esxi-debian-deploy

# ESXi Debian 13 Zero-Touch Deploy

Deploy fully configured Debian 13 VMs on ESXi 8 in ~8 minutes with zero manual interaction.

## Required Environment Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| `ESXI_HOST` | **Yes** | ESXi host IP address |
| `ESXI_PASS` | **Yes** | ESXi root password |
| `ESXI_USER` | No | ESXi user (default: `root`) |
| `ESXI_DATASTORE` | No | Target datastore (default: `datastore1`) |
| `NETWORK` | No | Port group name (default: `VM Network`) |
| `DOMAIN` | No | Domain for VMs (default: `local`) |
| `VM_PASS` | **Yes** (resize only) | VM root password for disk resize script |

> **⚠️ Note:** The deploy script generates a random VM password and prints it to stdout. The password is also embedded in the preseed ISO uploaded to the ESXi datastore. Remove the ISO after deployment and treat stdout output as sensitive.

## Requirements

- **ESXi 8.x** host with SSH and datastore access
- **govc** CLI ([github.com/vmware/govmomi](https://github.com/vmware/govmomi))
- **xorriso**, **isolinux** — for custom ISO build
- **sshpass** — for automated SSH/SCP
- Tools on agent host: `bash`, `python3`, `wget`

Install on Debian/Ubuntu:
```bash
apt install xorriso isolinux sshpass
# govc: https://github.com/vmware/govmomi/releases
```

## Usage

All credentials are passed via environment variables — nothing is hardcoded or embedded in process arguments.

```bash
export ESXI_HOST="192.168.1.100"
export ESXI_PASS="your-esxi-root-password"

bash scripts/esxi-deploy.sh [hostname] [cpu] [ram_mb] [disk_gb] [serial_port]
```

| Parameter | Default | Description |
|-----------|---------|-------------|
| hostname | random animal name | VM name |
| cpu | 2 | vCPU count |
| ram_mb | 2048 | Memory in MB |
| disk_gb | 20 | Disk size in GB |
| serial_port | random 8600-8699 | Telnet port for serial console |

**Example:**
```bash
bash scripts/esxi-deploy.sh webserver 4 4096 50 8610
```

## What It Does

1. **Generate preseed.cfg**...

# ESXi Debian Deploy Skill

Zero-touch Debian 13 VM deployment on VMware ESXi 8 — built for [OpenClaw](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw) AI agents.

## What it does

Deploys fully configured Debian 13 VMs on ESXi in ~8 minutes with zero manual interaction:

- **Custom preseed ISO** — automated Debian installer, no prompts
- **NVMe + vmxnet3** — modern, high-performance VM config
- **Serial console** — telnet access to VM console, even without network
- **Online disk resize** — grow disks without VM shutdown

## Quick Start

```bash
# Install as OpenClaw skill
openclaw skill install ./esxi-debian-deploy.skill

# Or use the deploy script directly
bash scripts/esxi-deploy.sh myvm 4 4096 50
```

## Requirements

- ESXi 8.x host with SSH access
- `govc` CLI, `xorriso`, `isolinux`, `sshpass`
- Debian/Ubuntu agent host

## Documentation

See [SKILL.md](SKILL.md) for full documentation including:
- Configuration options
- Serial console setup
- Disk resize usage
- Preseed customization
- Known gotchas

## Files

```
├── SKILL.md                          # Full skill documentation
├── scripts/
│   ├── esxi-deploy.sh                # Main deploy script
│   └── esxi-vm-resize-disk.sh        # Online disk resize
└── references/
    ├── preseed-template.cfg           # Preseed config template
    └── vmx-template.md               # VMX configuration reference
```

## License

See [LICENSE](LICENSE).