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Quick Start

Get up and running with VMware vRA CLI in just a few minutes! This guide will walk you through creating your first virtual machine using the CLI.

Step 1: Authentication

First, authenticate with your vRA environment:

vra auth login

You'll be prompted for:

  • Username: Your vRA username
  • Password: Your vRA password (hidden input)
  • URL: Your vRA server URL (e.g., https://vra.company.com)
  • Tenant: Your vRA tenant (default: vsphere.local)

Pro Tip

Your credentials are securely stored in your system keyring for future use.

Example:

$ vra auth login
Username: admin@vsphere.local
Password: ********
vRA URL: https://vra.company.com
Tenant [vsphere.local]: 

✅ Authentication successful!
🔑 Token saved to keyring

Step 2: Explore Available Resources

List VM Templates

See what VM templates are available:

vra vm templates

List Projects

Check which projects you have access to:

vra project list

Step 3: Create Your First VM

Create a new virtual machine:

vra vm create \
  --template "Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS" \
  --name "my-first-vm" \
  --project "Development" \
  --description "My first VM created with vRA CLI"

Command Breakdown

  • --template: The VM template to use
  • --name: Unique name for your VM
  • --project: Project to deploy the VM in
  • --description: Optional description

Step 4: Monitor VM Creation

Check the status of your VM:

vra vm status my-first-vm

You can also watch the deployment in real-time:

vra vm watch my-first-vm

Step 5: Manage Your VM

Once your VM is ready, you can perform various operations:

Get VM Details

vra vm show my-first-vm

Power Operations

# Power on
vra vm power-on my-first-vm

# Power off
vra vm power-off my-first-vm

# Restart
vra vm restart my-first-vm

Connect to VM

Get connection information:

vra vm connect my-first-vm

Step 6: Clean Up

When you're done, delete the VM:

vra vm delete my-first-vm --confirm

Common Workflows

Batch Operations

Create multiple VMs at once:

# Create 5 development VMs
for i in {1..5}; do
  vra vm create \
    --template "Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS" \
    --name "dev-vm-$i" \
    --project "Development"
done

Configuration File

For complex deployments, use a configuration file:

name: "web-server-001"
template: "Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS"
project: "Production"
description: "Web server for production environment"
cpu: 2
memory: 4096
disk: 50
network: "Production-Network"
tags:
  - environment: production
  - role: web-server
  - owner: ops-team

vra vm create --config vm-config.yaml

Interactive Mode

Use interactive mode for guided VM creation:

vra vm create --interactive

This will prompt you through all the options step by step.

What's Next?

Now that you've created your first VM, explore more features:

  1. Authentication Guide - Advanced authentication options
  2. VM Management - Complete VM lifecycle management
  3. API Reference - Full command reference
  4. Configuration - Customize your CLI experience

Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Command Description
vra auth login Authenticate with vRA
vra vm templates List available templates
vra vm create Create a new VM
vra vm list List your VMs
vra vm status <name> Check VM status
vra vm delete <name> Delete a VM
vra --help Show help

Getting Help

Any command can show help with --help:

vra vm create --help
vra auth --help
vra --help

Congratulations! 🎉

You've successfully created and managed your first VM using VMware vRA CLI!