How to install VMware PowerCLI and connect to vSphere

VMware PowerCLI is a collection of PowerShell modules that lets you manage vSphere infrastructure through the command line. Instead of navigating the vSphere Client manually, you can automate repetitive tasks, pull inventory reports, manage snapshots, and interact with vCenter or ESXi hosts directly from a PowerShell session.

This guide covers the full installation process: installing PowerCLI from the PowerShell Gallery, verifying the module, connecting to vCenter or ESXi, and handling common issues like SSL certificate errors.

Prerequisites

PowerShell 5.1 (included with Windows 10 and Windows 11) or PowerShell 7.x
Network access to the PowerShell Gallery (gallery.powershellgallery.com)
Access to a vCenter Server or ESXi host to test the connection

Quick answer

If you already know what you are doing, here is the full sequence:

# Install PowerCLI for the current user
Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

# Disable CEIP prompt
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope User -ParticipateInCEIP $false

# Connect to vCenter
Connect-VIServer -Server vc01.vsphere.local -User administrator@vsphere.local -Password YourPassword

# List virtual machines
Get-VM

# Disconnect when done
Disconnect-VIServer -Server * -Confirm:$false

Step 1 — Open PowerShell as Administrator

Search for PowerShell in the Start menu, right-click it, and choose Run as Administrator.

Note: Administrator privileges are required to install modules from the PowerShell Gallery. If you use -Scope CurrentUser, the module installs into your user profile and does not affect other users on the machine.

Step 2 — Check your PowerShell version

PowerCLI requires PowerShell 5.1 or later. Run the following to check:

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

Note: Windows 10 and Windows 11 ship with PowerShell 5.1. PowerShell 7.x can be installed side-by-side and is the recommended version for new automation projects.

Step 3 — Install the PowerCLI module

PowerCLI is published to the PowerShell Gallery by VMware (now Broadcom). Install it with:

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

The -Scope CurrentUser flag installs the module into your user profile directory. This avoids modifying shared module paths on the machine and does not require system-wide administrator rights beyond the initial session elevation.

Warning: On first install, PowerShell may prompt: “You are installing the modules from an untrusted repository.” Type Y or A to continue. PowerCLI is officially published by VMware/Broadcom and is safe to install from the PowerShell Gallery.

Step 4 — Verify the installation

Confirm that the module is available:

Get-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -ListAvailable

Get-Module output showing VMware.PowerCLI

To see all VMware submodules that were installed:

Get-Module -ListAvailable | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "VMware*" }

PowerCLI installs as a set of submodules such as VMware.VimAutomation.Core, VMware.VimAutomation.Vds, and others. Each submodule covers a different area of vSphere functionality.

Step 5 — Import the module

Load PowerCLI into the current session:

Import-Module VMware.PowerCLI

In most cases, PowerShell 5.1 and 7.x load installed modules automatically when you call a cmdlet from them. Explicit import is useful when you want to ensure the module is loaded before running a script.

Step 6 — Disable the CEIP prompt (optional)

When you first use PowerCLI, it may display a prompt asking whether you want to join VMware’s Customer Experience Improvement Program.

To dismiss it and opt out:

Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope User -ParticipateInCEIP $false

Note: This setting is stored per user. If you manage multiple machines or run PowerCLI under a service account, you will need to set this on each account separately.

Step 7 — Connect to vCenter or ESXi

Use Connect-VIServer to establish a session. If you omit the credentials, PowerShell will prompt for them interactively:

# Connect with interactive credential prompt (recommended)
Connect-VIServer -Server vc01.vsphere.local

# Connect with explicit credentials (useful in scripts - see warning below)
Connect-VIServer -Server vc01.vsphere.local -User administrator@vsphere.local -Password YourPassword

Warning: Avoid storing passwords in plain text inside scripts. Use Get-Credential for interactive prompts, or a secrets manager such as a PowerShell SecretStore vault for automated workflows. The -Password parameter shown above is for reference only.

Step 8 — Handle SSL certificate errors

If your vCenter uses a self-signed certificate, the connection will fail with:

Connect-VIServer: The SSL connection could not be established, see inner exception.

PowerCLI validates SSL certificates by default. To bypass this for the current session only:

# Suppress certificate validation for this session only
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope Session -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore

To make the setting persistent for your user account:

# Persist the setting for the current user account
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -Scope User -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore

Important: Never disable certificate validation in production environments. Always use certificates signed by a trusted CA, or import the vCenter root certificate into the Windows certificate store instead.

After adjusting the certificate setting, reconnect:

Connect-VIServer -Server vc01.vsphere.local -User administrator@vsphere.local -Password YourPassword

Step 9 — Verify the connection

Once connected, run a basic command to confirm the session is working:

# List all virtual machines visible to the connected vCenter or ESXi host
Get-VM

Result: If Get-VM returns a list of virtual machines, the module is installed correctly and the session is active.

Step 10 — Disconnect when done

Close the session after you finish. This releases the connection on the server side and is good practice in scripts, particularly when connecting to multiple hosts.

# Disconnect from all connected vSphere servers without a confirmation prompt
Disconnect-VIServer -Server * -Confirm:$false

# Disconnect from a specific server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server vc01.vsphere.local -Confirm:$false

Official reference

VMware PowerCLI — Broadcom Developer Portal