ESXCLI commands that helped me a lot
https://blog.csdn.net/VirtualMan_/article/details/105455194
This article will share some cool ESXCLI commands. The vSphere client has a great GUI that can help you complete most of the daily tasks, but if you master ESXCLI, your work will be more effective.
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Why is ESXCLI still needed in vSphere
Don't underestimate the command line, it is a useful tool for performing a series of tasks that cannot be done through the vSphere Client. CLI also provides the possibility of automating routine tasks and is also a useful tool for troubleshooting. For more information, please refer to here
https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-6-5/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vcli.ref.doc%2Fvcli-right.html.
The advantage of ESXi is that it is built on the Linux kernel. Therefore, anyone with practical experience in Linux has already mastered some commands (that's why this article starts with Linux commands).
1. Help is one of the most important commands, providing a summary of any other commands.
[some command]–help
2. Less is very useful for long output. Use less to display page by page.
3. grep allows some filters to be applied to the output to find specific lines more easily.
grep[-HhnlLoqvsriwFEz][-mN][-A/B/CN]PATTERN/-ePATTERN…/-fFILE[FILE]… 
4. more Display output screen by screen
[some command]| more
more< [path] [file_name] 
5. esxcli esxclicommand list | more lists all ESXCLI commands and instructions 
6. dcui starts an SSH session to use the server console. 
7. cd to change the current directory
сd[][path][~/][-];
8. mkdir creates a directory
mkdir[some directory name][-m][-p]
9. ls returns the contents of the directory (that is, lists all files and subdirectories).
ls[-1AaCxdLHRFplinsehrSXvctu][-wWIDTH][FILE]… 
10. mv moves or renames files or directories
mv [path and filename] [new path] [-f] [-i] [-n]
11. ps displays all active processes
** 12. cp copies directories or files. **Using this command, you can copy a single file or multiple files at once. By the way, you can rename the file while copying it (sometimes very convenient).
cp [some file 1] [some file 2]
cp [some file 1] … [some directory]
cp -r [somedirectory] … [some directory]
13. find 文件搜索
find [-HL][PATH]… [OPTIONS] [ACTIONS] 
14. cat reads from files and outputs them on the screen.
cat [FILE]…
Daily use of CLI example
1. reboot to restart the host
2. poweroff using the command line to shut down
3. esxcli system version get get some information about ESXi version 
4. esxcli hardware information about host hardware
** 5. esxcli hardware pci list get information about all available PCI devices.
** 
6. esxcli hardware clock (get/set) Get or set the ESXi system time. 
7. lspci Brief information about available PCI devices.
lspci [-p] [-n] [-d] [-e] [-v] [-h] 
8. esxtop monitors the usage of host resources. The following are the hot keys to switch between views:
C (CPU), I (interrupt), M (memory), N(network), D (disk adapter), U (disk device), V (virtual disk), P (power mgmt).
**9. vmkerrcode- l Provide more detailed information about the error code. **When there is a problem with the VM, enter this command. 
10. esxcfg-nics returns more detailed information about the network card
esxcfg-nics [-s] [-d] [-a] [-l] [-e] [-r] [-h] 
11. esxcfg-vswitch provides information about virtual switches
esxcfg-vswitch [options] [vswitch[:ports]] 
12. chkconfig -l displays the status of all services in all run levels.
chkconfig[options] 
13. esxcli software manages and installs configuration files and VIB
esxcli software {cmd}[cmd options]
14. esxcli software vib list lists all installed VIBs. 
15.esxcli network is used to manage virtual networks
esxcli network{cmd}[cmd options]
16.esxcli network ip connection list lists all active connections 
17. esxcli storage -a A set of core storage commands and other commands for managing storage.
esxcli storage{cmd}[cmd options]
18.esxcli storage vmfs extent list lists vmfs volumes 
19. esxcli system storage monitoring and management commands
20. esxcli system version get returns the ESXi version and internal version number. 
21. uname provides information about the VMware ESXi version.
uname[-amnrspvio]
Commands for managing virtual machines
1. vim-cmd vmsvc / getallvms Information about virtual machines running on a specific host 
2. vim-cmd vmsvc /power.getstate # Use this command to check if the VM is running, enter vmid instead of # 
3. vim-cmd vmsvc /power.on /off # Turn on or off the specified virtual machine, use vmid instead#
4. vim-cmd vmsvc /power.reset # Reset the virtual machine
5. vim-cmd vmsvc /power.shutdown # Shut down a specific virtual machine
6. vim-cmd vmsvc /power.reboot # Restart the virtual machine
7. vim-cmd vmsvc /get.summary # Provide information about the virtual machine
8. esxcli vm process list lists running virtual machines and their world IDs 
9. esxcli vm process kill -type=[soft,hard,force] -world-id=WorldID provides many options to stop VMs with a specific WorldID.
Soft-normal shutdown
Hard-immediate shutdown
Force-only use force when restarting the host
10. vim-cmd solo /registervm /vmfs/vol/datastore/dir/vm.vmx Register the VM in the virtual machine management list and assign a Vmid to it. 
11.vim-cmd vmsvc /unregistervm vmid # Delete the virtual machine from the inventory
to sum up
This article does not list all ESXCLI commands, but only lists some commonly used commands, I hope it will be useful to you.
Related Reading:
NIC load balancing on ESXi hosts: ESXCLI is the first choice
How to install ESXi on vSAN? Just one command line!
100% of the tmp directory in the ESXi system causes the system to become unresponsive.
