Commands¶

The vsphere and nsx command trees are generated from the vcf-sdk vAPI bindings, so vsc --help (and each sub---help) is always the authoritative, version-accurate reference. This page is an overview.

Generated leaves expose both read and write verbs:

list — list resources (optional --filter '<json>')
get <id> — fetch one resource by id, where the SDK provides a by-id GET (e.g. vm, cluster, datacenter, datastore; some leaves such as host, folder, and network are list-only)
writes — create, delete, set (PUT upsert), patch, and action verbs (e.g. start/stop/reset under power). Writes are dry-run by default and require --apply — see Writes.

`vsc vsphere …` (vCenter)¶

Generated from com.vmware.vcenter:

Group	Examples
`vm`	`vsc vsphere vm list`, `vsc vsphere vm get <vm>`, `vsc vsphere vm delete <vm> --apply`
`host`	`vsc vsphere host list`, `vsc vsphere host disconnect <host> --apply`
`cluster`	`vsc vsphere cluster list`
`datacenter`	`vsc vsphere datacenter list`
`datastore`	`vsc vsphere datastore list`
`folder`	`vsc vsphere folder list`
`network`	`vsc vsphere network list`
`resource-pool`	`vsc vsphere resource-pool create --spec '<json>' --apply`
`power`	`vsc vsphere power start\\|stop\\|reset\\|suspend <vm> --apply`
`cpu` / `memory` / `disk` / `ethernet`	VM hardware reads + writes, e.g. `vsc vsphere cpu update <vm> --spec '<json>' --apply`
`perf` / `events` / `tasks` / `inventory`	pyVmomi fallback (read-only) — perf counters, recent events, recent/running tasks, and a property walk the REST/vAPI surface lacks (see below)

pyVmomi fallback commands¶

A few inventory/performance areas are only reachable over the older pyVmomi SOAP API. Those commands live under vsc vsphere alongside the generated ones, are read-only (no --apply), and emit the same JSON / error envelope / exit codes.

vsc vsphere perf vm <vm> [--metric group.name]… [--max-samples N] — performance counters via the PerformanceManager. Metrics are group.name (e.g. cpu.usage) or group.name.rollup (e.g. cpu.usage.average); repeat --metric for several.
vsc vsphere perf host <host> … — the same for an ESXi host.
vsc vsphere events list [--vm <vm> | --host <host>] [--since 1h] [--max-count N] — recent events via the EventManager. --since takes a duration (30s/15m/ 2h/1d); scope to at most one entity.
vsc vsphere tasks list [--max-count N] — recent and running tasks via the TaskManager.
vsc vsphere inventory vm <vm> [--props path]… / inventory host <host> … — managed-object properties the REST list ops omit (device tree, custom attributes), via the PropertyCollector. --props is repeatable (e.g. --props config.hardware); with none, a small per-type summary set is returned.
vsc vsphere inventory find [--ip …] [--name …] [--hostname …] [--mac …] [--guest-os …] [--power-state …] [--props …] — find VMs by guest/runtime attribute without knowing the moid. This is the answer to "which VM has 10.20.3.41?": guest networking isn't in the REST vm list filter, so this sweeps every VM's guest.* properties in one round-trip. --ip accepts an exact address or a CIDR (10.20.3.0/24, IPv4 or IPv6) and matches across the primary and every NIC address; --name/--hostname/--guest-os are case-insensitive substring or glob; --mac is exact; --power-state is one of poweredOn/poweredOff/suspended. Flags AND together, a repeated flag ORs within its field, and at least one match flag is required. --props (repeatable) widens each hit's output only — it never affects matching. Powered-off VMs and those without VMware Tools report no guest IP and won't match --ip.

`vsc nsx …` (NSX Policy)¶

Generated from vcf.nsx.policy:

Group	Examples
`segments`	`vsc nsx segments list`, `vsc nsx segments set <id> --segment '<json>' --apply`
`tier0s` / `tier1s`	`vsc nsx tier1s list`, `vsc nsx tier1s set <id> --tier1 '<json>' --apply`
`services`	`vsc nsx services list`
`groups`	`vsc nsx groups list`, `vsc nsx groups delete <domain> <group> --apply`
`security-policies`	`vsc nsx security-policies list`
`gateway-policies`	`vsc nsx gateway-policies list`
`ip-pools`	`vsc nsx ip-pools set <id> --ip-address-pool '<json>' --apply`
`dhcp-server-configs` / `dhcp-relay-configs`	DHCP config reads + writes
`locale-services`	Tier-1 locale services reads + writes

Curated commands¶

vsc profiles … — manage connection profiles (see Profiles)
vsc skill export <dir> [--apply] — export the bundled agent Skill
vsc --version

Filtering¶

list commands expose each field of the SDK filter spec as its own typed flag. List-valued fields are repeatable; enum fields validate their choices and tab-complete:

vsc --profile prod vsphere vm list --power-states POWERED_ON --names web-1 --names web-2

The raw JSON spec is still accepted as a base layer / escape hatch; per-field flags merge over it (a flag wins over the same key in the blob):

vsc --profile prod vsphere vm list --filter '{"clusters": ["domain-c1"]}' --power-states POWERED_ON

Pagination¶

list commands accept paging flags:

Flag	Effect
`--all`	follow the cursor and return every page (paginated backends, e.g. NSX)
`--max-items N`	cap the total number of items returned
`--limit N`	client-side cap for non-paginated (vSphere) lists

vsc --profile prod nsx segments list --all            # every page, concatenated
vsc --profile prod nsx segments list --page-size 50   # one page (cursor surfaced for manual paging)
vsc --profile prod vsphere vm list --limit 20         # first 20 only

Without --all, a paginated list returns one page and surfaces the cursor so an agent can drive pagination itself. On non-paginated backends (vSphere) --all is a no-op — the output stays a plain array.