Summary
Connects to VMware vSphere and ESXi hosts to manage storage infrastructure through 11 focused tools. You get read operations for listing datastores, browsing files, and checking vSAN health and capacity. Write operations cover enabling iSCSI adapters, adding and removing iSCSI targets, and rescanning storage HBAs. Built by a VMware engineer as a community project, it splits out storage management from the heavier vmware-aiops package to fit smaller LLM context windows. Runs as a standalone MCP server via stdio with credentials from environment variables. If you're automating storage provisioning workflows or need an AI agent to diagnose datastore capacity and iSCSI connectivity issues, this gives you the pyVmomi-based primitives without the full VM lifecycle toolset.
Keep your Mac awake while Claude Code and 40+ AI agents run. Sleeps when they're idle.
One time payment $9 →
Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →
Agent, run crypto. Access onchain data & trade routes via 1inch.
Install now →
On Capafy, your Skill runs online 24/7 as an agent product, and you get paid every time someone uses it.
Start earning →
VMware Storage
Author: Wei Zhou, VMware by Broadcom — wei-wz.zhou@broadcom.com This is a community-driven project by a VMware engineer, not an official VMware product. For official VMware developer tools see developer.broadcom.com.
VMware vSphere storage management: datastores, iSCSI, vSAN — 11 MCP tools, domain-focused and lightweight.
Split from vmware-aiops for lighter context and local model compatibility.
Companion Skills
| Skill | Scope | Tools | Install |
|---|---|---|---|
| vmware-aiops ⭐ entry point | VM lifecycle, deployment, guest ops, clusters | 31 | uv tool install vmware-aiops |
| vmware-monitor | Read-only monitoring, alarms, events, VM info | 8 | uv tool install vmware-monitor |
| vmware-vks | Tanzu Namespaces, TKC cluster lifecycle | 20 | uv tool install vmware-vks |
| vmware-nsx | NSX networking: segments, gateways, NAT, IPAM | 31 | uv tool install vmware-nsx-mgmt |
| vmware-nsx-security | DFW microsegmentation, security groups, Traceflow | 20 | uv tool install vmware-nsx-security |
| vmware-aria | Aria Ops metrics, alerts, capacity planning | 18 | uv tool install vmware-aria |
Quick Install
# Via PyPI
uv tool install vmware-storage
# Or pip
pip install vmware-storage
Configuration
mkdir -p ~/.vmware-storage
cp config.example.yaml ~/.vmware-storage/config.yaml
# Edit with your vCenter/ESXi credentials
echo "VMWARE_MY_VCENTER_PASSWORD=your_password" > ~/.vmware-storage/.env
chmod 600 ~/.vmware-storage/.env
# Verify
vmware-storage doctor
MCP Tools (11)
| Category | Tools | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Datastore | list_all_datastores, browse_datastore, scan_datastore_images, list_cached_images | Read |
| iSCSI | storage_iscsi_enable, storage_iscsi_status, storage_iscsi_add_target, storage_iscsi_remove_target, storage_rescan | Read/Write |
| vSAN | vsan_health, vsan_capacity | Read |
Auto-Remediation Patterns (PoC)
The patterns/ directory hosts L5 auto-remediation candidate patterns from the Enterprise Harness Engineering framework. The first PoC pattern, patterns/iscsi-target-stale-rescan.yaml, describes an iSCSI HBA rescan as a low-risk, reversible, repeatable operation. The pattern schema is documented here only — runtime enforcement is not yet wired up, so this is a reference design, not production auto-remediation.
Common Workflows
Set Up iSCSI Storage on a Host
- Enable iSCSI adapter:
vmware-storage iscsi enable esxi-01 - Add target:
vmware-storage iscsi add-target esxi-01 10.0.0.100 - Verify:
vmware-storage iscsi status esxi-01
The add-target command automatically rescans storage. Use --dry-run to preview any write command first.
Find Deployable Images Across Datastores
- List all datastores:
vmware-storage datastore list - Scan for images:
vmware-storage datastore scan-images datastore01 - Browse with a pattern:
vmware-storage datastore browse datastore01 --pattern "*.iso"
vSAN Health Assessment
- Check health:
vmware-storage vsan health Cluster-Prod - Check capacity:
vmware-storage vsan capacity Cluster-Prod - If issues found, investigate with
vmware-monitorfor alarms and events
CLI
# Datastore
vmware-storage datastore list
vmware-storage datastore browse datastore01
vmware-storage datastore scan-images datastore01
# iSCSI
vmware-storage iscsi status esxi-01
vmware-storage iscsi enable esxi-01
vmware-storage iscsi add-target esxi-01 192.168.1.100
vmware-storage iscsi remove-target esxi-01 192.168.1.100
vmware-storage iscsi rescan esxi-01
# vSAN
vmware-storage vsan health Cluster-Prod
vmware-storage vsan capacity Cluster-Prod
# Diagnostics
vmware-storage doctor
MCP Server
After uv tool install vmware-storage, start the MCP server with one command (v1.5.15+):
# Recommended — single command, no network re-resolve
vmware-storage mcp
# With a custom config path
VMWARE_STORAGE_CONFIG=/path/to/config.yaml vmware-storage mcp
# Or via Docker
docker compose up -d
Agent Configuration
Add to your AI agent's MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"vmware-storage": {
"command": "vmware-storage",
"args": ["mcp"],
"env": {
"VMWARE_STORAGE_CONFIG": "~/.vmware-storage/config.yaml"
}
}
}
}
Alternative: uvx (no install) or legacy entry point
# Run without installing (requires PyPI access each launch)
uvx --from vmware-storage vmware-storage mcp
# Legacy entry point (still works, kept for backward compatibility)
vmware-storage-mcp
Behind a corporate TLS proxy? uvx may fail with
invalid peer certificate: UnknownIssuer. Use the recommendedvmware-storage mcpform above (no network needed), or setUV_NATIVE_TLS=true.
Why a Separate Skill?
vmware-aiops has 33 MCP tools — too heavy for local LLMs (7B-14B). By splitting storage into its own skill:
- 11 tools — fits comfortably in small model context windows
- Domain-focused — storage admins get only what they need
- Composable — use alongside vmware-monitor or vmware-aiops as needed
Version Compatibility
Python: 3.10+ (since v1.5.27 — previously 3.11+). Tested on 3.10 / 3.11 / 3.12.
| vSphere / VCF | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VCF 9.1 / vSphere 9.1 | Full | Released 2026-05-12. pyVmomi+vSAN SDK <10.0 works via SOAP. |
| VCF 9.0 / vSphere 9.0 | Full | pyVmomi 8.0.3+ with bundled vSAN SDK connects to vSphere 9. |
| 8.0 | Full | vSAN SDK built into pyVmomi 8.0.3+ |
| 7.0 | Full | All storage APIs work |
| 6.7 | Compatible | iSCSI + datastore features work; vSAN limited |
Official Broadcom References
- SDKs: https://developer.broadcom.com/sdks — VCF Python SDK, vSAN Management SDK (bundled in pyVmomi)
- REST APIs: https://developer.broadcom.com/xapis — vSAN Management API, VCF API
- CLI Tools: https://developer.broadcom.com/tools — PowerCLI 9.1, ESXCLI
Safety
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Read-heavy | 6/11 tools are read-only |
| Input validation | IP addresses and ports validated before iSCSI operations |
| Audit logging | All operations logged to ~/.vmware-storage/audit.log |
| No VM operations | Cannot create, delete, or modify VMs |
| Credential safety | Passwords only from environment variables, never config files |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause & Fix |
|---|---|
| iSCSI enable fails with "already enabled" | Not an error — adapter is already active. Run iscsi status to see configured targets. |
| "Datastore not found" when browsing | Datastore names are case-sensitive. Run datastore list to get the exact name. |
| vSAN health shows "unknown" | vSAN health requires a vCenter connection, not standalone ESXi. |
| Rescan doesn't discover new LUNs | Wait 15-30 seconds after adding targets, then rescan again. Verify target IP is reachable from ESXi. |
| "Password not found" error | Variable names follow VMWARE_<TARGET_UPPER>_PASSWORD (hyphens → underscores). Check ~/.vmware-storage/.env. |
| Connection timeout to vCenter | Use vmware-storage doctor --skip-auth to bypass auth checks on high-latency networks. |
| "Datastore browse did not finish within Ns" | The datastore is very large or busy. Narrow the search with a sub-path and a specific pattern (e.g. datastore browse ds01 --path templates --pattern "*.ova") instead of browsing the root — do not just retry the same broad browse. |
License
Featured
Keep your Mac awake while Claude Code and 40+ AI agents run. Sleeps when they're idle.
One time payment $9 →Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →Agent, run crypto. Access onchain data & trade routes via 1inch.
Install now →On Capafy, your Skill runs online 24/7 as an agent product, and you get paid every time someone uses it.
Start earning →