6.5

Command Set Description See
localcli
commands
Set of commands for use with VMware Technical Support. localcli
commands are equivalent to ESXCLI commands, but bypass the host
daemon (hostd) . The localcli commands are only for situations when
hostd is unavailable and cannot be restarted. After you run a localcli
command, you must restart hostd. Run ESXCLI commands after the
restart.
If you use a localcli command, an inconsistent system state and
potential failure might result.
pktcap-uw
utility
Enables you to monitor the trac that ows through the physical
network adapters, the VMkernel adapters, and the virtual machine
adapters, and to analyze the packet information by using conventional
network analysis tools such as Wireshark.
vSphere Networking
documentation
dir-cli
vecs-cli
certool
Commands for managing the vCenter Single Sign-On and certicate
infrastructure.
vSphere Security
documentation
appliancesh
Enables you to congure and troubleshoot the vCenter Server Appliance
and to monitor the processes and services running in the appliance.
vCenter Server Appliance
Conguration
documentation
Using ESXCLI for Host Management
You can manage many aspects of an ESXi host by using commands from the ESXCLI command set. You can
run ESXCLI commands as vCLI commands, or run them in the ESXi Shell in troubleshooting situations.
You can also run ESXCLI commands from the PowerCLI shell by using the Get-EsxCli cmdlet. See the
PowerCLI User's Guide and the PowerCLI Cmdlet Reference.
The set of ESXCLI commands that are available on a host depends on the host conguration. The vSphere
Command‐Line Interface Reference lists help information for all ESXCLI commands. You can run esxcli --
server <MyESXi> --help before you run a command on a host to make sure that the command is dened on
the host that you are targeting.
ESXCLI Syntax
Each ESXCLI command uses the same syntax.
The following is the standard syntax structure of an ESXCLI command.
esxcli [dispatcher options] <namespace> [<namespace> ...] <cmd> [cmd options]
Syntax
Element Description
dispatcher
options
Predened options for connection information such as target host, user name, and so on. See Chapter 4,
“Running vCLI Host Management Commands,” on page 31. Not required when you run the
command in the ESXi Shell. If the target server is a vCenter Server system, specify the target ESXi host
before any ESXCLI namespaces, commands, and supported options.
Many ESXCLI commands generate output that you might want to use in your application. You can run
esxcli with the --formatter dispatcher option and send the resulting output as input to a parser.
I Starting with vSphere 6.0, ESXCLI expects a trust relationship between the target host and
the system on which you run the command. You can establish this relationship in one of these ways:
n
Use the --cacertsfile option or VI_CACERTFILE variable.
n
Store the thumbprint in the session le.
n
Specify the thumbprint with the --thumbprint option or VI_THUMBPRINT variable.
You can pass in the thumbprint that is returned in the error if you trust the host that you are targeting.
See “Trust Relationship Requirement for ESXCLI Commands,” on page 38 for an example.
namespace
Groups ESXCLI commands. vSphere 5.0 and later support nested namespaces.
Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces
10 VMware, Inc.