How to Install open-vm-tools on Linux Virtual Machines in VMware

Updated: 30 September 2026 · Applies to: open-vm-tools 13 on AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 9 and 10, RHEL 9 and 10, Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04, Debian 13 (VMware ESXi and Workstation guests)

Virtual machines on VMware (ESXi, vSphere, Workstation, Fusion) run best with the VMware guest tools. On Linux these are the open-source open-vm-tools, which the distributions package and VMware recommends over its old installer. They let the host shut down or reboot the VM cleanly, show its IP address and host name in vSphere, and take application-consistent snapshots. On AlmaLinux 9 and 10 and Ubuntu 24.04 the package was version 13.0 when we checked.

Install

dnf install open-vm-tools             # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, RHEL
apt install open-vm-tools             # Ubuntu, Debian

For a VM with a desktop, also install open-vm-tools-desktop, which adds copy and paste, drag and drop, and automatic screen resizing.

Start and check

systemctl enable --now vmtoolsd
systemctl status vmtoolsd
vmware-toolbox-cmd -v

In the vSphere Client, the VM's summary should now show "VMware Tools: Running" and the guest's IP address and host name. Many installations already include open-vm-tools when the installer detects VMware; rpm -q open-vm-tools or dpkg -l open-vm-tools shows whether it is there.

Useful commands

vmware-toolbox-cmd stat speed       # host CPU speed as seen by the guest
vmware-toolbox-cmd timesync status  # whether VMware time sync is on

Keep chrony running for time synchronisation and leave VMware's periodic time sync off (the default), so the two do not work against each other.

Remove the old VMware Tools

If a VM still has the old tarball-based VMware Tools (installed with vmware-install.pl), remove them first with vmware-uninstall-tools.pl, then install open-vm-tools.

Official documentation: open-vm-tools on GitHub.