Information

VMWare Workstation Command Line

Command Syntax

C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmware.exe [-n] [-x] [-X] [-t] [-q] [-s variable_name = value ] [-v] [ path_to_vm.vmx | http[s]://path_to_vm.vmx ]

Options

  • -n Opens a new Workstation Pro window.
  • -t Opens a virtual machine in a new tab in the existing Workstation Pro window.
  • -x Powers on the virtual machine when Workstation Pro starts. This option is equivalent to clicking Power On in the Workstation Pro toolbar.
  • -X Powers on the virtual machine and switches the Workstation Pro window to full screen mode.
  • -q Closes the virtual machine tab when the virtual machine powers off. If no other virtual machine is open, it also exits Workstation Pro. This option is useful when the guest operating system can power off the virtual machine.
  • -s Sets the specified variable to the specified value. You can specify at the command line any variable names and values that are valid in the configuration file.
  • -v Displays the product name, version, and build number.

VM

path_to_vm.vmx specifies which virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file to load.

Example – Start VM

C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmware.exe -x V:\VMWare\snake\snake.vmdk

Further Reading

This information comes from VMWare’s Documentation (which may change URLs):

Run the vmware Command

vmware Command Options