How to get Linux guest customization status from state files
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How to get Linux guest customization status from state files

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Article ID: 329209

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Updated On:

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article describes the state files used to indicate the progress and status of Linux guest OS customization within a virtual machine.

Depending on the version of VMware Tools, the specific Linux distribution, and the deployment method (e.g., vSphere Client vs. Aria Automation), these state files may be located in different directories.

Common State File Locations The state files are typically found in one of the following paths:

  • Modern Deployments (Aria Automation / RHEL 7+ / Ubuntu 18.04+): /var/log/.vmware-deploy.* (Note: Moved to /var/log to ensure the marker persists across reboots and is not removed by system temporary file cleaners.)

  • Legacy / Standard Deployments: /tmp/.vmware-deploy.*

Resolution

The customization process uses specific file suffixes to indicate the current status.

The Customization Lifecycle:

  1. Start: When customization begins, the file .vmware-deploy.INPROGRESS is created in the working directory.

  2. Success: If customization completes without error, .vmware-deploy.Done is created, and the .INPROGRESS file is deleted.

  3. Failure: If customization encounters an error, .vmware-deploy.ERRORED is created, and the .INPROGRESS file is deleted.

Verifying Status To verify the status of a VM, you can run the following commands to check both common locations:

# Check for success in /var/log (Modern)
ls -l /var/log/.vmware-deploy.Done

# Check for success in /tmp (Legacy)
ls -l /tmp/.vmware-deploy.Done

Additional Information: Security Reporting Security scanning tools may flag these files as "suspicious hidden files" or "dot files" because they start with a period.

  • These are legitimate, 0-byte marker files required for VMware automation.

  • Deleting them may cause the customization process to re-run on the next reboot, potentially resetting network configurations or hostnames.

  • If flagged, it is recommended to create an exception in your security tool for the filename .vmware-deploy.Done.

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