VMware vAPI Runtime

9.0.0.0 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no python

VMware vAPI Runtime library provides the core infrastructure for consuming VMware vSphere Automation and Cloud Foundation APIs. Current version 2.61.2. Release cadence is tied to VMware SDK releases, approximately quarterly.

pip install vmware-vapi-runtime

Common errors

error ImportError: No module named vapi ↓

cause Package namespace changed from 'vapi' to 'vmware.vapi' in version 9.0.0.0.

fix

Update imports to 'from vmware.vapi...'

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'vmware.vapi.vsphere.client' ↓

cause The helper module was introduced in 9.0.0.0; older versions require manual client construction.

fix

Upgrade to vmware-vapi-runtime >=9.0.0.0 or use older import pattern: from vmware.vapi.core import StubConfiguration

error suds.WebFault: Server raised fault: 'The request requires user authentication.' ↓

cause Authentication context not properly set or credentials missing.

fix

Ensure correct security context is attached: e.g., create_user_password_security_context(username, password)

Warnings

breaking In version 9.0.0.0, the package namespace changed from `vapi` to `vmware.vapi`. All imports must be updated. ↓

fix Replace 'from vapi...' with 'from vmware.vapi...'

breaking The `create_vsphere_client` helper function was added in 9.0.0.0, replacing manual StubConfiguration setup. ↓

fix Use `from vmware.vapi.vsphere.client import create_vsphere_client`

deprecated SOAP-based API calls via `suds` are deprecated and will be removed in future releases. ↓

fix Migrate to REST API calls using requests library.

Imports

VapiClient

wrong

from vapi.client import VapiClient

correct

from vmware.vapi.vsphere.client import VapiClient

Correct path includes vsphere namespace

StubConfiguration

wrong

from vapi.core import StubConfiguration

correct

from vmware.vapi.core import StubConfiguration

Old package structure changed

SecurityContext

wrong

from vapi.security import SecurityContext

correct

from vmware.vapi.security import SecurityContext

Namespace was flattened

Quickstart

Initialize vSphere client, authenticate, and list VMs using vAPI runtime.

import os
from vmware.vapi.vsphere.client import create_vsphere_client
from vmware.vapi.security.user_password import create_user_password_security_context

# Authentication
username = os.environ.get('VSPHERE_USER', 'administrator@vsphere.local')
password = os.environ.get('VSPHERE_PASSWORD', '')
server = os.environ.get('VSPHERE_SERVER', 'vcenter.example.com')

security_context = create_user_password_security_context(username, password)
client = create_vsphere_client(server=server, username=username, password=password)
# List VMs
vm_list = client.vcenter.VM.list()
print(vm_list)