list_vms

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/vcenter_mcp/tools/vm_list.py:8-25 (handler)

  Main handler function for the 'list_vms' tool. Accepts optional 'target' and 'datacenter' parameters. Loads config, resolves the target, connects to vCenter/ESXi, and delegates to _list_esxi or _list_vcenter depending on target type.

  def list_vms(target: str | None = None, datacenter: str | None = None) -> str:
      """
      List VMs on a target.
      - Standalone ESXi: lists all VMs on the host.
      - vCenter: groups VMs by host within the specified datacenter
        (defaults to the target's configured datacenter).
      """
      try:
          cfg = load_config()
          target_cfg = resolve_target(cfg, target)
          with vcenter_connection(target_cfg) as si:
              content = si.RetrieveContent()
              if target_cfg["type"] == "esxi":
                  return _list_esxi(content)
              dc_name = datacenter or target_cfg.get("datacenter")
              return _list_vcenter(content, dc_name)
      except Exception as e:
          return f"Error: {e}"

• src/vcenter_mcp/tools/vm_list.py:28-38 (handler)

  Helper handler for listing VMs on a standalone ESXi host. Queries all VirtualMachine objects via ContainerView and formats name, managed object ID, power state, and guest ID.

  def _list_esxi(content) -> str:
      container = content.viewManager.CreateContainerView(
          content.rootFolder, [vim.VirtualMachine], True
      )
      lines = ["VMs:"]
      for vm in container.view:
          state = vm.runtime.powerState
          guest = vm.config.guestId if vm.config else "unknown"
          lines.append(f"  {vm.name} ({vm._moId}) — {state} — {guest}")
      container.Destroy()
      return "\n".join(lines) if len(lines) > 1 else "No VMs found"

• src/vcenter_mcp/tools/vm_list.py:41-57 (handler)

  Helper handler for listing VMs in a vCenter datacenter. Groups VMs by host and formats name, managed object ID, power state, and guest ID for each VM.

  def _list_vcenter(content, dc_name: str) -> str:
      dc = get_obj(content, [vim.Datacenter], dc_name)
      if not dc:
          return f"Error: Datacenter '{dc_name}' not found"
  
      host_view = content.viewManager.CreateContainerView(
          dc, [vim.HostSystem], True
      )
      lines = []
      for host in host_view.view:
          lines.append(f"Host: {host.name}")
          for vm in host.vm:
              state = vm.runtime.powerState
              guest = vm.config.guestId if vm.config else "unknown"
              lines.append(f"  {vm.name} ({vm._moId}) — {state} — {guest}")
      host_view.Destroy()
      return "\n".join(lines) if lines else "No VMs found"

• src/vcenter_mcp/tools/vm_list.py:6-7 (registration)

  Registration function that registers the 'list_vms' tool with the MCP server via the @mcp.tool() decorator.

  def register_list_tools(mcp) -> None:
      @mcp.tool()

• src/vcenter_mcp/server.py:13-21 (registration)

  Import and invocation of register_list_tools in the main server module, which wires up the tool at server startup.

  from vcenter_mcp.tools.vm_list import register_list_tools
  from vcenter_mcp.tools.vm_create import register_create_tools
  from vcenter_mcp.tools.vm_power import register_power_tools
  from vcenter_mcp.tools.vm_delete import register_delete_tools
  
  register_list_tools(mcp)
  register_create_tools(mcp)
  register_power_tools(mcp)
  register_delete_tools(mcp)