VMware ESXi CLI Cheatsheet #

VMware ESXi CLI provides a set of commands to manage ESXi hosts directly from the command line. These commands help administrators perform system management, networking, storage, and troubleshooting tasks efficiently.

ESXi System Management #

Command/Option	Example	Description
esxcli system version get	`esxcli system version get`	Display the ESXi host version
esxcli system shutdown reboot	`esxcli system shutdown reboot --reason "Maintenance"`	Reboot the ESXi host
esxcli system shutdown poweroff	`esxcli system shutdown poweroff --reason "Maintenance"`	Power off the ESXi host
esxcli hardware cpu list	`esxcli hardware cpu list`	List CPU information
esxcli hardware memory get	`esxcli hardware memory get`	Display memory information
esxcli system time get	`esxcli system time get`	Display the current system time
esxcli system settings advanced list	`esxcli system settings advanced list`	List advanced system settings
esxcli system settings advanced set	`esxcli system settings advanced set -o /UserVars/SuppressShellWarning -i 1`	Set an advanced system setting

Virtual Machine Management #

Command/Option	Example	Description
esxcli vm process list	`esxcli vm process list`	List running virtual machines
esxcli vm process kill	`esxcli vm process kill --type soft --world-id <world_id>`	Kill a virtual machine process
vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms	`vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms`	List all registered VMs on the host
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on	`vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on <vmid>`	Power on a virtual machine
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off	`vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off <vmid>`	Power off a virtual machine
vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.create	`vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.create <vmid> "snapshot_name" "description"`	Create a snapshot for a virtual machine

Network Management #

Command/Option	Example	Description
esxcli network nic list	`esxcli network nic list`	List all network interfaces
esxcli network nic up	`esxcli network nic up -n <nic>`	Bring up a network interface
esxcli network nic down	`esxcli network nic down -n <nic>`	Bring down a network interface
esxcli network vswitch standard list	`esxcli network vswitch standard list`	List all standard virtual switches
esxcli network vswitch standard add	`esxcli network vswitch standard add -v <vswitch_name>`	Add a new standard virtual switch
esxcli network vswitch standard uplink add	`esxcli network vswitch standard uplink add -u <nic> -v <vswitch_name>`	Add an uplink to a standard switch
esxcli network ip interface list	`esxcli network ip interface list`	List all VMkernel network interfaces
esxcli network ip interface add	`esxcli network ip interface add -i vmk1 -p "Management Network"`	Add a VMkernel network interface

Storage Management #

Command/Option	Example	Description
esxcli storage filesystem list	`esxcli storage filesystem list`	List all mounted file systems
esxcli storage vmfs extent list	`esxcli storage vmfs extent list`	List all VMFS extents
esxcli storage core adapter list	`esxcli storage core adapter list`	List all storage adapters
esxcli storage core device list	`esxcli storage core device list`	List all storage devices
esxcli storage core path list	`esxcli storage core path list`	List all storage paths
esxcli storage core device vaai status get	`esxcli storage core device vaai status get`	Get VAAI status for storage devices

Troubleshooting #

Command/Option	Example	Description
esxcli hardware pci list	`esxcli hardware pci list`	List PCI devices
esxcli system syslog mark	`esxcli system syslog mark --message "Manual log entry"`	Add a message to the system log
esxcli network diag ping	`esxcli network diag ping -I vmk0 -H <ip_address>`	Ping an IP address from a specific VMkernel NIC
esxcli network diag netdump	`esxcli network diag netdump --server <ip_address>`	Configure netdump for network troubleshooting
esxtop	`esxtop`	Launch the ESXi performance monitoring tool

This cheatsheet covers the most commonly used VMware ESXi CLI commands and options, helping you to manage ESXi hosts, virtual machines, networks, storage, and perform troubleshooting effectively.