Toggling the vCenter Server Appliance default shell

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides vSphere Administrators with steps to toggle between the default shells available on the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Resolution

Currently, the vCSA is bundled with these supported shells:

• BASH Shell
• Appliance Shell

Switching the vCenter Server Appliance to BASH Shell

1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance through SSH.
2. Run this command to enable access to the Bash shell:
   shell.set --enabled true
    
3. Type shell and press Enter.
4. In the temporary BASH shell, run this command to permanently configure the default Shell to BASH for root:
   chsh -s /bin/bash root
    
5. Log out of the BASH Shell.
6. Log in again for the changes to take effect.

Note: For 6.7 and higher, do the following.

1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance through SSH.
2. Type shell and press Enter.
3. In the temporary BASH shell, run this command to permanently configure the default Shell to BASH for root:
   chsh -s /bin/bash root
   
   
4. Log out of the BASH Shell.
5. Log in again for the changes to take effect.

Switching the vCenter Server Appliance to Appliance Shell

1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance through SSH.
2. Run this command to change from using the BASH Shell to the Appliance Shell:
   chsh -s /bin/appliancesh root
    
3. Log out of the Appliance Shell.
4. Log in again for the changes to take effect.

Note: This is a permanent switch as it will change the default shell for all future logins.

For Temporary Switch
Run the command below to switch to the appliance shell one time
/bin/appliancesh
Opens the shell immediately; exit returns you to BASH.

To perform the shell update in one line:

1. Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance through SSH
2. Run this command to change the default shell from appliancesh to bash:
   shell "/bin/bash" "-c" "chsh -s /bin/bash root"
   
   
3. Log out of the Appliance Shell
4. Log in again for the changes to take effect

Additional Information

Note: This KB explains how to enable SSH on VCSA and also login issues with VCSA.
If you see the error message Access Denied when logging into an SSH session, see "Access Denied" error when using SSH to login to the appliance