VCF CLI plugin installation fails with MANIFEST_UNKNOWN error in internet-restricted environments

Products

• VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

When executing vcf plugin install pais on a host running in an air-gapped or internet-restricted environment, the installation fails during dependency resolution with the following registry error:

telemetry:v9.0.2: MANIFEST_UNKNOWN: The named manifest is not known to the registry.

pais:v2.1.0: MANIFEST_UNKNOWN: The named manifest is not known to the registry.

Checking the active plugin discovery sources displays the public Broadcom repository despite the host lacking direct internet connectivity:

vcf plugin source list

Output indicates source set to https://projects.packages.broadcom.com.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x

 

Cause

By default, the VCF CLI queries the public online OCI registry (projects.packages.broadcom.com) to locate and resolve plugin metadata and essential dependencies (such as vmware-vcfcli/essentials:v9.0.2).

In an internet-restricted or offline environment, the CLI cannot reach the public registry endpoints. As a result, OCI manifest resolution fails, triggering the MANIFEST_UNKNOWN error.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, download the offline Linux/Mac plugin bundle from the Broadcom Support Portal (VCF-Consumption-CLI-PluginBundle-###-[RELEASE_VERSION].tar.gz) and transfer the file to the target host.

On the target host, execute the following commands to remove cached online metadata, extract the bundle, install the plugins from the local source path, and verify the installation:

1. rm -rf ~/.local/vcf

2. rm -rf ~/.local/vcf-cli-telemetry

3. mkdir -p ~/vcf-plugin-bundle tar -xvzf VCF-Consumption-CLI-PluginBundle-Linux_x86_64-[RELEASE_VERSION].tar.gz -C ~/vcf-plugin-bundle/

4. vcf plugin install all --local-source ~/vcf-plugin-bundle/

5. vcf plugin list

Additional Information

 

• Documentation Reference: For detailed security parameters and offline deployment guidelines, consult the Broadcom Documentation on VCF CLI Offline Installation.