VMware Snapshot Reporter

Automated VMware snapshot monitoring and reporting tool. Connects to one or more vCenter Servers, inventories all VM snapshots, performs risk assessment based on age and size, and delivers color-coded HTML reports with executive summaries.

Live Report Preview — See a sample report with mock data.

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Features

Feature	Description
Risk-Based Color Coding	Green (<3 days), Yellow (3-7 days), Red (7+ days) with configurable thresholds
Multi-vCenter	Scan multiple vCenter Servers in a single run, consolidated into one report
Multiple Exports	HTML, CSV, JSON, or All — pick the format you need
Secure Credentials	4-tier chain: parameter, encrypted XML, environment variables, interactive prompt
TestMode	Generate realistic sample reports without any vCenter connectivity
Email Delivery	Opt-in SMTP email with HTML body, CC support, and SSL
Performance Mode	-SkipCreatorLookup bypasses expensive Get-VIEvent queries
CI/CD Ready	Pester unit tests + GitHub Actions pipeline with PSScriptAnalyzer

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Requirements

• PowerShell 5.1+ (PowerShell 7+ recommended)
• VMware PowerCLI module
• Read-only access to vCenter Server
• SMTP server access (optional, only for email delivery)

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Quick Start

# 1. Clone
git clone https://github.com/canberkys/VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.git
cd VMware-Snapshot-Reporter

# 2. Install PowerCLI (if needed)
Install-Module VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

# 3. Configure
Copy-Item config.example.json config.json
# Edit config.json with your vCenter and SMTP settings

# 4. Run in test mode (no vCenter required)
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -TestMode

Usage Examples

# Single vCenter with interactive credential prompt
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -VCenterServer vcsa.lab.local

# Multiple vCenters, all export formats
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -VCenterServer vcsa01.lab.local, vcsa02.lab.local -ReportFormat All

# Send email report
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -VCenterServer vcsa.lab.local -SendEmail

# Fast mode — skip creator lookup
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -VCenterServer vcsa.lab.local -SkipCreatorLookup

# Pass credentials directly
$cred = Get-Credential
.\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -VCenterServer vcsa.lab.local -Credential $cred -SendEmail -ReportFormat All

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Configuration

Copy config.example.json to config.json and edit:

{
    "vcenterServers": ["vcsa01.lab.local", "vcsa02.lab.local"],
    "riskThresholds": { "highRiskDays": 7, "mediumRiskDays": 3 },
    "sizeThresholds": { "largeGB": 50, "mediumGB": 10 },
    "email": {
        "smtpServer": "smtp.domain.com",
        "smtpPort": 25,
        "useSSL": false,
        "from": "vmware-reports@domain.com",
        "to": ["it-team@domain.com"],
        "cc": [],
        "subjectTemplate": "{0} Daily Snapshot Report"
    },
    "poweredOnOnly": true,
    "maxEventSamples": 1000,
    "sortBy": "SizeGB"
}

config.json is gitignored. Only config.example.json is committed.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
-VCenterServer	string[]	Target vCenter server(s). Falls back to config.json.
-Credential	PSCredential	vCenter credentials. Falls back to credential chain.
-ConfigFile	string	Path to config file. Default: ./config.json
-OutputPath	string	Report output directory. Default: ./output
-ReportFormat	string	HTML, JSON, CSV, or All
-SendEmail	switch	Send report via SMTP email
-SkipCreatorLookup	switch	Skip Get-VIEvent queries for faster execution
-TestMode	switch	Use mock data, no vCenter connection needed

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Credential Management

Credentials are resolved in order:

Priority	Method	Use Case
1	-Credential parameter	Scripts, automation
2	Encrypted XML (~/.snapshot-reporter-cred.xml)	Recurring scheduled tasks
3	Environment variables (VCENTER_USERNAME / VCENTER_PASSWORD)	CI/CD pipelines
4	Interactive Get-Credential prompt	Ad-hoc manual runs

# Save credentials for scheduled tasks (encrypted, machine+user bound)
Get-Credential | Export-Clixml -Path ~/.snapshot-reporter-cred.xml

# CI/CD environment variables
export VCENTER_USERNAME="svc-snapshot@vsphere.local"
export VCENTER_PASSWORD="secure-password"

Note: Encrypted XML files use DPAPI on Windows — they are bound to the machine and user that created them. Use environment variables for cross-machine or CI/CD scenarios.

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Project Structure

VMware-Snapshot-Reporter/
├── VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1     # Main orchestrator script
├── config.example.json               # Configuration template
├── checks/
│   ├── Get-SnapshotCreator.ps1       # Event-based snapshot creator lookup
│   ├── Get-SnapshotInventory.ps1     # Snapshot data collection from vCenter
│   └── Invoke-RiskAssessment.ps1     # Risk/size classification engine
├── report/
│   └── New-HtmlReport.ps1            # HTML report generation + CSV/JSON export
├── tests/
│   ├── Invoke-RiskAssessment.Tests.ps1
│   ├── Get-SnapshotInventory.Tests.ps1
│   └── VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.Tests.ps1
├── docs/
│   └── index.html                     # Live report preview (GitHub Pages)
├── output/                            # Generated reports (gitignored)
├── .github/workflows/ci.yml          # CI pipeline (Pester + PSScriptAnalyzer)
├── CHANGELOG.md
└── license.txt

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Scheduling

Windows Task Scheduler

$action  = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "pwsh.exe" `
    -Argument "-File C:\Scripts\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter\VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -SendEmail"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "08:00AM"
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "VMware Snapshot Report" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -RunLevel Highest

Linux Cron

0 8 * * * /usr/bin/pwsh -File /opt/scripts/VMware-Snapshot-Reporter/VMware-Snapshot-Reporter.ps1 -SendEmail

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Testing

# Install Pester
Install-Module Pester -MinimumVersion 5.0 -Force

# Run all tests
Invoke-Pester ./tests -Output Detailed

# Run specific test
Invoke-Pester ./tests/Invoke-RiskAssessment.Tests.ps1 -Output Detailed

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Migration from v2.0

1. Pull the latest changes or clone fresh
2. Copy-Item config.example.json config.json
3. Move your vCenter, SMTP, and threshold settings into config.json
4. Remove hardcoded credentials from any old scripts
5. Add -SendEmail flag — email is now opt-in

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License

MIT

Author

Canberk Kilicarslan — GitHub