapshots
Check if volume is native snaphot capable
vmkfstools -Ph /vmfs/volumes/exampledatastore/
Networking
List VM networking information
esxcli network vm list
Get IPv4 configuration for all interfaces on host
esxcli network ip interface ipv4 get
Get firewall state
esxcli network firewall get
Disable firewall
esxcli network firewall set –enabled true | false
Get firewall rules
esxcli network firewall ruleset list
Get firewall rules piped to awk
esxcli network firewall ruleset list | awk '$2 =="true"'
Activate ESXi Firewall Ruleset
esxcli network firewall ruleset set --ruleset-id=sshClient --enabled=true
Specify allowed IP Range for SSH
esxcli network firewall ruleset allowedip add --ruleset-id sshServer --ip-address 10.10.0.0/24
List Kernel Network Interfaces
esxcli network ip interface list
List physical Network Interfaces
esxcli network nic list
Shutdown physical network interface
esxcli network nic down -n
List host routing table
esxcli network ip route ipv4 list
Add static route to esxi host
esxcli network ip route ipv4 add --gateway 10.10.1.1 --network 10.10.0.0/24
Set ESXi host default gateway
esxcfg-route -a default 192.168.254.1
Test ESXi host default gateway
vmkping -D
Send ICMP request
vmkping –I
Test host connectivity to specific port
nc –z
List arp cache
esxcli network ip neighbor list
Clear arp cache entry
esxcli network ip neighbor remove -a -v
List virtual switches
esxcli network vswitch standard list
Change physical uplink of vSwitch
esxcli network vswitch standard uplink remove -u -v
esxcli network vswitch standard uplink add -u -v
List portgroups
esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
Add new portgroup to vSwitch
esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup add -p "Portgroup_Name -v
Set Management Network Interface
esxcli network ip interface tag add -i -t Management
Set VLAN id
esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup set --vlan-id -p "Portgroup_Name"
Set SNMP Community
esxcli system snmp set --communities "COMMUNITY_NAME"
Set SNMP Trap destintion
esxcli system snmp set --targets 10.10.1.150/COMMUNITY_NAME
Send test SNMP trap
esxcli system snmp test
Check SNMP State
esxcli system snmp get
Enable IPMI as SNMP source
esxcli system snmp set --hwsrc sensors
Enable CIM as SNMP source
esxcli system snmp set --hwsrc indications
Enable ESXi Host SNMP
esxcli system snmp set --enable true
Capture Network Packets on the a physical interface
pktcap-uw --uplink
List all physical network interfaces
esxcli network nic list
Enable iSCSI software adapter
esxcli iscsi software set –enabled true
Verify iSCSI adapter is enabled
esxcli iscsi software get
List metrics for specific iSCSI adapter
esxcli iscsi adapter param get -A
List established iSCSI sessions
esxcli iscsi sessions
Storage
List current storage devices
esxcli storage core device list
List all storage devices accessib