Run VMware OVF Tool From the Command Line

Procedure

At the command-line prompt, run the OVF Tool as follows
```
ovftool <source locator> <target locator>
```
<source locator> and <target locator> are paths to the source and target for the virtual machine, OVF package, OVA package, or vSphere location. See Command-Line Options for options. OVF Tool Definitions of Source and Target Locators describes the source and target locators. For details, see Specifying a Locator.

If you are using an operating system where spaces are not allowed in paths on the command line, and need the full path to run OVF Tool, enclose the path in quotes as shown below:
```
"/Applications/VMware OVF Tool/ovftool" --help
```
If you want to specify additional options, type them before the source and target locators.
```
ovftool <options> <source locator> <target locator>
```
To display all options, type ovftool -h.
Probe mode allows you to investigate the contents of a source. To invoke probe mode, use the ovftool command with only a source and no target. OVF Tool prints information about the source such as hardware, EULA, and OVF properties.
```
ovftool <options> <source locator>
```
Use probe mode to examine an OVF package before deploying it. For example, you can examine the download and deployment sizes, determine the set of networks to be mapped, determine the OVF properties to be configured, read the EULA, and determine the virtual hardware requirements.

The probe operation is fast, as it only needs to access the OVF descriptor. It does not need to download the entire OVA or VMDK files. Probe mode also validates the certificate if the source is signed. For details about Probe Mode and sample output, see Using OVF Tool Probe Mode.