VMware ESXi and vSphere Cluster Management

Install VMware Tools in a Linux Guest Virtual Machine

Learn how to install VMware Tools manually in an Ubuntu or other Linux guest, mount the installer ISO, install Perl, run the installer, reboot, and validate guest integration.

VMware Tools is guest integration software and a set of drivers installed inside a virtual machine. It helps the guest operating system communicate with VMware Player and can improve display handling, pointer integration, time synchronization, clipboard sharing, host-guest integration, and clean shutdown or management behavior where supported.

The tools belong in the guest operating system—the Linux system running inside the virtual machine. They are not installed on the host operating system, which is the computer system running VMware Player.

Choose an installation method

Some automated Linux installations install guest tools during virtual machine setup. Before installing anything, check whether tools are already present. On a systemd-based guest, try:

systemctl status vmtoolsd

You can also check whether the command exists:

command -v vmtoolsd
command -v vmware-toolbox-cmd

A service or command may be present even when a particular feature is unavailable. Therefore, also test practical integration such as pointer capture, display resizing, or clipboard sharing if the feature is supported by your VMware Player and desktop environment.

Do not mix both methods casually. Replacing one with the other can leave conflicting files or services. If you change methods, use the supported removal or replacement procedure for the method currently installed.

Prerequisites and preparation

• Power on the Linux virtual machine and log in.
• Have a shell or terminal available.
• Use an account with sudo access, or log in as root when appropriate.
• Ensure the virtual CD/DVD device exists and can connect to VMware Tools installation media.
• For the legacy installer, install or be prepared to install Perl, the runtime required by the installer script.
• Reserve temporary disk space for extracting the archive. The mounted ISO is normally read-only, so it is not a suitable extraction directory.

Take a virtual machine snapshot or create a backup before changing guest drivers or integration software. A kernel upgrade may later require guest-tool modules to be rebuilt or the tools package to be updated.

Recommended method: install open-vm-tools

open-vm-tools is the open-source VMware guest-tools implementation distributed through many Linux repositories. For a graphical desktop guest, install the desktop integration package as well when the distribution provides it.

Ubuntu or Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

Fedora or RHEL-family systems

sudo dnf install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

On older systems, the package manager may be yum rather than dnf. Some RHEL-family installations use a different repository or package name for desktop integration.

openSUSE

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

If the desktop package is not available under that exact name, search the distribution repositories for its open-vm-tools graphical or desktop equivalent.

Restart the guest after installing the packages, or restart the relevant service if your distribution documents that as sufficient:

sudo reboot

Manual installation from VMware Player media

The following procedure applies to a Linux guest that needs the VMware-provided installer ISO. Menu labels can vary between VMware Player releases.

1. Configure the virtual CD/DVD device

1. Power on the virtual machine.
2. In VMware Player, open Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings.
3. Select the CD/DVD device.
4. Select Use physical drive, then choose Auto detect when that option is available.
5. Confirm that the device is connected to the guest, then save the settings.

The virtual CD/DVD drive is virtual hardware that presents optical media to the guest. Configuring it allows VMware Player to attach an ISO image, which is a disk-image file that behaves like a CD or DVD.

2. Confirm that Perl is available

Run this command inside the Linux guest:

perl -v

A successful result displays a Perl version banner followed by licensing and usage information. If the shell reports that the command is not found, install Perl using the package manager for the guest:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install perl

For Fedora or RHEL-family systems, use sudo dnf install perl. For openSUSE, use sudo zypper install perl. Package commands and package names can vary between releases.

3. Start the VMware Tools installation

1. Return to VMware Player.
2. Choose Player > Manage > Install VMware Tools.
3. If VMware Player offers to download the tools image, accept the download-and-install prompt.
4. Wait for the download to complete and for the ISO to be attached to the virtual CD/DVD device.

After attachment, Linux may mount the ISO automatically and show it in the desktop file manager. If it does not, inspect the mounted filesystems from a terminal.

mount

Look for a virtual optical device and note the directory at the end of its mount entry. That directory is the mount point: the path through which Linux exposes the contents of the attached filesystem. Common locations include directories under /media or /run/media, but do not assume a fixed path.

4. Inspect the mounted media

List the files using the mount point found in the previous step:

ls -l /path/to/mounted/cdrom

Identify the compressed VMware Tools tar archive. Its name contains a version number and may resemble:

VMwareTools-<version>.tar.gz

A tar archive is a packaged collection of files; the .gz suffix indicates gzip compression. Use the exact filename displayed by ls in the following commands.

5. Extract the archive into a writable directory

Create a temporary workspace outside the read-only CD-ROM:

mkdir -p /tmp/vmware-tools && cd /tmp/vmware-tools

Extract the archive. Replace both the mount path and versioned filename with the values from your guest:

tar zxpf /path/to/mounted/cdrom/VMwareTools-<version>.tar.gz

The archive normally creates an extracted directory such as vmware-tools-distrib. Enter that directory:

cd vmware-tools-distrib

6. Run the Perl installer

Launch the installer with administrative privileges:

sudo perl vmware-install.pl

The installer asks interactive questions about paths and optional components. For a basic desktop Linux guest, accepting the suggested answers is generally appropriate. Choose custom paths or features only when you have a specific requirement and understand the consequences.

The installer may compile or load kernel modules. A kernel module is code loaded into the Linux kernel to provide a driver or system capability. If prompted for compiler tools or matching kernel headers, install the packages required by your distribution and running kernel, then rerun the installer.

7. Reboot and validate

Reboot after the installer completes so kernel modules, services, and desktop integration components can take effect:

sudo reboot

After logging in again, check the guest-tools service when the guest uses systemd:

systemctl status vmtoolsd

The service should be active or running. Service names differ between distributions and installation methods, so an unavailable unit does not by itself prove that no tools are installed.

Test one or more supported features:

• Resize the VMware Player window and check whether the guest display follows it.
• Move the pointer between host and guest without an unnecessary capture or release action.
• Test clipboard sharing if the guest desktop, VMware Player version, and security settings support it.
• Check that the guest clock and shutdown behavior work as expected.

If a feature fails, the cause may be a stopped service, a missing desktop package, an incompatible legacy installer, or a feature that is not supported by the current guest desktop. In many current distributions, replacing the legacy installation with the distribution-supported open-vm-tools packages is the better solution.

Common checks

Troubleshooting

Install VMware Tools is unavailable or does nothing

• Confirm that the guest is powered on.
• Check that the virtual CD/DVD device is present, connected, and configured to use the physical drive or automatic detection as applicable.
• Retry the installation action after correcting the device configuration.
• If VMware Player cannot download or attach the image, use repository-provided open-vm-tools when it is suitable for the distribution.

The mounted CD-ROM cannot be found

• Review mount output and the Linux desktop file manager.
• Reconnect the virtual CD/DVD device from VMware Player.
• If automatic mounting is disabled, mount the optical device manually according to the guest distribution's normal removable-media procedure.

Perl is missing

Minimal Linux installations commonly omit Perl. Install it from the distribution repository, verify it with perl -v, and then restart the VMware installer.

The installer cannot write files or load modules

• Run the installer with sudo or as root.
• Extract the archive into a writable directory such as /tmp/vmware-tools, not onto the read-only ISO.
• Install the compiler, matching kernel headers, and other build dependencies requested for the running kernel.

Installation completes but integration features are unavailable

1. Reboot the guest.
2. Check systemctl status vmtoolsd or the service mechanism used by the distribution.
3. Confirm that open-vm-tools-desktop, or the distribution's equivalent desktop package, is installed for a graphical guest.
4. Check VMware Player display and guest settings.
5. If the legacy installer is incompatible with the current kernel or distribution, remove or replace it using a supported procedure and install the distribution packages instead.

A kernel update breaks VMware Tools

Legacy modules may have been built for the previous kernel, or matching headers and build dependencies may be missing. Boot the updated kernel, install its matching headers, and repair or rerun the supported tools installation. Distribution-managed open-vm-tools is often less fragile across normal kernel updates.

Practical Ubuntu examples

Ubuntu desktop with the legacy VMware Tools media

1. Boot the Ubuntu guest and log in with an account allowed to use sudo.
2. Run perl -v. If needed, install it with sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install perl.
3. In VMware Player, open Player > Manage > Install VMware Tools.
4. Accept the download prompt if it appears and wait for the virtual CD-ROM to attach.
5. Run mount, find the optical mount point, and use ls -l to locate the versioned tar archive.
6. Create /tmp/vmware-tools, extract the archive there with tar zxpf, and enter the extracted directory.
7. Run sudo perl vmware-install.pl, normally accepting the suggested answers.
8. Run sudo reboot, then check the service and test display or pointer integration.

Ubuntu desktop with repository packages

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop
sudo reboot

After the restart, test display resizing and other supported integration. This package-based method is generally preferable for a current Ubuntu guest.

Key points to remember

• VMware Tools are installed inside the guest, not on the host.
• Check for existing tools before installing a second implementation.
• Use open-vm-tools when it is the supported package for the Linux distribution.
• The legacy VMware ISO installer needs Perl and may need kernel build dependencies.
• Extract the archive into a writable temporary directory rather than the mounted CD-ROM.
• Reboot and verify both the service and an actual integration feature.
• Menu wording, package names, mount locations, service units, and installer behavior can vary by VMware Player and Linux release.

For a concise reference to this procedure, see Install VMware Tools in Linux.