Purpose: Automate Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 installation on VMware Workstation using autoinstall (cloud-init) or preseed.
Contents:

  • Kubernetes & Docker
    Run full k8s clusters (e.g., kind or k3s) inside VMs with nested virtualization support, or test Docker Compose stacks without polluting your host.

  • Reverse Engineering & Security Labs
    Safely analyse malware or test exploits in snapshotted, isolated VMs – perfect for security repos on GitHub.

  • Automated Provisioning
    Use vmrun (VMware’s CLI) to power on/off VMs from shell scripts, and integrate with GitHub Actions self‑hosted runners.

    • You can use GitHub Actions to test VMs on Workstation Pro if you have a self‑hosted runner. Example workflow:

    name: Test VM on VMware Workstation
on: [push]
jobs:
  vm-test:
    runs-on: self-hosted  # Must have VMware Workstation installed
    steps:
      - name: Start VM
        run: vmrun start /VMs/test-vm/test-vm.vmx nogui
      - name: Run command inside guest
        run: vmrun -gu user -gp pass runProgramInGuest /VMs/test-vm/test-vm.vmx "cmd.exe" "/c echo Hello > C:\test.txt"
      - name: Snapshot
        run: vmrun snapshot /VMs/test-vm/test-vm.vmx pre-test-snap
      - name: Stop VM
        run: vmrun stop /VMs/test-vm/test-vm.vmx

    You can create scripts that interact with VMware Workstation’s CLI tools:

    Example Python wrapper (often found on GitHub):

    import subprocess
def vm_start(vmx_path):
    subprocess.run(["vmrun", "start", vmx_path, "nogui"])
def take_snapshot(vmx_path, name):
    subprocess.run(["vmrun", "snapshot", vmx_path, name])

    Here’s a sample legitimate use. A PowerShell script from GitHub might look like:

    # Example: Deploy Ubuntu 22.04 VM on VMware Workstation 17 Pro
$vmxPath = "C:\VMs\Ubuntu2204\Ubuntu2204.vmx"
& "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware VIX\vmrun.exe" -T ws start $vmxPath

    This script does not crack anything—it simply controls the official VMware CLI.

    Unfortunately, GitHub’s permissive nature has allowed users to upload "loaders" or "keygens" for VMware Workstation 17 Pro. These typically appear as:

    Warning: These are almost always malware vectors. Cybersecurity research shows that over 89% of "software crack" repositories on GitHub contain obfuscated code, reverse shells, or cryptocurrency miners. Even if the script works, you are trading a $200 license for potential identity theft.