Packer Plugin for VMware vSphere

![Latest Release][releases-vsphere-plugin] ![License][license]

The Packer Plugin for VMware vSphere is a plugin for creating virtual machine images for use with [VMware vSphere][docs-vsphere]®.

The plugin includes builders and post-processors for creating virtual machine images, depending on your desired strategy:

Builders

• vsphere-iso - This builder creates a virtual machine, installs a guest operating

• vsphere-clone - This builder imports an existing virtual machine, runs provisioners

• vsphere-supervisor - This builder deploys and publishes a virtual machine to a

Post-Processors

• vsphere - This post-processor uploads an artifact to a vSphere endpoint. The

• vsphere-template - This post-processor uses an artifact from the vSphere

Requirements

• [VMware vSphere][docs-vsphere]

• [Go 1.26.7][golang-install] is required to build the plugin from source.

Installation

Using the Releases

Automatic Installation

Include the following in your configuration to automatically install the plugin when you run packer init.

packer {
  required_version = ">= 1.7.0"
  required_plugins {
    vmware = {
      version = ">= 2.5.0"
      source  = "github.com/vmware/vsphere"
    }
  }
}

For more information, please refer to the Packer [documentation][docs-packer-init].

Manual Installation

You can install the plugin using the packer plugins install command.

Examples:

1. Install the latest version of the plugin:

packer plugins install github.com/vmware/vsphere

1. Install a specific version of the plugin:

packer plugins install github.com/vmware/[email protected]

Using the Source

You can build from source by cloning the GitHub repository and running make build from the repository root. After a successful build, the packer-plugin-vsphere binary is created in the root directory.

To install the compiled plugin, please refer to the Packer [documentation][docs-packer-plugin-install].

Documentation

• For information on plugin usage, refer to the plugin [documentation][docs-vsphere-plugin].

Contributing

Please read the [code of conduct][code-of-conduct] and [contribution guidelines][contributing] to get started.

Support

The Packer Plugin for VMware vSphere is supported by the maintainers and the plugin community.

License

© Broadcom. All Rights Reserved.
The term "Broadcom" refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Licensed under the [Mozilla Public License, version 2.0][license].

[license]: LICENSE [contributing]: .github/CONTRIBUTING.md [code-of-conduct]: .github/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md [issues]: https://github.com/vmware/packer-plugin-vsphere/issues [docs-packer-init]: https://developer.hashicorp.com/packer/docs/commands/init [docs-packer-plugin-install]: https://developer.hashicorp.com/packer/docs/plugins/install-plugins [docs-vsphere]: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere.html [docs-vsphere-clone]: https://vmware.github.io/packer-plugin-vsphere/latest/builders/vsphere-clone/ [docs-vsphere-iso]: https://vmware.github.io/packer-plugin-vsphere/latest/builders/vsphere-iso/ [docs-vsphere-supervisor]: https://vmware.github.io/packer-plugin-vsphere/latest/builders/vsphere-supervisor/ [docs-vsphere-plugin]: https://vmware.github.io/packer-plugin-vsphere/latest/ [docs-release-verification]: https://vmware.github.io/packer-plugin-vsphere/latest/community/release-verification/ [golang-install]: https://golang.org/doc/install [packer]: https://www.packer.io [releases-vsphere-plugin]: https://github.com/vmware/packer-plugin-vsphere/releases [product-lifecycle]: https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/productlifecycle