Install VMware Tools on Ubuntu 18.04: Open VM Tools and ISO Guide

VMware Tools is a set of drivers and services that improves the performance of an Ubuntu guest virtual machine running on a VMware hypervisor. Without it, the guest uses basic hardware drivers, and the experience feels slow and limited.

With VMware Tools installed, you get faster graphics performance, automatic screen resolution adjustment, shared clipboard between host and guest, shared folders, drag and drop file transfer, and better time synchronization.

This guide covers two ways to install VMware Tools on Ubuntu 18.04. The same steps work on Ubuntu 16.04 and other Ubuntu-based distributions like Linux Mint and Elementary OS.

<strong>Prerequisite:</strong>&nbsp;You need sudo access on the Ubuntu guest virtual machine.

What VMware Tools Add to Your Guest VM

Running a virtual machine without the Tools package feels sluggish. The mouse may lag, screen resolution stays fixed, and copying text between the host and guest does not work.

Installing VMware Tools fixes all of this at once. Here is what you gain:

• Faster graphics – screen rendering improves and the VM window resizes cleanly
• Shared clipboard – copy text on your host, paste it inside the guest
• Shared folders – access your host machine’s directories from inside the VM
• Drag and drop – move files between the VM and your desktop with the mouse
• Time sync – the guest clock stays aligned with the host automatically

Method 1: Install VMware Tools Using Open VM Tools

This is the recommended method. Open VM Tools is the open-source version of VMware Tools, maintained by the community and packaged directly in Ubuntu’s official repositories. It is easy to install and gets updated through the normal package manager.

There are two packages to choose from depending on how you use the VM.

For an Ubuntu server guest with no graphical desktop:

bashsudo apt updatesudo apt install open-vm-tools

For an Ubuntu desktop guest with a graphical interface:

bashsudo apt updatesudo apt install open-vm-tools-desktop

That is all. VMware Tools is now active on your guest.

Check that the service started correctly:

bashsudo systemctl status open-vm-tools

The output should show the service as active (running). When a new version of Open VM Tools is released, update it with:

bashsudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Method 2: Install VMware Tools from the ISO File

VMware ships an ISO image that contains official Tools installers for all supported guest operating systems. Use this method only if Open VM Tools does not fully meet your requirements or if you specifically need the official VMware package.

On your host machine, open VMware Workstation, Fusion, or Player and start the Ubuntu guest. From the top menu, click Virtual Machine then Install VMware Tools. If you are using VMware Player, you will be asked to download the tools package before this step completes.

Log in to the Ubuntu guest. Create a mount point and attach the ISO:

bashsudo mkdir -p /mnt/cdromsudo mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

Navigate to the mounted drive and extract the Tools archive:

bashcd /mnt/cdromsudo tar xf VMwareTools-*.tar.gz -C /tmp

Run the installer script. The -d flag tells it to accept all default settings:

bashsudo /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib/vmware-install.pl -d

Reboot the guest to apply the changes:

bashsudo shutdown -r now

After the restart, VMware Tools will be running on your guest operating system.

VMware Tools makes a clear difference in how your Ubuntu guest VM performs and feels. For most users, the Open VM Tools package from apt is the fastest and simplest path. It installs in seconds and stays up to date automatically. The ISO method is there when you need the official VMware installer instead. Leave a comment below if you run into any issues.