# vmware_guest_file_operation – Files operation in a VMware guest operating system without network

New in version 2.5.

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Status

## Synopsis

- Module to copy a file to a VM, fetch a file from a VM and create or delete a directory in the guest OS.

## Requirements

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

- python >= 2.6
- PyVmomi
- requests

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
cluster string |  | The cluster hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.
copy dictionary |  | Copy file to vm without requiring network. Valid attributes are: src: file source absolute or relative dest: file destination, path must be exist overwrite: False or True (not required, default False)
datacenter string |  | The datacenter hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.

directory
dictionary

Create or delete a directory.
Can be used to create temp directory inside guest using mktemp operation.
mktemp sets variable `dir` in the result with the name of the new directory.
mktemp operation option is added in version 2.8
Valid attributes are:
operation (str): Valid values are: create, delete, mktemp
path (str): directory path (required for create or remove)
prefix (str): temporary directory prefix (required for mktemp)
suffix (str): temporary directory suffix (required for mktemp)
recurse (boolean): Not required, default (false)

fetch dictionary added in 2.5 |  | Get file from virtual machine without requiring network. Valid attributes are: src: The file on the remote system to fetch. This must be a file, not a directory dest: file destination on localhost, path must be exist

folder
string

Destination folder, absolute path to find an existing guest or create the new guest.
The folder should include the datacenter. ESX's datacenter is ha-datacenter
Used only if `vm_id_type` is `inventory_path`.
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
folder: vm/folder2
folder: 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.
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_username string / required |  | The user to login in to the virtual machine.

## Notes

Note

- Tested on vSphere 6
- Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches

## Examples

    - name: Create directory inside a vm
      vmware_guest_file_operation:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        validate_certs: no
        vm_id: "{{ guest_name }}"
        vm_username: "{{ guest_username }}"
        vm_password: "{{ guest_userpassword }}"
        directory:
          path: "/test"
          operation: create
          recurse: no
      delegate_to: localhost

    - name: copy file to vm
      vmware_guest_file_operation:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        vm_id: "{{ guest_name }}"
        vm_username: "{{ guest_username }}"
        vm_password: "{{ guest_userpassword }}"
        copy:
            src: "files/test.zip"
            dest: "/root/test.zip"
            overwrite: False
      delegate_to: localhost

    - name: fetch file from vm
      vmware_guest_file_operation:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        vm_id: "{{ guest_name }}"
        vm_username: "{{ guest_username }}"
        vm_password: "{{ guest_userpassword }}"
        fetch:
            src: "/root/test.zip"
            dest: "files/test.zip"
      delegate_to: localhost

## Status

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

### Authors

- Stéphane Travassac (@stravassac)

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