Virtualization, Servers and Storage : ITS Private Cloud CLI (vss-cli) Cheat Sheet - Virtual Machine Update

Created by JM Lopez, last modified on Nov 06, 2025

Add --wait to global vss-cli and get immediate change request results.

Manage virtual machine attributes with the vss-cli:

Action

Description

Command

CPU

Update VM CPU count.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} cpu count {n}

CPU hot-add

Update VM cpu hot-add settings.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} cpu hot-add {on|off}

Memory

Update VM memory size.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} memory size {nGiB}

Memory hot-add

Update VM memory hot-add settings.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} memory hot-add {on|off}

Disk Drive New (basic)

Create single or multiple disks.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk mk \
-i {nGiB} -i {nGiB}

Power State:

Turn off, on, reset. Shutdown and reboot (VMware Tools required)

vss-cli compute vm set {id} state \
{on|of­f|r­ebo­ot|­res­et|­shu­tdo­wn|­sus­­pend}

Disk Drive New (adv.)

Create single or multiple disks using specific SCSI controller

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk mk \
-i '{"c­apa­cit­y_g­b": 100, "­scs­i": 1}'

Disk Drive Copy (adv.)

Copy and attach disks to VM from vskey-stor user space.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk cp -i \
'{"capacity_gb": 100, "backing_vmdk": "[XXNN] VM/vmdk"}'

Disk Drive Update

Update VM disk N capacity in GB.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk up \
 {diskN} --capacity {nGiB}

Disk Drive Update (adv.)

Update VM disk N capacity in GB, SCSI bus N and add metadata notes to the disk.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk up \
{diskN} --capacity {nGiB} --scsi {busN} \
--notes "data disk e:/"

Disk Drive Delete

Delete VM disk(s). Confirmation will be prompted.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} disk rm {diskN} {diskN}

NIC New

Create new network interface specifying Network name.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic mk --net {network}

NIC new (adv.)

Create new network interface specifying Network name and Type.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic mk --net {NetName}={NICType}

NIC Update Network:

Update network interface network.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic up {nicN} --network {netName}

NIC Update State

Update network interface state to either connect or disconnect

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic up {nicN} --state {conne­ct|­dis­con­­nect}

NIC Update Type

Update network interface adapter type. defaults to vmxnet3.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic up {nicN} --adapter {type}

NIC Delete

Delete network interface adapter(s)

vss-cli compute vm set {id} nic rm {nicN} {nicN}

CD/ISO Drive Create

Create CD drive with attached ISO image from Content Library or client.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} cd mk --backing {iso}
vss-cli compute vm set {id} cd mk cd mk --backing client

CD/ISO Drive Update

Update CD drive to connect to a different ISO or disconnect.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} cd up {cdN} --backing {iso}
vss-cli compute vm set {id} cd up {cdN} --backing client

Floppy Drive Create

Create virtual floppy drive with given image or client.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} floppy mk --backing {image}
vss-cli compute vm set {id} floppy mk --backing client

Floppy Drive Update

Update virtual floppy backing with a different image or client.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} floppy up {flpN} --backing {image}
vss-cli compute vm set {id} floppy up {flpN} --backing client

Floppy Drive Delete

Delete virtual floppy

vss-cli compute vm set {id} floppy rm {flpN}

Storage Type

Update VM storage type to either ssd or hdd. This action will perform storage vMotion within the Compute Domain.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} storag­e-type {ssd|hdd}

Domain

Update VM compute domain. This action will perform vMotion and storage vMotion.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} domain {name-or-id}

Operating System

Update VM operating system settings. This setting is responsible to present the right virtual hardware to the guest OS.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} os {name-or-id}

Add vTPM

Add virtual Trusted Platform Module to VM. Virtualization Based Security, EFI and secure boot will be also en

vss-cli compute vm set {id} tpm mk

Add vGPU

Add GPU to VM based on given profile.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} gpu mk --profile {gpu-profile}

Enable|Disable VBS

Enable or disable Virtualization Based Security.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} vbs on|off

Enable|Disable Secure Boot

Enable or Disable secure boot.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} secure-boot --on/--off

FIrmware

Update VM firmware to bios or EFI.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} firmware bios|efi

Convert to template

Mark VM as template.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} template

Convert to vm

Mark Template as VM

vss-cli compute template set {id} vm

Administrator

Update VM admin metadata.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} admin "Admin Name" admin.email@utoronto.ca 416-666-6666

Informational Contacts

Add Informational Contacts in VM metadata.

vss-cli compute vm set {id} inform {email-1} {email-n}