Skip to main content
Glama
havu0

vmware-mcp

by havu0

vmware-mcp

npm version license

MCP server for controlling VMware Fusion/Workstation virtual machines via the vmrun CLI.

Unlike existing VMware MCP servers that depend on the REST API (vmrest), this server calls vmrun directly — no additional daemon required.

npx vmware-mcp

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client config — the agent gets 32 tools for full VM control.

Credentials can be passed as CLI args, or omitted if stored in config file, env vars, or OS secret store.

For tool usage workflows and known limitations, see AGENT_GUIDE.md.

~/.config/opencode/opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "vmware": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password",
        "--encryption-pass", "my-vm:encpass"
      ],
      "timeout": 300000
    }
  }
}

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}
claude mcp add --transport stdio vmware -- npx -y vmware-mcp \
  --guest-user my-vm:admin --guest-pass my-vm:password

Or manually in ~/.claude.json or .mcp.json (project-level):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp", "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin", "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"]
    }
  }
}

~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

.vscode/mcp.json (workspace):

{
  "servers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Note: uses servers key, not mcpServers.

Configure via Cline sidebar → MCP Servers, or manually:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

~/.roo/mcp_settings.json (global) or .roo/mcp.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

~/.aws/amazonq/mcp.json (global) or .amazonq/mcp.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

~/.config/zed/settings.json — note: uses context_servers key with different structure:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
          "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
          "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

~/.continue/config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

~/.config/cody/mcp_servers.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → Model Context Protocol (MCP) → Add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vmware-mcp",
        "--guest-user", "my-vm:admin",
        "--guest-pass", "my-vm:password"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Manual / Global Install

npm install -g vmware-mcp
vmware-mcp

Related MCP server: VMware Fusion MCP Server

Configuration

Create ~/.config/vmware-mcp/config.json:

{
  "vmrun_path": "/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Public/vmrun",
  "default_vm": "my-vm",
  "vms": {
    "my-vm": {
      "vmx_path": "/path/to/VM.vmwarevm/VM.vmx",
      "os_type": "windows",
      "guest_user": "admin",
      "guest_password": "password"
    },
    "linux-vm": {
      "vmx_path": "/path/to/Ubuntu.vmwarevm/Ubuntu.vmx",
      "os_type": "linux",
      "guest_user": "ubuntu",
      "guest_password": "password"
    }
  }
}

The config file is optional. VMs can also be specified by full .vmx path, and credentials can come from other sources.

vmrun Path Defaults

Platform

Default Path

macOS

/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Public/vmrun

Windows

C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmrun.exe

Linux

/usr/bin/vmrun

Credential Resolution

Credentials are resolved in this order (first match wins):

Priority

Source

Platforms

1

Config file

All

2

CLI arguments

All

3

Environment variables

All

4

OS secret store

macOS Keychain, Linux libsecret, Windows PasswordVault

If credentials exist in config or OS secret store, no CLI args or env vars are needed.

CLI Arguments

vmware-mcp --guest-user my-vm:admin --guest-pass my-vm:password --encryption-pass my-vm:encpass

Note: Passwords with !, $, or other shell special characters may be mangled by bash history expansion. Use single quotes in bash ('my-vm:p@ss!word'), or prefer config file / OS secret store for passwords with special characters.

Environment Variables

Variable

Description

VMWARE_MCP_<VM>_USER

Guest OS username

VMWARE_MCP_<VM>_PASS

Guest OS password

VMWARE_MCP_<VM>_ENCRYPTION_PASS

VM encryption password

<VM> is the uppercase VM name from config (e.g., VMWARE_MCP_MY-VM_USER).

OS Secret Store

Store credentials securely — no plaintext files. The server reads from the native store automatically.

macOS (Keychain)

security add-generic-password -s vmware-mcp -a "my-vm/guest_user" -w "admin"
security add-generic-password -s vmware-mcp -a "my-vm/guest_password" -w "password"
security add-generic-password -s vmware-mcp -a "my-vm/encryption_password" -w "encpass"

Linux (libsecret — GNOME Keyring / KDE Wallet)

secret-tool store --label="vmware-mcp" service vmware-mcp account "my-vm/guest_user" <<< "admin"
secret-tool store --label="vmware-mcp" service vmware-mcp account "my-vm/guest_password" <<< "password"
secret-tool store --label="vmware-mcp" service vmware-mcp account "my-vm/encryption_password" <<< "encpass"

Windows (Credential Locker / PasswordVault)

$vault = New-Object Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordVault
$vault.Add((New-Object Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordCredential("vmware-mcp", "my-vm/guest_user", "admin")))
$vault.Add((New-Object Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordCredential("vmware-mcp", "my-vm/guest_password", "password")))
$vault.Add((New-Object Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordCredential("vmware-mcp", "my-vm/encryption_password", "encpass")))

Tools (32)

VM Lifecycle (9)

Tool

Description

vm_start

Start a VM (gui or headless)

vm_stop

Graceful or forced shutdown

vm_suspend

Suspend to disk (encrypted VMs may not resume via vmrun)

vm_reset

Reboot (soft or hard)

vm_pause / vm_unpause

Pause/resume execution

vm_status

Running state + IP address

vm_list

Running VMs, or all configured VMs with all=true

vm_get_ip

Guest IP (optionally wait until ready)

Guest Execution (2)

Tool

Description

guest_run_command

Run shell command, return stdout. Auto-detects shell (cmd/bash/powershell)

guest_run_program

Launch a program (sync or fire-and-forget with no_wait)

File Operations (10)

Tool

Description

file_copy_to_guest

Host → Guest file copy

file_copy_from_guest

Guest → Host file copy

guest_read_file

Read guest file contents

guest_file_exists

Check if file exists

guest_directory_exists

Check if directory exists

guest_directory_create

Create directory

guest_delete_file

Delete file

guest_rename_file

Rename/move file

guest_list_directory

List directory contents

guest_create_tempfile

Create temp file, return path

Snapshots (4)

Tool

Description

vm_snapshot_create

Create named snapshot (may fail on running encrypted VMs)

vm_snapshot_revert

Revert to snapshot (optional auto_start)

vm_snapshot_list

List snapshots in tree format

vm_snapshot_delete

Delete snapshot

Process Management (2)

Tool

Description

guest_process_list

List all guest processes

guest_kill_process

Kill process by PID

Screen & Input (2)

Tool

Description

vm_capture_screen

Screenshot as base64 PNG or save to file (requires guest credentials)

guest_type_keystrokes

Send keystrokes to guest (requires macOS Accessibility permission)

Variables & Tools State (3)

Tool

Description

vm_read_variable

Read VM variable (runtimeConfig / guestVar / guestEnv)

vm_write_variable

Write VM variable

vm_check_tools

Check VMware Tools state (unknown / installed / running)

Known Limitations

These are vmrun CLI constraints, not bugs in this server. All errors include actionable hints.

Limitation

Workaround

Snapshot ops fail on running encrypted VMs

Stop the VM first

vm_suspendvm_start fails on encrypted VMs

Use vm_stop / vm_start instead

Guest commands have a 5-minute hard timeout

Break long operations into smaller commands

guest_type_keystrokes needs macOS Accessibility

Grant permission in System Settings

vm_capture_screen requires guest credentials

Configure guest_user / guest_password

Port forwarding is Windows-host only

Not available on macOS Fusion

Development

git clone https://github.com/havu0/vmware-mcp.git
cd vmware-mcp
npm install
npm run build    # tsc
npm test         # vitest (70 tests)
npm run dev      # tsc --watch

License

MIT

A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested
D
maintenance

Maintenance

Maintainers
Response time
Release cycle
Releases (12mo)
Commit activity

Resources

Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.

Looking for Admin?

If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

We provide all the information about MCP servers via our MCP API.

curl -X GET 'https://glama.ai/api/mcp/v1/servers/havu0/vmware-mcp'

If you have feedback or need assistance with the MCP directory API, please join our Discord server