VMware Workstation MCP Server

MCP server for controlling VMware Workstation VMs on Linux. Works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client.

Setup

pip install "mcp[cli]"

Add to ~/.claude.json (or use claude mcp add):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vmware": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["/path/to/vmware_mcp.py"]
    }
  }
}

Serial console

To enable send_text / read_serial, configure the VM's serial port in the .vmx file:

serial0.fileType = "network"
serial0.fileName = "telnet://127.0.0.1:4321"
serial0.present = "TRUE"
serial0.yieldOnMsrRead = "TRUE"

The guest OS must poll COM1 for input.

Tools (34)

VM Inventory

Tool	Description
list_running_vms	List running VMs
list_all_vms	Discover all VMs on the system
get_vm_info	Detailed VM config (CPU, RAM, disks, NICs)

Power Management

Tool	Description
start_vm	Power on (gui or nogui)
stop_vm	Power off (soft/hard)
suspend_vm	Suspend to disk
reset_vm	Reboot
pause_vm / unpause_vm	Pause/resume

Snapshots

Tool	Description
list_snapshots	List all snapshots
create_snapshot	Create a named snapshot
revert_to_snapshot	Revert to a snapshot
delete_snapshot	Delete a snapshot

Screen Capture

Tool	Description
capture_screen	Screenshot via X11 window capture (no Tools needed), saves to ~/Desktop/

Serial Console

Tool	Description
send_text	Send text to VM console, returns response
read_serial	Read last N chars from captured serial output
read_new_serial	Read only new output since last read

The server maintains a persistent serial connection with a 64KB ring buffer that captures all VM output in the background.

Guest Operations (require VMware Tools)

Tool	Description
get_guest_ip	Get guest IP address
run_program_in_guest	Execute a program
run_script_in_guest	Execute a script
list_processes_in_guest	List processes
kill_process_in_guest	Kill a process
copy_file_to_guest	Host -> guest file copy
copy_file_from_guest	Guest -> host file copy
list_directory_in_guest	List directory contents
file_exists_in_guest	Check if file exists

Other

Tool	Description
add_shared_folder / remove_shared_folder	Manage shared folders
clone_vm	Clone a VM (full or linked)
install_tools / check_tools_state	VMware Tools management
read_variable / write_variable	VM variables

Requirements

• VMware Workstation Pro (Linux)
• vmrun in PATH
• Python 3.10+
• xdotool + ImageMagick (for capture_screen)
• Guest serial input support (for send_text)