How to Download and Install Govc: A Command-Line Tool for VMware vSphere
If you are looking for a way to manage your VMware vSphere environment from the command line, you may want to try govc. Govc is a vSphere CLI built on top of govmomi, the official VMware Go library for interacting with vSphere APIs. In this article, we will show you how to download and install govc on Linux, and how to use some basic govc commands.
What is Govc and Why Use It?
Govc is a wrapper implementation of the govmomi library that provides a user-friendly CLI alternative to the vSphere web GUI. It can be used to perform a number of operations on ESXi hosts or vCenter, such as creating virtual machines, managing snapshots, migrating VMs, cloning VMs, powering VMs on or off, and more. It can also be used as a test harness for the govmomi APIs and provides working examples of how to use them.
download govc
Some of the benefits of using govc are:
It is cross-platform and supports Linux, Windows, MacOS, and other operating systems.
It is well-suited for automation tasks and can be integrated with scripts or tools like Ansible.
It is lightweight and fast compared to other CLI tools such as PowerCLI.
It is open source and actively maintained by VMware and the community.
How to Download and Install Govc from Binaries
The easiest way to install govc is to download a prebuilt binary from the . You can find binaries for different operating systems and architectures. To install govc on Linux using a binary, follow these steps:
Download the latest binary for your system. For example, if you are using Linux amd64, you can run this command:wget [11](
gunzip govc_linux_amd64.gz
Move the binary to /usr/local/bin or any other directory in your PATH:sudo mv govc_linux_amd64 /usr/local/bin/govc
Make the binary executable:sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/govc
Validate the installation and check the version of govc:govc version
You should see something like this:
govc 0.26.1
How to Download and Install Govc from Source
If you want to install the latest version of govc from source, you will need to have the Go toolchain installed on your system. You can follow the to install Go on your system. Once you have Go installed, you can use one of the following methods to install govc from source:
Install the latest govc from Github using go install
This method will download and install the latest govc binary from the Github repository using the go install command. To do this, run this command:
go install github.com/vmware/govmomi/govc@latest
This will install govc in your $GOPATH/bin directory. You can add this directory to your PATH if it is not already there.
Alternatively, build govc using goreleaser
This method will clone the Github repository and build govc using goreleaser, a tool for building and releasing Go projects. To do this, follow these steps:
How to download govc CLI for VMware vSphere
Download govc Linux binary from GitHub releases
Download govc Windows binary from GitHub releases
Download govc Mac binary from GitHub releases
Download govc source code and build from scratch
Download govc Docker image and run as a container
Download govc usage document and learn how to use it
Download govc certificate info and verify vCenter connection
Download govc cluster add command and automate host addition
Download govc datastore info command and get storage details
Download govc vm info command and get virtual machine details
Download govc vm power command and control virtual machine power state
Download govc host info command and get host system details
Download govc network info command and get network details
Download govc datacenter info command and get datacenter details
Download govc folder info command and get folder details
Download govc pool info command and get resource pool details
Download govc device info command and get device details
Download govc snapshot info command and get snapshot details
Download govc guest info command and get guest OS details
Download govc license info command and get license details
Download govc event info command and get event details
Download govc metric info command and get metric details
Download govc about info command and get about details
Download govc version info command and get version details
Download govc import ovf command and import OVF template
Download govc export ovf command and export OVF template
Download govc import spec command and import spec file
Download govc export spec command and export spec file
Download govc import vmdk command and import VMDK disk image
Download govc export vmdk command and export VMDK disk image
Download govc import xva command and import XVA image
Download govc export xva command and export XVA image
Download govc datastore upload command and upload file to datastore
Download govc datastore download command and download file from datastore
Download govc datastore mkdir command and create directory on datastore
Download govc datastore rm command and remove file or directory from datastore
Download govc datastore ls command and list files or directories on datastore
Download govc datastore disk create command and create virtual disk on datastore
Download govc datastore disk attach command and attach virtual disk to VM
Download govc datastore disk detach command and detach virtual disk from VM
Download govc vm create command and create virtual machine
Download govc vm clone command and clone virtual machine
Download govc vm destroy command and destroy virtual machine
Download govc vm migrate command and migrate virtual machine
Download govc vm relocate command and relocate virtual machine
Download govc vm customize command and customize virtual machine
Download govc vm change command and change virtual machine settings
Clone the Github repository:git clone
Change to the govmomi directory:cd govmomi
Install goreleaser:curl -sfL sh
Build govc using goreleaser:./goreleaser build --snapshot --rm-dist
Find the govc binary for your system in the dist directory and move it to /usr/local/bin or any other directory in your PATH:sudo mv dist/govc_linux_amd64/govc /usr/local/bin/govc
Make the binary executable:sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/govc
Validate the installation and check the version of govc:govc version
How to Use Govc Commands
Now that you have installed govc, you can start using it to manage your vSphere environment. Here are some tips on how to use govc commands:
Set environment variables for vCenter connection
To connect to your vCenter server, you need to set some environment variables that specify the URL, username, password, and certificate of your vCenter server. You can use these variables:
GOMAXPROCS: The number of CPUs that govc can use. This is optional and defaults to the number of CPUs available.
GOTRACEBACK: The level of detail for stack traces. This is optional and defaults to single.
GOMAXPROCS: The number of CPUs that govc can use. This is optional and defaults to the number of CPUs available.
GOTRACEBACK: The level of detail for stack traces. This is optional and defaults to single.
GOMAXPROCS: The number of CPUs that govc can use. This is optional and defaults to the number of CPUs available.
GOTRACEBACK: The level of detail for stack traces. This is optional and defaults to single.
GOMAXPROCS: The number of CPUs that govc can use. This is optional and defaults to the number of CPUs available.
GOVC_URL: The URL of your vCenter server. This is required and should include the protocol, username, password, hostname, and port. For example:
GOVC_INSECURE: Whether to skip verification of the vCenter server certificate. This is optional and defaults to false. If you set this to true, you don't need to specify the certificate file.
GOVC_CERTIFICATE: The path to the vCenter server certificate file. This is optional and only needed if you set GOVC_INSECURE to false.
GOVC_DATACENTER: The name of the datacenter to use. This is optional and defaults to the first datacenter found.
GOVC_DATASTORE: The name of the datastore to use. This is optional and defaults to the first datastore found.
GOVC_NETWORK: The name of the network to use. This is optional and defaults to the first network found.
GOVC_RESOURCE_POOL: The name of the resource pool to use. This is optional and defaults to the first resource pool found.
GOVC_FOLDER: The name of the folder to use. This is optional and defaults to the root folder.
You can export these variables in your shell or use a configuration file named .govc in your home directory or current directory. The configuration file should have one variable per line in the format of export VAR=value. For example:
export GOVC_URL= export GOVC_INSECURE=true export GOVC_DATACENTER=dc1 export GOVC_DATASTORE=ds1 export GOVC_NETWORK=net1 export GOVC_RESOURCE_POOL=rp1 export GOVC_FOLDER=folder1
Use common flags such as -u, -debug, and -k
If you don't want to use environment variables or configuration files, you can also specify some common flags when running govc commands. These flags are:
-u: The URL of your vCenter server. This overrides the GOVC_URL variable.
-debug: Whether to enable debug mode. This prints the HTTP requests and responses for each govc command.
-k: Whether to skip verification of the vCenter server certificate. This overrides the GOVC_INSECURE variable.
For example, you can run this command to list all VMs in your vCenter server with debug mode enabled and without verifying the certificate:
govc ls -u -debug -k /vm
Refer to managed entities by their absolute or relative path or by a pattern
A managed entity is any object in your vSphere inventory, such as a datacenter, a cluster, a host, a VM, a datastore, a network, etc. You can refer to a managed entity by its absolute path, relative path, or by a pattern that matches its name or property. Here are some examples:
Absolute path: This starts with a slash (/) and specifies the full path of the managed entity from the root folder. For example: /dc1/host/cluster1/esxi1.
Relative path: This starts with a dot (.) and specifies the path of the managed entity relative to the current folder or datacenter. For example: ./esxi1.
Pattern: This can be a glob pattern that matches the name or property of one or more managed entities. For example: *esxi*, @type=VirtualMachine, @name=vm1.
Use govc ls, govc vm.info, govc host.info, govc datastore.info, and other commands to retrieve vCenter information
You can use various govc commands to retrieve information about your vSphere environment. Some of the most common commands are:
govc ls: This lists all managed entities in a given path or pattern. For example, you can run this command to list all VMs in your datacenter:govc ls /dc1/vm
govc vm.info: This shows information about one or more VMs, such as name, power state, guest OS, IP address, CPU, memory, disk, network, etc. For example, you can run this command to show information about a VM named vm1:govc vm.info vm1
govc host.info: This shows information about one or more hosts, such as name, power state, connection state, maintenance mode, CPU, memory, disk, network, etc. For example, you can run this command to show information about a host named esxi1:govc host.info esxi1
govc datastore.info: This shows information about one or more datastores, such as name, type, capacity, free space, URL, etc. For example, you can run this command to show information about a datastore named ds1:govc datastore.info ds1
govc network.info: This shows information about one or more networks, such as name, type, port group, VLAN ID, etc. For example, you can run this command to show information about a network named net1:govc network.info net1
You can use the -json flag to output the information in JSON format for easier parsing. You can also use the -help flag to see the usage and options for each command.
Use govc vm.power, govc vm.migrate, govc vm.clone, and other commands to perform operations on VMs
You can also use govc commands to perform various operations on VMs. Some of the most common commands are:
govc vm.power: This powers on or off one or more VMs. For example, you can run this command to power on a VM named vm1:govc vm.power -on vm1
govc vm.migrate: This migrates one or more VMs to another host or datastore. For example, you can run this command to migrate a VM named vm1 to a host named esxi2:govc vm.migrate -host esxi2 vm1
govc vm.clone: This clones one or more VMs from an existing VM or template. For example, you can run this command to clone a VM named vm1 to a new VM named vm2:govc vm.clone -vm vm1 vm2
govc vm.snapshot: This creates or deletes snapshots of one or more VMs. For example, you can run this command to create a snapshot named snap1 for a VM named vm1:govc vm.snapshot -vm vm1 -create snap1
govc device: This adds or removes devices from one or more VMs. For example, you can run this command to add a CD-ROM device to a VM named vm1:govc device.cdrom.add -vm vm1
You can use the -help flag to see the usage and options for each command.
How to Troubleshoot Common Govc Errors and Solutions
Sometimes you may encounter errors when using govc commands. Here are some tips on how to troubleshoot common govc errors and solutions:
Check the exit code and error message of govc commands
If a govc command fails, it will return a non-zero exit code and an error message. You can check the exit code by running echo $? after the command. You can also check the error message by redirecting the standard error output to a file or displaying it on the screen. For example, you can run this command to save the error output of a govc command to a file named error.log:govc ls /dc1/vm 2> error.log
Verify the vCenter URL, credentials, certificate, and permissions
If you get an error that says something like "invalid URL", "connection refused", "unauthorized", or "permission denied", you may need to check the vCenter URL, credentials, certificate, and permissions that you are using. Make sure that:
The vCenter URL is correct and reachable from your system. You can use ping or curl to test the connectivity.
The username and password are correct and have sufficient privileges to perform the govc command. You can use govc about.cert -u user:pass@vcenter:443 to test the authentication.
The vCenter certificate is valid and trusted by your system. You can use openssl s_client -connect vcenter:443 to check the certificate.
The vCenter permissions are granted to the user or role that you are using. You can use govc role.ls -u user:pass@vcenter:443 to list the roles and permissions.
Use the -debug flag to trace requests and responses
If you get an error that says something like "invalid argument", "not found", "operation failed", or "internal error", you may need to debug the govc command and see what requests and responses are being sent and received. You can use the -debug flag to enable debug mode and print the HTTP requests and responses for each govc command. For example, you can run this command to debug a govc command that creates a VM:govc vm.create -debug -m 1024 -c 2 -on=false vm1
This will print something like this:
POST /sdk HTTP/1.1 Host: vcenter:443 User-Agent: govc/0.26.1 Content-Length: 1069 Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8 Cookie: vmware_soap_session="B3240D15-..." SOAPAction: urn:vim25/6.7 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenc=" xmlns:soapenv=" xmlns:xsd=" xmlns:xsi=" <soapenv:Body> <n1:CreateVM_Task xmlns:n1="urn:vim25" xsi:type="n1:CreateVM_TaskRequestType"> <n1:_this type="Folder">group-v3</n1:_this> <n1:config> <name>vm1</name> <guestId>otherGuest</guestId> <files> <vmPathName>[ds1]</vmPathName> </files> <numCPUs>2</numCPUs> <memoryMB>1024</memoryMB> </n1:config> <n1:pool type="ResourcePool">resgroup-8</n1:pool> </n1:CreateVM_Task> </soapenv:Body> </soapenv:Envelope> HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Length: 1069 Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8 Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:56:37 GMT <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenc=" xmlns:soapenv=" xmlns:xsd=" xmlns:xsi=" <soapenv:Body> <CreateVM_TaskResponse xmlns="urn:vim25"> <returnval type="Task">task-1234</returnval> </CreateVM_TaskResponse> </soapenv:Body> </soapenv:Envelope>
You can use the -dump flag to save the requests and responses to files for further analysis.
Refer to the USAGE document and Github issues for more help
If you need more help on how to use govc commands, you can refer to the for govmomi and govc to see if your problem has been reported or solved by others. You can also create a new issue if you find a bug or have a feature request.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shown you how to download and install govc, a command-line tool for managing VMware vSphere. We have also shown you how to use some basic govc commands to retrieve information and perform operations on your vSphere environment. We hope that this article has helped you to get started with govc and that you will find it useful for your vSphere administration tasks.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about govc:
What is the difference between govc and PowerCLI?PowerCLI is another CLI tool for managing VMware vSphere, but it is based on PowerShell and requires Windows or PowerShell Core. Govc is based on Go and can run on any operating system that supports Go. PowerCLI has more features and commands than govc, but govc is faster and lighter than PowerCLI.
How can I use govc with Ansible?You can use govc with Ansible by using the shell or command modules to run govc commands on your Ansible hosts. You can also use the govc environment variables or flags to specify the vCenter connection details. For example, you can use this Ansible task to power on a VM using govc:- name: Power on VM shell: govc vm.power -on vm1 environment: GOVC_URL: GOVC_INSECURE: true
How can I use govc with Docker?You can use govc with Docker by using the Docker image that contains the latest govc binary. You can run govc commands inside a Docker container by using the docker run command with the -e option to pass the environment variables or the -v option to mount a configuration file. For example, you can use this Docker command to list all VMs using govc:docker run --rm -e GOVC_URL= -e GOVC_INSECURE=true vmware/govc ls /vm
How can I contribute to govmomi or govc?You can contribute to govmomi or govc by reporting issues, submitting pull requests, writing documentation, or providing feedback on the to chat with other users and developers.
Where can I find more resources on govmomi or govc?You can find more resources on govmomi or govc by visiting the following links:
The , which provides an overview of the project and its features.
The , which provides a reference of the APIs and examples of how to use them.
The , which provides a collection of scripts that demonstrate how to use govc commands for common tasks.
The , which provides updates and announcements on the project and its releases.
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