vmware_export_ovf – Exports a VMware virtual machine to an OVF file, device files and a manifest file — Ansible Documentation

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# vmware_export_ovf – Exports a VMware virtual machine to an OVF file, device files and a manifest file

New in version 2.8.

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## Synopsis

- This module can be used to export a VMware virtual machine to OVF template from vCenter server or ESXi host.

## Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

- python >= 2.6
- PyVmomi

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
datacenter - | Default: "ha-datacenter" | Datacenter name of the virtual machine to export. This parameter is case sensitive.
export_dir - / required |  | Absolute path to place the exported files on the server running this task, must have write permission. If folder not exist will create it, also create a folder under this path named with VM name.
export_with_images boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Export an ISO image of the media mounted on the CD/DVD Drive within the virtual machine.
folder - |  | Destination folder, absolute path to find the specified guest. The folder should include the datacenter. ESX's datacenter is ha-datacenter. This parameter is case sensitive. If multiple machines are found with same name, this parameter is used to identify uniqueness of the virtual machine. version_added 2.5 Examples: folder: /ha-datacenter/vm folder: ha-datacenter/vm folder: /datacenter1/vm folder: datacenter1/vm folder: /datacenter1/vm/folder1 folder: datacenter1/vm/folder1 folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm folder: folder1/datacenter1/vm folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm/folder2
hostname string |  | The hostname or IP address of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_HOST` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6.
name - |  | Name of the virtual machine to export. This is a required parameter, if parameter `uuid` is not supplied.
password string |  | The password of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PASSWORD` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6. aliases: pass, pwd
port integer added in 2.5 | Default: 443 | The port number of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PORT` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6.
username string |  | The username of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_USER` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6. aliases: admin, user
uuid - |  | Uuid of the virtual machine to export. This is a required parameter, if parameter `name` is not supplied.
validate_certs boolean | Choices: no yes ← | Allows connection when SSL certificates are not valid. Set to `false` when certificates are not trusted. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_VALIDATE_CERTS` will be used instead. Environment variable support added in Ansible 2.6. If set to `yes`, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine.

## Examples

    - vmware_export_ovf:
        validate_certs: false
        hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
        username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
        password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
        name: '{{ vm_name }}'
        export_with_images: true
        export_dir: /path/to/ovf_template/
      delegate_to: localhost

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
instance dictionary | always | list of the exported files, if exported from vCenter server, device file is not named with vm name Sample: None

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Diane Wang (@Tomorrow9) <dianew@vmware.com>

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