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# vmware_guest_sendkey – Send USB HID codes to the Virtual Machine’s keyboard

New in version 2.9.

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

## Synopsis

- This module is used to send keystrokes to given virtual machine.
- All parameters and VMware object names are case sensitive.

## Requirements

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

- python >= 2.6
- PyVmomi

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
cluster string |  | The name of cluster where the virtual machine is running. This is a required parameter, if `esxi_hostname` is not set. `esxi_hostname` and `cluster` are mutually exclusive parameters.
datacenter string |  | The datacenter name to which virtual machine belongs to.
esxi_hostname string |  | The ESXi hostname where the virtual machine is running. This is a required parameter, if `cluster` is not set. `esxi_hostname` and `cluster` are mutually exclusive parameters.
folder string |  | Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest. This is a required parameter, only if multiple VMs are found with same name. The folder should include the datacenter. ESXi server's datacenter is ha-datacenter. 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.
keys_send list |  | The list of the keys will be sent to the virtual machine. Valid values are `ENTER`, `ESC`, `BACKSPACE`, `TAB`, `SPACE`, `CAPSLOCK`, `DELETE`, `CTRL_ALT_DEL`, `CTRL_C` and `F1` to `F12`, `RIGHTARROW`, `LEFTARROW`, `DOWNARROW`, `UPARROW`. If both `keys_send` and `string_send` are specified, keys in `keys_send` list will be sent in front of the `string_send`.
moid string |  | Managed Object ID of the instance to manage if known, this is a unique identifier only within a single vCenter instance. This is required if `name` or `uuid` is not supplied.
name string |  | Name of the virtual machine. This is a required parameter, if parameter `uuid` or `moid` 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.
proxy_host string added in 2.9 |  | Address of a proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them. The format is a hostname or a IP. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PROXY_HOST` will be used instead. This feature depends on a version of pyvmomi greater than v6.7.1.2018.12
proxy_port integer added in 2.9 |  | Port of the HTTP proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them. If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable `VMWARE_PROXY_PORT` will be used instead.
string_send string |  | The string will be sent to the virtual machine. This string can contain valid special character, alphabet and digit on the keyboard.
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 string |  | UUID of the instance to gather facts if known, this is VMware's unique identifier. This is a required parameter, if parameter `name` or `moid` 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.

## Notes

Note

- Tested on vSphere 6.5 and 6.7

## Examples

    - name: Send list of keys to virtual machine
      vmware_guest_sendkey:
        validate_certs: no
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        folder: "{{ folder_name }}"
        name: "{{ vm_name }}"
        keys_send:
          - TAB
          - TAB
          - ENTER
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: keys_num_sent

    - name: Send list of keys to virtual machine using MoID
      vmware_guest_sendkey:
        validate_certs: no
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        folder: "{{ folder_name }}"
        moid: vm-42
        keys_send:
          - CTRL_ALT_DEL
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: ctrl_alt_del_sent

    - name: Send a string to virtual machine
      vmware_guest_sendkey:
        validate_certs: no
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
        folder: "{{ folder_name }}"
        name: "{{ vm_name }}"
        string_send: "user_logon"
      delegate_to: localhost
      register: keys_num_sent

## Return Values

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

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
sendkey_info dictionary | always | display the keys and the number of keys sent to the virtual machine Sample: {'virtual_machine': 'test_vm', 'keys_send': ['SPACE', 'DOWNARROW', 'DOWNARROW', 'ENTER'], 'string_send': None, 'keys_send_number': 4, 'returned_keys_send_number': 4}

## 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>

Hint

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