---
layout: docs
page_title: Installation - VMware Provider
description: |-
  The Vagrant VMware Utility works with the Vagrant VMware Provider to
  interact with the system VMware installation.
---

# Vagrant VMware Utility Installation

## System Packages

The Vagrant VMware Utility is provided as a system package. To install the
utility, download and install the correct system package from the downloads
page.

<Button title={`Download ${VMWARE_UTILITY_VERSION}`} url="/vmware/downloads" />

## Manual Installation

If there is no officially supported system package of the utility available,
it may be possible to manually install utility. This applies to Linux platforms
only. First, download the latest zip package from the releases page.

Next create a directory for the executable and unpack the executable as
root.

```shell-session
$ sudo mkdir -p /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin
$ sudo unzip -d /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin vagrant-vmware-utility_1.0.0_linux_amd64.zip
```

After the executable has been installed, the utility setup tasks must be run. First,
generate the required certificates:

```shell-session
$ sudo /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin/vagrant-vmware-utility certificate generate
```

The path provided from this command can be used to set the [`utility_certificate_path`](/vagrant/docs/providers/vmware/configuration#utility_certificate_path) in the Vagrantfile
configuration if installing to a non-standard path.

Finally, install the service. This will also enable the service.

```shell-session
$ sudo /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin/vagrant-vmware-utility service install
```

# Usage

The Vagrant VMware Utility provides the Vagrant VMware provider plugin access
to various VMware functionalities. The Vagrant VMware Utility is required by
the Vagrant VMware Desktop provider plugin.

## Vagrant VMware Utility Access

The Vagrant VMware Utility provides support for all users on the system using
the Vagrant VMware Desktop plugin. If access restrictions to the Utility need
to be applied to users on the system, this can be accomplished by restricting
user access to the certificates used for connecting to the service.

On Windows platforms these certificates can be found at:

```text
C:\ProgramData\HashiCorp\vagrant-vmware-desktop\certificates
```

On POSIX-style platforms these certificates can be found at:

```text
/opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/certificates
```

## Vagrant VMware Utility Service

The Vagrant VMware Utility consists of a small service which runs on the
host platform. When the utility installer package is installed, the service
is configured to automatically start. If the plugin reports errors communicating
with the service, it may have stopped for some reason. The most common cause of
the service not being in a running state is the VMware application not being
installed. The service can be started again by using the proper command below:

### Windows

On Windows platforms a service is created called `vagrant-vmware-utility`. The
service can be manually started using the services GUI (`services.msc`) or by
running the following command from a `cmd.exe` in administrator mode:

```shell-session
$ net.exe start vagrant-vmware-utility
```

### macOS

```shell-session
$ sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vagrant.vagrant-vmware-utility.plist
```

### Linux systemd

```shell-session
$ sudo systemctl start vagrant-vmware-utility
```

### Linux SysVinit

```shell-session
$ sudo /etc/init.d/vagrant-vmware-utility start
```

### Linux runit

```shell-session
$ sudo sv start vagrant-vmware-utility
```

## Utility Service Configuration

When installing the Vagrant VMware utility service, a configuration file is generated
that is used when the process is started. On Windows, this can be found at:

```text
C:\ProgramData\HashiCorp\vagrant-vmware-desktop\config\service.hcl
```

On POSIX-style systems, it can be found at:

```text
/opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/config/service.hcl
```

The configuration file uses the [HCL](https://github.com/hashicorp/hcl) configuration
language. It supports a subset of the options provided by the CLI. An example configuration
file looks like:

```hcl
core {
  level = "info"
}

api {
  port = 9922
  driver = "advanced"
  license_override = "standard"
}
```

### Core options

- `level` (string) - Output level of the logger
- `log_file` (string) - Store logs to file at given path
- `log_append` (bool) - Append log output to existing file

### API options

- `port` (int) - Port to bind the API (changes require changes to [Vagrant configuration](/vagrant/docs/providers/vmware/configuration#utility_port))
- `driver` (string) - Internal driver to use (utility will auto-detect correct driver)
- `license_override` (string) - Override the detected VMware license (standard or professional)

#### Restarting the service

After updating the the configuration file, the service must be restarted. The method
for restarting the service will depend on your host platform.

For Windows:

On Windows platforms a service is created called `vagrant-vmware-utility`. The
service can be manually stopped and started using the services GUI (`services.msc`) or by
running the following command from a `cmd.exe` in administrator mode:

```shell-session
$ net.exe stop vagrant-vmware-utility
$ net.exe start vagrant-vmware-utility
```

For macOS:

```shell-session
$ sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vagrant.vagrant-vmware-utility.plist
$ sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vagrant.vagrant-vmware-utility.plist
```

For Linux systemd:

```shell-session
$ sudo systemctl restart vagrant-vmware-utility
```

For Linux SysVinit:

```shell-session
$ sudo /etc/init.d/vagrant-vmware-utility restart
```

For Linux runit:

```shell-session
$ sudo sv restart vagrant-vmware-utility
```

### macOS service configuration

The Vagrant VMware utility service configuration on macOS is slightly different
than other platforms. If the `port` option is updated in the configuration file,
it will not be applied after restarting the service. This is due to the port
being defined directly within the service file so it properly matches the service
socket information. To update the port on macOS, it is easier to uninstall the
service and then install it again:

```shell-session
$ /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin/vagrant-vmware-utility service uninstall
$ /opt/vagrant-vmware-desktop/bin/vagrant-vmware-utility service install -port=9999
```