Ansible VMware Dynamic Inventory: Complete Guide (2026)

Overview

VMware dynamic inventory plugins automatically discover virtual machines from vSphere and populate your Ansible inventory. This eliminates manual host management and keeps your inventory in sync with your virtual infrastructure.

See also: Ansible VMware Automation: Manage vSphere, ESXi, and Virtual Machines at Scale

Important: Plugin Deprecation

The community.vmware.vmware_vm_inventory plugin was deprecated in v5.4.0 and will be removed in v7.0.0. Migrate to vmware.vmware.vms for a future-proof setup.

| Plugin | Status | Collection | |--------|--------|------------| | community.vmware.vmware_vm_inventory | ⚠️ Deprecated (remove in 7.0.0) | community.vmware | | vmware.vmware.vms | ✅ Active | vmware.vmware |

Install Collections

# New recommended collection
ansible-galaxy collection install vmware.vmware
# Legacy (still works, deprecated)
ansible-galaxy collection install community.vmware
# Python dependency
pip install pyVmomi>=8.0

See also: Configure Ansible Dynamic Inventory for VMware in Simple Steps

New Plugin: vmware.vmware.vms

Basic Configuration

# vmware_inventory.yml (filename must end in .vmware.yml or .vmware.yaml)
plugin: vmware.vmware.vms
hostname: vcenter.example.com
username: ansible@vsphere.local
password: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_PASSWORD') }}"
validate_certs: false

With Filters

plugin: vmware.vmware.vms
hostname: vcenter.example.com
username: ansible@vsphere.local
password: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_PASSWORD') }}"
validate_certs: false
filters:
  - runtime.powerState == "poweredOn"
  - config.guestId is not match('windows*')
  - config.name is match('prod-*')
keyed_groups:
  - key: config.guestId
    prefix: os
  - key: guest.net[0].network
    prefix: network
  - key: config.annotation | default('untagged')
    prefix: tag
compose:
  ansible_host: guest.ipAddress
  ansible_user: "'ansible'"

Group by Datacenter/Cluster

plugin: vmware.vmware.vms
hostname: vcenter.example.com
username: ansible@vsphere.local
password: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_PASSWORD') }}"
keyed_groups:
  - key: datacenter
    prefix: dc
  - key: cluster
    prefix: cluster
  - key: folder
    separator: ""
hostnames:
  - config.name

Legacy Plugin: community.vmware

# legacy_vmware.yml
plugin: community.vmware.vmware_vm_inventory
server: vcenter.example.com
username: ansible@vsphere.local
password: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_PASSWORD') }}"
validate_certs: false
with_nested_properties: true
properties:
  - config.name
  - config.guestId
  - guest.ipAddress
  - runtime.powerState
  - config.createDate
filters:
  - runtime.powerState == "poweredOn"
  - config.name is match('web-*')
keyed_groups:
  - key: config.guestId
    prefix: os
compose:
  ansible_host: guest.ipAddress

See also: Ansible on VMware ESXi 8 Automation Complete Guide

Migration Guide

Step 1: Install New Collection

ansible-galaxy collection install vmware.vmware

Step 2: Update Inventory File

# OLD (deprecated)
plugin: community.vmware.vmware_vm_inventory
server: vcenter.example.com
# NEW
plugin: vmware.vmware.vms
hostname: vcenter.example.com

Step 3: Update Property References

Some property names differ between plugins. Test with:

ansible-inventory -i vmware_inventory.yml --list | head -50

Step 4: Validate Groups

ansible-inventory -i vmware_inventory.yml --graph

Filtering VMs by Date

A common requirement is filtering VMs by creation date (e.g., VMs created in the last week):

# Static date filter (works)
filters:
  - config.createDate >= "2026-03-31T00:00:00Z"
# Dynamic date filtering requires a workaround
# The inventory plugin evaluates filters before Jinja2 date math
# Solution: Use a wrapper script or group_vars post-filter

Workaround: Post-Filter with Playbook

# Filter VMs by age in your playbook
- hosts: all
  tasks:
    - set_fact:
        vm_age_days: "{{ ((ansible_date_time.epoch | int) - (hostvars[inventory_hostname]['config.createDate'] | to_datetime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')).strftime('%s') | int)) / 86400 }}"
- debug:
        msg: "VM {{ inventory_hostname }} is {{ vm_age_days | int }} days old"
      when: vm_age_days | int <= 7

Using with AWX/AAP

Create a VMware vCenter credential in AWX Create an inventory with Source = Sourced from a project Point to your vmware_inventory.yml file in the project Enable Update on Launch for always-fresh inventory

Credential Security

# Option 1: Environment variables
# export VMWARE_HOST=vcenter.example.com
# export VMWARE_USER=ansible@vsphere.local
# export VMWARE_PASSWORD=secret
plugin: vmware.vmware.vms
hostname: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_HOST') }}"
username: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_USER') }}"
password: "{{ lookup('env', 'VMWARE_PASSWORD') }}"
# Option 2: Ansible Vault
# ansible-vault encrypt_string 'secret' --name vmware_password

Troubleshooting

No hosts returned

# Check connectivity
python3 -c "from pyVim.connect import SmartConnect; print('OK')"
# Verbose inventory listing
ansible-inventory -i vmware_inventory.yml --list -vvv

SSL certificate errors

validate_certs: false  # Development only!
# Production: add CA cert
# export VMWARE_VALIDATE_CERTS=true
# export REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE=/etc/pki/tls/certs/vcenter-ca.pem

Slow inventory refresh

# Limit properties fetched
properties:
  - config.name
  - guest.ipAddress
  - runtime.powerState
# Cache results
cache: true
cache_plugin: jsonfile
cache_connection: /tmp/vmware_inventory_cache
cache_timeout: 3600

FAQ

When will community.vmware inventory be removed?

In community.vmware collection version 7.0.0 (expected late 2026). Start migrating now.

Can I filter by custom attributes?

Yes — use config.annotation for notes, or custom attributes via the properties list.

How often does dynamic inventory refresh?

Every time you run a playbook, unless you enable caching. In AWX/AAP, configure sync schedules.

Related Articles

• Ansible Inventory Complete Guide • Ansible AWS Complete Guide • List Tags in VMware Datastore • Check VMware VM Snapshots • Get VMware VM UUID • Expand Virtual Disk in VMware