# Vmware Aiops

> >

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-vmware-skills-vmware-aiops-vmware-aiops`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [vmware-skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/vmware-skills)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Cloud & Infrastructure](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/cloud-infrastructure)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [vmware-skills](https://github.com/vmware-skills)
- **Source:** https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-AIops/tree/main/skills/vmware-aiops
- **Website:** https://skills.sh/zw008/VMware-AIops

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-vmware-skills-vmware-aiops-vmware-aiops
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# VMware AIops

> **Disclaimer**: This is a community-maintained open-source project and is **not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by VMware, Inc. or Broadcom Inc.** "VMware" and "vSphere" are trademarks of Broadcom. Source code is publicly auditable at [github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-AIops](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-AIops) under the MIT license.

VMware family entry point — AI-powered VM lifecycle, deployment, and alarm management — 60 MCP tools.

> **Start here**: install vmware-aiops first, then add modules as needed.
> Run `vmware-aiops hub status` to see which family members are installed.
> **Family**: [vmware-monitor](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-Monitor) (inventory/health), [vmware-storage](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-Storage) (iSCSI/vSAN), [vmware-vks](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-VKS) (Tanzu Kubernetes), [vmware-nsx](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-NSX) (NSX networking), [vmware-nsx-security](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-NSX-Security) (DFW/firewall), [vmware-aria](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-Aria) (metrics/alerts/capacity), [vmware-avi](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-AVI) (AVI/ALB/AKO), [vmware-harden](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-Harden) (compliance baselines).
> | [vmware-pilot](../vmware-pilot/SKILL.md) (workflow orchestration) | [vmware-policy](../vmware-policy/SKILL.md) (audit/policy)

## What This Skill Does

| Category | Tools | Count |
|----------|-------|:-----:|
| **VM Lifecycle** | power on/off, create, reconfigure, clone, migrate, delete, snapshot CRUD, TTL auto-delete, clean slate | 16 |
| **Deployment** | OVA, template, linked clone, batch clone/deploy | 8 |
| **Guest Ops** | exec commands, upload/download files, provision | 5 |
| **Plan/Apply** | multi-step planning with rollback | 4 |
| **Cluster** | create, delete, HA/DRS config, add/remove hosts, DRS VM-VM rules (list/create/delete/enable-disable) | 10 |
| **Datastore** | browse files, scan for images | 2 |
| **Network** | dvSwitch portgroup list/create, host VMkernel list/add/remove/tag-service, DF-bit MTU-path ping | 7 |
| **Alarm Management** | list alarms, acknowledge, reset | 3 |
| **Triage & Investigation** (read-only, delegates to vmware-monitor) | one-glance cluster health summary, object-centered VM/host/datastore drill-down bundles, cross-vCenter "what needs attention now?" | 5 |

## Quick Install

```bash
uv tool install vmware-aiops
vmware-aiops doctor
vmware-aiops hub status   # see which family members are installed
```

## VMware Family — Install What You Need

vmware-aiops is the entry point. Add modules for additional capabilities:

| Module | Install | Adds |
|--------|---------|------|
| **vmware-monitor** | `uv tool install vmware-monitor` | Read-only inventory, alarms, events |
| **vmware-storage** | `uv tool install vmware-storage` | iSCSI, vSAN, datastore management |
| **vmware-vks** | `uv tool install vmware-vks` | Tanzu Kubernetes (vSphere 8.x+) |
| **vmware-nsx** | `uv tool install vmware-nsx-mgmt` | NSX networking: segments, gateways, NAT |
| **vmware-nsx-security** | `uv tool install vmware-nsx-security` | DFW microsegmentation, security groups |
| **vmware-aria** | `uv tool install vmware-aria` | Aria Ops metrics, alerts, capacity |
| **vmware-avi** | `uv tool install vmware-avi` | AVI load balancer, ALB, AKO, Ingress |

> Each module stays independent — small tool count keeps local models (Ollama, Qwen) accurate.

## When to Use This Skill

- Power on/off, create, delete, snapshot, clone, or migrate VMs
- Deploy VMs from OVA, templates, linked clones, or batch specs
- Run commands or transfer files inside a VM (Guest Operations)
- Create/configure clusters (HA/DRS)
- Browse datastores for deployable images
- Plan and execute multi-step operations with rollback
- List, acknowledge, and clear vCenter triggered alarms (clear matches by entity type + status — see MCP Tools section)

**Use companion skills for**:
- Inventory, health, alarms, VM info → `vmware-monitor`
- iSCSI, vSAN, datastore management → `vmware-storage`
- Tanzu Kubernetes (Supervisor, Namespace, TKC) → `vmware-vks`
- Load balancing, AVI/ALB, AKO, Ingress → `vmware-avi`

## Related Skills — Skill Routing

| User Intent | Recommended Skill |
|-------------|------------------|
| Read-only monitoring, zero risk | **vmware-monitor** (`uv tool install vmware-monitor`) |
| Storage: iSCSI, vSAN, datastores | **vmware-storage** (`uv tool install vmware-storage`) |
| VM lifecycle, deployment, guest ops | **vmware-aiops** ← this skill |
| Tanzu Kubernetes (vSphere 8.x+) | **vmware-vks** (`uv tool install vmware-vks`) |
| NSX networking: segments, gateways, NAT | **vmware-nsx** (`uv tool install vmware-nsx-mgmt`) |
| NSX security: DFW rules, security groups | **vmware-nsx-security** (`uv tool install vmware-nsx-security`) |
| Aria Ops: metrics, alerts, capacity | **vmware-aria** (`uv tool install vmware-aria`) |
| Multi-step workflows with approval | **vmware-pilot** |
| Compliance baselines (CIS / 等保 / PCI-DSS), drift detection, LLM remediation advisor | **vmware-harden** (`uv tool install vmware-harden`) |
| Load balancer, AVI, ALB, AKO, Ingress | **vmware-avi** (`uv tool install vmware-avi`) |
| Audit log query | **vmware-policy** (`vmware-audit` CLI) |

## Common Workflows

> **Diagnostic investigations**: Before remediating any "why is X slow / failing / down" issue, follow [`references/investigation-protocol.md`](references/investigation-protocol.md). It enforces the four root-cause completeness criteria (falsifiability / sufficiency / necessity / mechanism) and the up-to-three-rounds deepening loop. Only invoke L3+ write tools after the four criteria are satisfied AND the user has approved a remediation plan.

### Cluster Health Triage ("what's wrong right now?")

Start here when the ask is "is anything on fire?" before diving into a specific VM. This is a read-only rollup delegated to vmware-monitor, exposed here so triage-then-act stays in one conversation.

1. One glance --> `cluster_health_summary` (MCP) or `vmware-aiops summary` (CLI). Read `top_issues` first — ranked anomalies (disconnected hosts, red/yellow alarms, capacity pressure), each with a drill-down hint; the per-cluster table is context
2. Act on what it surfaces --> a `host_down` row → investigate the host; an alarm → `acknowledge_vcenter_alarm` / `reset_vcenter_alarm`; a hot VM implicated → `vm_migrate` or `vm_reconfigure` (after the investigation protocol)
3. Save/share a snapshot --> `vmware-aiops summary --html` writes an offline, timestamped HTML file (identical to `vmware-monitor summary --html` — same shared renderer)
4. **If vmware-monitor is not installed** --> this command/tool is unavailable (AIops delegates to it); install `vmware-monitor`, or use the deeper per-object read tools in that skill

### Object-Centered Investigation → Act (drill-down before you change anything)

**Judgment**: after triage points at a problem object, drill in with one correlated read *before* actuating — the bundle aggregates the object with its surrounding infrastructure and recent history so you (and the operator) see the full picture, not a guess. AIops is the conversational entry point, so triage → investigate → act stays in one conversation.

1. Estate-wide --> `cross_vcenter_attention` ("what needs attention now?" across every vCenter). One vCenter configured → skip to `cluster_health_summary`
2. Drill into the flagged object (offer the level; skip the question when unambiguous):
   - a VM --> `vm_investigation_bundle` → state, host it runs on, cluster context, backing datastores, snapshots, alarms & recent changes, performance signals, correlated event timeline
   - a host --> `host_investigation_bundle`; a datastore --> `datastore_investigation_bundle`
3. **Then** act on the evidence --> e.g. bundle shows a wedged VM on a hot host → `vm_migrate`; a full datastore → `vm_delete_snapshot` on the sprawl the bundle surfaced. Follow the investigation protocol before any destructive action
4. Widen the window with `hours=72`; render an offline snapshot with `--html` (drill-down sections collapse natively, nothing uploaded)
5. **If the object name is unknown** --> the bundle returns a teaching error naming how to list objects; get the exact name and retry. **If vmware-monitor is not installed** --> these delegated tools are unavailable

### Deploy a Lab Environment

**Pre-flight (judgment, not blind sequence)**:
- Free space: target datastore must have ≥ OVA size × 2 (delta files + thin-provision overhead). If multiple datastores qualify, prefer one with lowest current IOPS pressure (cross-check `vmware-aria` if available).
- Name hygiene: prefix with date or owner (`lab-2026-04-30-alice`) so the TTL cleanup audit trail is meaningful.
- TTL: always set. 480 min for a single test session, 7200 min for a week-long sandbox. **Never deploy a "lab" VM without a TTL** — that is how datastores fill up at 3 AM.
- Snapshot timing: take the baseline **after** provisioning succeeds, not before — a pre-provision snapshot is just an empty checkpoint.

**Steps**:
1. `vmware-aiops datastore browse  --pattern "*.ova"` → confirm image present and size
2. `vmware-aiops deploy ova  --name -- --datastore `
3. `vmware-aiops vm guest-exec  --cmd /usr/bin/python3 --args "setup.py" --user admin` → if exit ≠ 0, **stop**, do not snapshot a half-provisioned VM
4. `vmware-aiops vm snapshot-create  --name baseline` (only if multi-iteration testing; skip for one-shot)
5. `vmware-aiops vm set-ttl  --minutes 480`

### Batch Clone for Testing

**Pre-flight**:
- Source VM state: powered-off is safest. If powered-on, VMware Tools must be running and quiesce-capable, else clones may have inconsistent disk state.
- Capacity math: `free_space ≥ source.size × count × 1.2` (full clone) or `≥ count × 2 GB` (linked clone, delta-only).
- Decision rule: **count > 10 → use linked clones** (`deploy linked-clone`); seconds vs minutes per clone, ~100× less storage. Tradeoff: linked clones depend on source snapshot — deleting the snapshot breaks all children.
- Network exhaustion: each clone gets a unique MAC from the vSphere pool; if you batch > 200, verify pool capacity in advance.
- TTL: every clone must have one. Use the plan's metadata to track ownership.

**Steps**:
1. `vm_create_plan` with clone + reconfigure + set-ttl steps grouped per VM (atomic per clone)
2. Review the plan with the user — surface count, datastore, irreversible warnings
3. `vm_apply_plan` — stops on first failure (intentional, do not auto-resume)
4. On failure: `vm_rollback_plan` → reverses completed clones; manually verify rollback before retrying

### Migrate VM to Another Host

**Pre-flight (ALL must pass before issuing migrate)**:
- CPU compatibility: target host CPU family must match source, OR cluster must be in EVC mode. Live migration across mismatched CPUs **fails mid-flight** and may leave the VM stunned.
- Network parity: every portgroup the VM uses must exist on the target host's vSwitch with the same VLAN. Missing portgroup → vNICs disconnected post-migration.
- Storage visibility: target host must see all of the VM's datastores; otherwise this is a Storage vMotion, not a host migration — different (slower) operation.
- Affinity rules: if the VM is pinned to source by a DRS host-affinity rule, migration silently violates intent. Check `cluster info` first.
- Hardware passthrough: VMs with PCI passthrough (GPU, USB) **cannot live-migrate** — schedule a cold migration window.

**Steps**:
1. Verify VM state and current host via `vmware-monitor vm info `
2. Verify target host: same cluster, EVC compatible, has required networks/datastores
3. `vmware-aiops vm migrate  --to-host ` — wait for task completion, do not assume success on return
4. Post-check: `vm info` confirms new host AND power state unchanged AND vNICs connected

## Usage Mode

| Scenario | Recommended | Why |
|----------|:-----------:|-----|
| Local/small models (Ollama, Qwen) | **CLI** | ~2K tokens vs ~8K for MCP |
| Cloud models (Claude, GPT-4o) | Either | MCP gives structured JSON I/O |
| Automated pipelines | **MCP** | Type-safe parameters, structured output |

## MCP Tools (60 — 18 read, 42 write)

| Category | Tools | R/W |
|----------|-------|:---:|
| VM Lifecycle (16) | `vm_list_ttl`, `vm_list_snapshots`, `vm_task_status` | Read |
| | `vm_power_on`, `vm_power_off`, `vm_create`, `vm_reconfigure`, `vm_clone`, `vm_migrate`, `vm_delete`, `vm_create_snapshot`, `vm_revert_snapshot`, `vm_delete_snapshot`, `vm_set_ttl`, `vm_cancel_ttl`, `vm_clean_slate` | Write |
| Deployment (8) | `deploy_vm_from_ova`, `deploy_vm_from_template`, `deploy_linked_clone`, `attach_iso_to_vm`, `convert_vm_to_template`, `batch_clone_vms`, `batch_linked_clone_vms`, `batch_deploy_from_spec` | Write |
| Guest Ops (5) | `vm_guest_download` | Read |
| | `vm_guest_exec`, `vm_guest_exec_output`, `vm_guest_upload`, `vm_guest_provision` | Write |
| Plan/Apply (4) | `vm_list_plans` | Read |
| | `vm_create_plan`, `vm_apply_plan`, `vm_rollback_plan` | Write |
| Datastore (2) | `browse_datastore`, `scan_datastore_images` | Read |
| Network (7) | `list_dvs_portgroups`, `list_host_vmks`, `vmk_ping` | Read |
| | `create_dvs_portgroup`, `add_host_vmk`, `remove_host_vmk`, `set_vmk_service` | Write |
| Cluster (10) | `cluster_info`, `list_drs_rules` | Read |
| | `cluster_create`, `cluster_delete`, `cluster_add_host`, `cluster_remove_host`, `cluster_configure`, `set_drs_rule_enabled`, `create_drs_rule`, `delete_drs_rule` | Write |
| Alarm Management (3) | `list_vcenter_alarms` | Read |
| | `acknowledge_vcenter_alarm`, `reset_vcenter_alarm` | Write |
| Cluster Triage (1) | `cluster_health_summary` (delegates to vmware-monitor) | Read |
| Object Investigation (4) | `vm_investigation_bundle`, `host_investigation_bundle`, `datastore_investigation_bundle`, `cross_vcenter_attention` (all delegate to vmware-monitor) | Read |

**List envelope**: the read list tools — `browse_datastore`, `list_vcenter_alarms`, `vm_list_plans`, `vm_list_snapshots`, `vm_list_ttl` — return `{items, returned, limit, total, truncated, hint}` rather than a bare array. Read the rows from `items` and check `truncated` before concluding a listing is complete; empty `items` with `truncated: false` means checked-and-none, not a failure. The write `batch_*` tools keep their bare list (complete by construction). Rationale, `total` semantics, error shape: `references/capabilities.md`.

**Read/write split**: 18 tools are read-only (per `[READ]` docstring marker), 42 modify state. All write tools require explicit parameters and are audit-logged. Destructive operations (`vm_delete`, `vm_revert_snapshot`, `vm_delete_snapshot`, `vm_set_ttl` (schedules an unattended auto-delete), force power-off, cluster delete/remove-host, alarm reset, `remove_host_vmk`, `delete_drs_rule`) require double confirmation at the CLI layer and support `--dry-run`.

**Network write gating**: `create_dvs_portgroup`, `add_host_vmk`, and `set_vmk_service` are preview/confirm-gated — `confirm=False` (default) returns the exact spec that would be applied without writing. `remove_host_vmk` is **fail-closed**: it refuses when the vmk is selected for a host service (management/vMotion/vSAN), lives on a non-default netstack (NSX TEPs, dedicated vMotion stacks), carries a default gateway route, or when any of that cannot be verified — pass `force_unprotected=True` to override the non-absolute protections. The host's only management-enabled vmk is never removable (no override). `set_vmk_service` is **fail-closed** too: it refuses both directions when the host's service map is unreadable, and refuses (no override) to untag `management` from the host's only management-enabled vmk — the call rides the interface it would untag.

**DRS rule gating**: `set_drs_rule_enabled`, `create_drs_rule`, `delete_drs_rule` are preview/confirm-gated and idempotent (matching state returns a no-write

…

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [vmware-skills](https://github.com/vmware-skills)
- **Source:** [vmware-skills/VMware-AIops](https://github.com/vmware-skills/VMware-AIops)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://skills.sh/zw008/VMware-AIops

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** yes
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-vmware-skills-vmware-aiops-vmware-aiops
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/vmware-skills
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.