VMware Tools Services
Published: 2026-02-02 · Archived: 2026-04-06 01:28:02 UTC
VMware Tools Daemon Service
: This application runs in the background. It is called
vmtoolsd.exe
on Windows guest operating systems,
vmware-tools-daemon
on Mac OS X guest operating systems, and
vmtoolsd
on Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris guest operating systems. The VMware Tools service performs the following tasks
using the plug-ins:
autohidpi
- Set guest screen resolution for Mac OS X guest operating systems.
autoLogon
- Bypasses the guest operating system login when powering on a VM.
autoUpgrade
- Handles VMware Tools upgrade operations.
bitMapper
- Creates a bit map of disk blocks used by the guest operating system, used in vMotion.
deployPkg
- Handles guest customization operations.
desktopEvents
- Starting or stopping VMware Tools user service based on screen/X11 changes.
This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
disableGuestHibernate
https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/tools/12-4-0/vmware-tools-administration-12-4-0/introduction-to-vmware-tools/vmware-tools-service.html
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- Disables option for hibernation in guest operating system.
diskWiper
- Releases unused guest disk blocks so they can be reclaimed by the hypervisor.
dndcp
- Drag and drop, copy and paste operations. Enables copying and pasting of text, graphics, and files
between guest operating systems and hosts or client desktops. This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
appInfo
- Collects the information about running applications inside the guest and publishes the information to a
guest variable.
guestInfo
- Collects and reports guest information and statistics to hypervisor.
hgfsServer
- HGFS server for transferring files, drag and drop and VMware Tools upgrade operations.
hgfsUsability
- Handles mapping HGFS folders to special user folders, adds HGFS links to the desktop.
hwUpgradeHelper
- Handles changes due to virtual hardware upgrade.
powerOps
- Handles graceful shutdown and reboot of the guest, and execution of scripts for a power operation.
resolutionKMS
- Handles communicating guest user interface topology to the vmwgfx drm (direct rendering manager)
driver.
This plugin is for Linux only.
resolutionSet
- Handles guest screen re-sizing when
vmwgfx drm
(direct rendering manager) driver is not available.
https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/tools/12-4-0/vmware-tools-administration-12-4-0/introduction-to-vmware-tools/vmware-tools-service.html
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timeSync
- Synchronizes guest clock with host clock at power on or resume.
vmbackup
- Handles freezing and thawing file systems during a quiesced snapshot operation.
vmtray
- Provides VMware Tools tray icon and pop-up menu.
This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
vsep
- Manages NSX file and network introspection.
vix
- Handles guest operations related to files, processes, and registry.
Source: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/tools/12-4-0/vmware-tools-administration-12-4-0/introduction-to-vmware-t
ools/vmware-tools-service.html
https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/tools/12-4-0/vmware-tools-administration-12-4-0/introduction-to-vmware-tools/vmware-tools-service.html
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