Shrink VMWare VMDK File

Feb 27, 2023

1. tools and shrinking on guest

  • tools needed on guest 
    $ sudo apt install open-vm-tools
  • shrinking vmdk on guest 
    $ vmware-toolbox-cmd disk shrink /

2. shrinking on host

  • defrag 
    vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -d /path/to/shrink.vmdk
  • final Shrink 
    vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -k /path/to/shrink.vmdk

99. reference link