Overview of vSphere Command-Line Interfaces

vSphere includes commands for managing different aspects of your environment. The following CLIs are available for managing hosts, either directly or through the vCenter Server system that manages the host.

vSphere CLIs for host management.

The following command sets are available and are discussed either in this manual or other VMware documentation.

Command set	Description	See
ESXCLI commands	Manage many aspects of an ESXi host. You can run ESXCLI commands remotely or in the ESXi Shell. ■ vCLI package. Install the vCLI package on the server of your choice, or deploy a vMA virtual machine and target the ESXi system that you want manipulate. You can run ESXCLI commands against a vCenter Server system and target the host indirectly. Running against vCenter Server systems by using the -vihost parameter is required if the host is in lockdown mode. ■ ESXi Shell. Run ESXCLI commands in the local ESXi shell to manage that host. You can also run ESXCLI commands from the vSphere PowerCLI prompt by using the Get-EsxCli cmdlet.	Using ESXCLI for Host Management Installing vCLI vSphere Command-Line Concepts and Examples vSphere Management Assistant Guide vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference
vicfg- and other vCLI commands	Allow users to manage hosts remotely. Install the vCLI package on a Windows or Linux system or deploy a vMA virtual machine, and target the ESXi system that you want manipulate. You can run the commands against ESXi systems or against a vCenter Server system. If you target a vCenter Server system, use the --vihost option to specify the target ESXi system. Note: If the ESXi system is in strict lockdown mode, you must run commands against the vCenter Server system that manages your ESXi system.	Installing vCLI vSphere Command-Line Concepts and Examples vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference
esxcfg- commands	Available in the ESXi Shell. esxcfg- commands are still included in this release but are deprecated. Migrate to ESXCLI where possible.	Command-Line Management of vSphere 5 and vSphere 6 for Service Console Users
DCLI commands	Manage VMware SDDC services. DCLI is a CLI client to the vCloud Suite SDK interface for managing VMware SDDC services. A DCLI command talks to a vCloud Suite API endpoint to locate relevant information, and then executes the command and displays result to the user. You can run DCLI commands as follows. ■ vCenter Server appliance. Run DCLI commands from the vCenter Server Appliance shell. See Running DCLI Commands on the vCenter Server Appliance. ■ vCenter Server Windows command prompt. Install vCenter Server on a supported Windows system and run DCLI commands from the command prompt. ■ vCLI package. ■ Open a command prompt on a Linux or Windows system on which you installed vCLI. Enter commands into that command prompt, specifying connection options. See Running DCLI Commands. ■ Access the vMA Linux console. DCLI does not support the vi-fastpass connections. ■ Prepare scripts that include DCLI commands and run the scripts as vCLI scripts from the vCenter Server Windows command prompt or from the vCenter Server Appliance shell.	Running DCLI Commands See the vCloud Suite SDK documentation for information about currently supported services and how they interact.
VMware PowerCLI cmdlets	VMware vSphere PowerCLI provides a Windows PowerShell interface to the vSphere API. vSphere PowerCLI includes PowerShell cmdlets for administering vSphere components. vSphere PowerCLI includes more than 370 cmdlets, a set of sample scripts, and a function library for management and automation. The vSphere Image Builder PowerCLI and the vSphere Auto Deploy PowerCLI are included when you install vSphere PowerCLI.	VMware PowerCLI documentation set.
localcli commands	Set of commands for use with VMware Technical Support. localcli commands are equivalent to ESXCLI commands, but bypass the hoste 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. Warning: If you use a localcli command, an inconsistent system state and potential failure can result.
pktcap-uw utility	Enables you to monitor the traffic that flows through physical network adapters, VMkernel adapters, and 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 certificate infrastructure.	vSphere Security documentation
appliancesh	Enables you to configure and troubleshoot the vCenter Server Appliance and to monitor the processes and services running in the appliance.	vCenter Server Appliance Configuration documentation