# vmware_guest_screenshot – Create a screenshot of the Virtual Machine console

New in version 2.9.

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## Synopsis

- This module is used to take screenshot of the given virtual machine when virtual machine is powered on.
- All parameters and VMware object names are case sensitive.

## 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 name of cluster where the virtual machine is running. This is a required parameter, if `esxi_hostname` is not set. `esxi_hostname` and `cluster` are mutually exclusive parameters.
datacenter string |  | The datacenter name to which virtual machine belongs to.
esxi_hostname string |  | The ESXi hostname where the virtual machine is running. This is a required parameter, if `cluster` is not set. `esxi_hostname` and `cluster` are mutually exclusive parameters.

folder
string

Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest.
This is a required parameter, only if multiple VMs are found with same name.
The folder should include the datacenter. ESXi server'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.

local_path
path

If `local_path` is not set, the created screenshot file will be kept in the directory of the virtual machine on ESXi host. If `local_path` is set to a valid path on local machine, then the screenshot file will be downloaded from ESXi host to the local directory.
If not download screenshot file to local machine, you can open it through the returned file URL in screenshot facts manually.

moid string added in 2.9 |  | Managed Object ID of the instance to manage if known, this is a unique identifier only within a single vCenter instance. This is required if `name` or `uuid` is not supplied.
name string |  | Name of the virtual machine. This is a required parameter, if parameter `uuid` or `moid` is not supplied.
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.
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
uuid string |  | UUID of the instance to gather facts if known, this is VMware's unique identifier. This is a required parameter, if parameter `name` or `moid` is not supplied.

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.

## Notes

Note

- Tested on vSphere 6.5 and 6.7

## Examples

    - name: take a screenshot of the virtual machine console
      vmware_guest_screenshot:
        validate_certs: no
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        folder: "{{ folder_name }}"
        name: "{{ vm_name }}"
        local_path: "/tmp/"
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: take_screenshot

    - name: Take a screenshot of the virtual machine console using MoID
      vmware_guest_screenshot:
        validate_certs: no
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        folder: "{{ folder_name }}"
        moid: vm-42
        local_path: "/tmp/"
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: take_screenshot

## Return Values

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

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---

screenshot_info
dictionary

always

display the facts of captured virtual machine screenshot file
Sample:
{'virtual_machine': 'test_vm', 'screenshot_file': '[datastore0] test_vm/test_vm-1.png', 'task_start_time': '2019-05-25T10:35:04.215016Z', 'task_complete_time': '2019-05-25T10:35:04.412622Z', 'result': 'success', 'screenshot_file_url': 'https://test_vcenter/folder/test_vm/test_vm-1.png?dcPath=test-dc&dsName=datastore0', 'download_local_path': '/tmp/', 'download_file_size': 2367}

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Diane Wang (@Tomorrow9) <dianew@vmware.com>

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