Create and Use a Session File

You can create a session file with the
save_session
script.
The
save_session
script is in the
/apps/session
directory of the vSphere SDK for Perl, which is included in the vCLI package. You can use the session file, which does not reveal password information, when you run vCLI commands. If the session file is not used for 30 minutes, it expires.
If you use a session file, other connection options are ignored.
  1. Navigate to the directory where the script is located.
    The following examples show possible locations of the script.
    Operating System
    Command
    Windows
    cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\Perl\apps\session
    Linux
    cd /usr/share/lib/vmware-vcli/apps/session
  2. Run
    save_session
    .
    You can use the
    save_session.pl
    script or the
    --savesessionfile
    option to the vCLI command. You must specify the server which to connect to and the name of a session file in which the script saves an authentication cookie.
    save_session --savesessionfile <location> --server <server>
    The following examples show the correct syntax for each OS.
    Operating System
    Command
    Windows
    save_session.pl --savesessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --server my_server --username <username> --password <password>
    Linux
    save_session --savesessionfile /tmp/vimsession --server <servername_or_address> --username <username> --password <password>
    If you specify a server, but no user name or password, the script prompts you.
  3. When you run vCLI commands, pass in the session file using the
    --sessionfile
    option.
    <command> --sessionfile <sessionfile_location> <command_options>
    The following examples show the correct syntax for each OS.
    Operating System
    Command
    Windows
    esxcli --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session network ip interface list
    vicfg-mpath.pl --sessionfile C:\Temp\my_session --list
    Linux
    esxcli --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession network ip interface list
    vicfg-mpath --sessionfile /tmp/vimsession --list