Using vmrun to control virtual machines in VMware Workstation

I’m working on scripting a shutdown/logoff script for my host machine that will suspend any running virtual machines as the host powers off, then restart them when the host restarts (or when a specific user logs in).

VMware provides a hand command line utility, vmrun, to send commands to VMware Workstation or VMware Server. The power options are:

  • start – Powers on a virtual machine. The virtual machine may be started without a VMware user interface by passing the nogui parameter.
  • stop – Powers off a virtual machine. The guest OS can be made aware of the shutdown by passing the soft parameter, or the power can be abruptly cut by passing the hard parameter.
  • reset – Restarts a virtual machine. The guest OS can be made aware of the restart by passing the soft parameter, or the power can be abruptly cut by passing the hard parameter.
  • suspend – Suspends a virtual machine. The guest OS can be made aware of the suspend command by passing the soft parameter, allowing it to sleep/hibernate (if supported).
  • pause – Pauses a virtual machine.
  • unpause – Resumes a paused virtual machine.

For power commands that support the soft parameter, specifying soft sends instructions to the guest OS to allow it to gracefully power down, sleep, hibernate, etc. This also allows scripts to run in VMware Tools, or in the guest OS itself.

The pause and unpause commands are instructions to VMware Workstation or VMware Server and are invisible to the guest OS.

The vmrun utility does much more than start and stop virtual machines. The official manual from VMware for Workstation 6.5 and Server 2.0 can be found at http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/ws/vmrunCommand.pdf.

The help screen for vmrun is below.

vmrun version 7.1.5 build-491717

Usage: vmrun [AUTHENTICATION-FLAGS] COMMAND [PARAMETERS]



AUTHENTICATION-FLAGS
--------------------
These must appear before the command and any command parameters.

   -h   (not needed for Workstation)
   -P   (not needed for Workstation)
   -T  (ws|server|server1|fusion|esx|vc|player)
     for example, use '-T server' for VMware Server 2.0
                  use '-T server1' for VMware Server 1.0
                  use '-T ws' for VMware Workstation
                  use '-T esx' for VMware ESX
                  use '-T vc' for VMware vCenter Server
   -u   (not needed for Workstation)
   -p   (not needed for Workstation)
   -vp 
   -gu 
   -gp 



POWER COMMANDS           PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
--------------           ----------           -----------
start                    Path to vmx file     Start a VM or Team
                         [gui|nogui]

stop                     Path to vmx file     Stop a VM or Team
                         [hard|soft]

reset                    Path to vmx file     Reset a VM or Team
                         [hard|soft]

suspend                  Path to vmx file     Suspend a VM or Team
                         [hard|soft]

pause                    Path to vmx file     Pause a VM

unpause                  Path to vmx file     Unpause a VM



SNAPSHOT COMMANDS        PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
-----------------        ----------           -----------
listSnapshots            Path to vmx file     List all snapshots in a VM
                         [showTree]

snapshot                 Path to vmx file     Create a snapshot of a VM
                         Snapshot name

deleteSnapshot           Path to vmx file     Remove a snapshot from a VM
                         Snapshot name
                         [andDeleteChildren]

revertToSnapshot         Path to vmx file     Set VM state to a snapshot
                         Snapshot name



RECORD/REPLAY COMMANDS   PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
----------------------   ----------           -----------
beginRecording           Path to vmx file     Begin recording a VM
                         Snapshot name

endRecording             Path to vmx file     End recording a VM

beginReplay              Path to vmx file     Begin replaying a VM
                         Snapshot name

endReplay                Path to vmx file     End replaying a VM



GUEST OS COMMANDS        PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
-----------------        ----------           -----------
runProgramInGuest        Path to vmx file     Run a program in Guest OS
                         [-noWait]
                         [-activeWindow]
                         [-interactive]
                         Complete-Path-To-Program
                         [Program arguments]

fileExistsInGuest        Path to vmx file     Check if a file exists in Guest OS
                         Path to file in guest

setSharedFolderState     Path to vmx file     Modify a Host-Guest shared folder
                         Share name
                         Host path
                         writable | readonly

addSharedFolder          Path to vmx file     Add a Host-Guest shared folder
                         Share name
                         New host path

removeSharedFolder       Path to vmx file     Remove a Host-Guest shared folder
                         Share name

enableSharedFolders      Path to vmx file     Enable shared folders in Guest
                         [runtime]

disableSharedFolders     Path to vmx file     Disable shared folders in Guest
                         [runtime]

listProcessesInGuest     Path to vmx file     List running processes in Guest OS

killProcessInGuest       Path to vmx file     Kill a process in Guest OS
                         process id

runScriptInGuest         Path to vmx file     Run a script in Guest OS
                         [-noWait]
                         [-activeWindow]
                         [-interactive]
                         Interpreter path
                         Script text

deleteFileInGuest        Path to vmx file     Delete a file in Guest OS
Path in guest            

createDirectoryInGuest   Path to vmx file     Create a directory in Guest OS
Directory path in guest  

deleteDirectoryInGuest   Path to vmx file     Delete a directory in Guest OS
Directory path in guest  

listDirectoryInGuest     Path to vmx file     List a directory in Guest OS
                         Directory path in guest

CopyFileFromHostToGuest  Path to vmx file     Copy a file from host OS to guest OS
Path on host             Path in guest
                         

CopyFileFromGuestToHost  Path to vmx file     Copy a file from guest OS to host OS
Path in guest            Path on host
                         

renameFileInGuest        Path to vmx file     Rename a file in Guest OS
                         Original name
                         New name

captureScreen            Path to vmx file     Capture the screen of the VM to a local file
Path on host             

writeVariable            Path to vmx file     Write a variable in the VM state
                         [runtimeConfig|guestEnv]
                         variable name
                         variable value

readVariable             Path to vmx file     Read a variable in the VM state
                         [runtimeConfig|guestEnv]
                         variable name



VPROBE COMMANDS          PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
---------------          ----------           -----------
vprobeVersion            Path to vmx file     List VP version

vprobeLoad               Path to vmx file     Load VP script
                         'VP script text'

vprobeLoadFile           Path to vmx file     Load VP file
                         Path to VP file

vprobeReset              Path to vmx file     Disable all vprobes

vprobeListProbes         Path to vmx file     List probes

vprobeListGlobals        Path to vmx file     List global variables



GENERAL COMMANDS         PARAMETERS           DESCRIPTION
----------------         ----------           -----------
list                                          List all running VMs

upgradevm                Path to vmx file     Upgrade VM file format, virtual hw

installTools             Path to vmx file     Install Tools in Guest

register                 Path to vmx file     Register a VM

unregister               Path to vmx file     Unregister a VM

listRegisteredVM                              List registered VMs

deleteVM                 Path to vmx file     Delete a VM

clone                    Path to vmx file     Create a copy of the VM
                         Path to destination vmx file
                         full|linked
                         [Snapshot name]




Examples:

Starting a virtual machine with Workstation on a Windows host
   vmrun -T ws start "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx"

Stopping a virtual machine on an ESX host
   vmrun -T esx -h https://myHost.com/sdk -u hostUser -p hostPassword stop "[storage1] vm/myVM.vmx"

Running a program in a virtual machine with Workstation on a Windows host with Windows guest
   vmrun -T ws -gu guestUser -gp guestPassword runProgramInGuest "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx" "c:\Program Files\myProgram.exe"

Running a program in a virtual machine with Server on a Linux host with Linux guest
   vmrun -T server -h https://myHost.com:8333/sdk -u hostUser -p hostPassword -gu guestUser -gp guestPassword runProgramInGuest "[standard] vm/myVM.vmx" /usr/bin/X11/xclock -display :0

Creating a snapshot of a virtual machine with Workstation on a Windows host
   vmrun -T ws snapshot "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx" mySnapshot

Reverting to a snapshot with Workstation on a Windows host
   vmrun -T ws revertToSnapshot "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx" mySnapshot

Deleting a snapshot with Workstation on a Windows host
   vmrun -T ws deleteSnapshot "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx" mySnapshot

Enabling Shared Folders with Workstation on a Windows host
   vmrun -T ws enableSharedFolders "c:\my VMs\myVM.vmx"

Additional resources: http://www.virtuatopia.com/index.php/Controlling_VMware_Virtual_Machines_from_the_Command_Line_with_vmrun

One thought on “Using vmrun to control virtual machines in VMware Workstation

  1. sahar

    hi, I cannot find the “beginRecording” in the help of vmrun, when I execute this command, faced with error : ‘unrecognized command : Beginrecording’
    what is the problem?

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