Ansible on VMware ESXi 8 Automation Complete Guide

VMware vSphere 8 (ESXi 8.0 U3) is the current VMware platform under Broadcom stewardship. Ansible automates ESXi hosts and vCenter through two complementary collections: community.vmware (mature, pyVmomi-based) and vmware.vmware_rest (REST-based, generated from vSphere REST API). General Support runs through October 2027 and Technical Guidance to October 2029. This is the master Ansible guide for vSphere 8.

vSphere 8 release facts

| Item | Value | |---|---| | ESXi build | 8.0 Update 3 | | GA | 2022-10-11 | | General Support | until 2027-10-11 | | Technical Guidance | until 2029-10-11 | | Hypervisor APIs | vSphere REST API, SOAP (legacy) |

See also: List Tags in VMware Datastore Using Ansible

Ansible-core compatibility

Use ansible-core 2.18 LTS. Required Python libs:

pip install pyvmomi vsphere-automation-sdk-python aiohttp

Collections:

# requirements.yml
collections:
  - name: community.vmware
    version: ">=5.0.0"
  - name: vmware.vmware_rest
    version: ">=4.0.0"

Inventory (control-node delegated)

Most VMware tasks run from localhost against vCenter:

[vcenter]
vc01 ansible_connection=local
[vcenter:vars]
vcenter_hostname=vc01.lab.example.com
vcenter_username=administrator@vsphere.local
vcenter_password='{{ vault_vc_password }}'
vcenter_validate_certs=false

See also: Ansible VMware Dynamic Inventory: Complete Guide (2026)

Add an ESXi host to vCenter

- name: Add ESXi 8 to vCenter
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Add host
      community.vmware.vmware_host:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter_name: DC01
        cluster_name: Cluster01
        esxi_hostname: esxi-01.lab.example.com
        esxi_username: root
        esxi_password: "{{ vault_esxi_password }}"
        state: present
        validate_certs: false

Provision a VM

- name: Deploy VM from content library
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Deploy from OVA template
      vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vmtemplate_libraryitems:
        vcenter_hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        vcenter_username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        vcenter_password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        vcenter_validate_certs: false
        name: app-01
        library_item_id: "{{ ubuntu24_template_id }}"
        placement:
          cluster: "{{ cluster_id }}"
          folder: "{{ folder_id }}"
          resource_pool: "{{ rp_id }}"
        state: present
      register: new_vm
- name: Power on
      vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_power:
        vcenter_hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        vcenter_username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        vcenter_password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        vcenter_validate_certs: false
        state: start
        vm: "{{ new_vm.value.vm_id | default(new_vm.value) }}"

See also: Configuring Ansible for VMware: Complete Setup Guide & Playbook

Manage standard portgroups

- name: Add portgroup to vSwitch
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Add VM portgroup
      community.vmware.vmware_portgroup:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: false
        switch_name: vSwitch0
        portgroup_name: VLAN-100
        vlan_id: 100
        esxi_hostname: esxi-01.lab.example.com
        state: present

Datastore management

- name: Mount NFS datastore
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: NFS datastore
      community.vmware.vmware_host_datastore:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: false
        esxi_hostname: esxi-01.lab.example.com
        datastore_name: nfs-shared
        datastore_type: nfs
        nfs_server: nfs.lab.example.com
        nfs_path: /vol/vmware
        state: present

Maintenance mode + patching

- name: Enter maintenance mode and patch
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Maintenance mode
      community.vmware.vmware_maintenancemode:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: false
        esxi_hostname: esxi-01.lab.example.com
        state: present
- name: Apply baseline (vLCM)
      community.vmware.vmware_host_lockdown:   # placeholder; vLCM modules per environment
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: false
        esxi_hostname: esxi-01.lab.example.com
        state: present

Best practices

• Prefer vmware.vmware_rest for new playbooks — it tracks the supported REST API. • Use community.vmware when you need pyVmomi-only features (older API surfaces). • Always set validate_certs: false only in lab; use proper PKI in production. • Drive vLCM (Lifecycle Manager) baselines from Ansible roles, not GUI.

Conclusion

vSphere 8 + Ansible delivers full VM and host lifecycle management. Combine community.vmware and vmware.vmware_rest collections, gate runs through change windows, and integrate with AAP for governed VMware operations.