VM Console-Typer

Type text into an ESXi or vCenter VM console that won't accept a paste. No VMware Tools needed in the guest.

Some VM consoles simply won't take a paste. If the guest has no VMware Tools, or copy and paste is switched off, everything you need to get into that machine has to be typed by hand: a netplan file, a long command, a licence key, a recovery password. Console Typer types it for you. Paste the text into the panel, press Send, and it arrives in the console one keystroke at a time. WHERE IT WORKS • VM consoles in the ESXi host client • VM consoles in the vCenter HTML5 client • Anything else built on VMware's WebMKS console Nothing is needed inside the guest: no VMware Tools, no network, no SSH. It works at an installer prompt, in a rescue shell, or on a machine that hasn't got an address yet. HOW TO USE IT 1. Add your ESXi or vCenter host on the options page. Chrome asks you to approve that one host. 2. Open a VM console there. A keyboard button appears at the bottom right. 3. Paste your text, then press Send. Would rather not add a host? Click the Console Typer button in the toolbar while the console is open. That runs it on that one tab, for that visit only. CONTROLS • Speed — the gap between characters • Careful — slower, and far more reliable on a busy host • Enter at end — press Return after the last line, or leave it off and read the command over first • Cancel — stops part way through PRIVACY Console Typer makes no network requests at all. It has no server, no analytics and no tracking, and it collects nothing. What you type stays in the tab. It can only reach hosts you add yourself. GOOD TO KNOW • US-layout ASCII only. Characters it can't map are skipped, and listed when the run finishes. • The panel reports what it sent, not what the guest accepted. On a loaded host, turn on Careful. • Console Typer is an independent project and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Broadcom or VMware.