Download VMware Workstation for Linux without a Broadcom Account

download_workstation.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Download VMware Workstation for Linux
# Handles legacy versions (12.x - 17.6.3) from Cloudflare CDN cache and
# newer versions (17.6.4+) from Archive.org.
#
# Use '-k' to keep the CDN download file compressed, exiting after download. (Ignored for v17.6.4+)
# Use '-v <Version>' to specify desired version directly.

BASE_URL="https://softwareupdate-prod.broadcom.com/cds/vmw-desktop/"
CDN_MIRROR="softwareupdate-prod.broadcom.com:443:softwareupdate-prod.broadcom.com.cdn.cloudflare.net:443"

declare -A ARCHIVE_URLS
ARCHIVE_URLS["17.6.4"]="https://archive.org/download/vmware-workstation-full-17.6.4-24832109.x86_64/VMware-Workstation-Full-17.6.4-24832109.x86_64.bundle"

# Cloudflare CDN metadata
read -r -d '' XML_DATA << 'EOF'
<metalist>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.0.0/2985596/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.0.1/3160714/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.1.0/3272444/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.1.1/3770994/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.0/4352439/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.1/4542065/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.2/4638234/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.3/5115892/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.4/5192485/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.5/5234757/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.6/5528349/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.7/5813279/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.8/7098237/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>12.0.0</version><url>ws/12.5.9/7535481/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.0.0/6661328/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.0/7370693/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.1/7528167/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.2/8497320/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.3/9474260/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.4/10722678/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.5/10950780/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.6/12368378/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>14.0.0</version><url>ws/14.1.7/12989993/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.0.0/10134415/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.0.1/10737736/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.0.2/10952284/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.0.3/12422535/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.0.4/12990004/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.1.0/13591040/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.0/14665864/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.1/15018445/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.2/15785246/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.5/16285975/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.6/16341506/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>15.0.0</version><url>ws/15.5.7/17171714/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.0.0/16894299/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.1.0/17198959/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.1.1/17801498/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.1.2/17966106/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.2.0/18760230/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.2.1/18811642/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.2.3/19376536/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.2.4/20089737/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>16.0.0</version><url>ws/16.2.5/20904516/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.0.0/20800274/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.0.1/21139696/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.0.2/21581411/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.5.0/22583795/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.5.1/23298084/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.5.2/23775571/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.6.0/24238078/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.6.1/24319023/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.6.2/24409262/linux/core/</url></metadata>
  <metadata><version>17.0.0</version><url>ws/17.6.3/24583834/linux/core/</url></metadata>
</metalist>
EOF

KEEP_COMPRESSED=false
USER_VERSION=""
VERSION=""
BUILD=""

while getopts "kv:" opt; do
  case $opt in
    k) KEEP_COMPRESSED=true ;;
    v) USER_VERSION=$OPTARG ;;
    *) echo "Usage: $0 [-k] [-v VERSION]" >&2; exit 1 ;;
  esac
done

requirements_check() {
  command -v curl >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: curl is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
  command -v grep >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: grep is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
  command -v awk >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: awk is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
  command -v sed >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: sed is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
  command -v tar >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: tar is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
  command -v sort >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: sort is required but not installed." >&2; exit 1; }
}

requirements_check

if [[ $(uname | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]') != "linux"* ]]; then
  KEEP_COMPRESSED=true
  echo "Warning: Not running on Linux. Forcing keep compressed." >&2
fi

if sort --version 2>/dev/null | grep -q "GNU coreutils"; then
  SORT_CMD="sort -V"
  SORT_UNIQUE_CMD="sort -uV"
else
  SORT_CMD="sort -t. -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n -k4,4n"
  SORT_UNIQUE_CMD="sort -t. -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n -k4,4n -u"
fi

version_gte() {
  printf '%s\n%s\n' "$1" "$2" | eval "$SORT_CMD" | head -n 1 | grep -q "^$2$"
}

get_all_available_versions() {
  local cdn_versions
  cdn_versions=$(echo "$XML_DATA" | grep -oP 'ws/\K[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' | eval "$SORT_UNIQUE_CMD")
  local archive_versions
  archive_versions=$(printf "%s\n" "${!ARCHIVE_URLS[@]}")
  printf "%s\n%s" "$cdn_versions" "$archive_versions" | eval "$SORT_UNIQUE_CMD"
}

get_build_for_cdn_version() {
  local target_version="$1"
  echo "$XML_DATA" | grep "<url>ws/${target_version}/" | sed -n 's%.*<url>ws/'"$target_version"'/\([0-9]*\)/.*%\1%p'
}

if [[ -n "$USER_VERSION" ]]; then
  VERSION="$USER_VERSION"
else
  echo "Available versions:"
  mapfile -t all_versions < <(get_all_available_versions)
  [[ ${#all_versions[@]} -eq 0 ]] && { echo "No available versions found." >&2; exit 1; }

  PS3="Select a version: "
  select ver in "${all_versions[@]}"; do
    [[ -n "$ver" ]] && { VERSION=$ver; break; } || echo "Invalid selection. Please try again."
  done
fi

if [[ -v "ARCHIVE_URLS[$VERSION]" ]]; then
  DOWNLOAD_URL="${ARCHIVE_URLS[$VERSION]}"
  DOWNLOAD_DIR="${HOME}"
  DOWNLOAD_FILE="${DOWNLOAD_DIR}/$(basename "${DOWNLOAD_URL}")"

  echo "Selected new version: $VERSION"
  echo "Downloading from Archive.org..."

  if [[ "$KEEP_COMPRESSED" = true ]]; then
    echo "Info: -k flag is ignored for versions 17.6.4 and newer as they are not compressed."
  fi

  curl -L --progress-bar -f -o "${DOWNLOAD_FILE}" "${DOWNLOAD_URL}" || {
    echo "Error: Download failed for ${DOWNLOAD_URL}." >&2
    exit 1
  }

  echo "Setting permissions..."
  chmod +x "${DOWNLOAD_FILE}"

  echo -e "\nFinished. You can now run the installer bundle."
  echo "VMware Workstation bundle location: ${DOWNLOAD_FILE}"

else
  BUILD=$(get_build_for_cdn_version "$VERSION")
  [[ -z "$BUILD" ]] && { echo "Error: Version ${VERSION} not found in the embedded XML data." >&2; exit 1; }

  echo "Selected legacy version: $VERSION with build: $BUILD"

  DOWNLOAD_URL="${BASE_URL}ws/${VERSION}/${BUILD}/linux/core/VMware-Workstation-${VERSION}-${BUILD}.x86_64.bundle.tar"
  DOWNLOAD_DIR="${HOME}"
  DOWNLOAD_FILE="${DOWNLOAD_DIR}/VMware-Workstation-${VERSION}-${BUILD}.x86_64.bundle.tar"
  EXTRACT_DIR="${DOWNLOAD_DIR}/VMware-Workstation-${VERSION}-${BUILD}"
  BUNDLE_PATH="${EXTRACT_DIR}/VMware-Workstation-${VERSION}-${BUILD}.x86_64.bundle"

  echo "Downloading VMware Workstation v${VERSION} (${BUILD}) from CDN cache..."
  mkdir -p "${DOWNLOAD_DIR}"

  check_url() {
    curl -s --head --connect-to "$CDN_MIRROR" "$1" | head -n 1 | grep "200" >/dev/null
  }

  check_url "$DOWNLOAD_URL" || { echo "Error: Installer file not found at $DOWNLOAD_URL via CDN." >&2; exit 1; }

  curl -k -q --progress-bar -f -o "${DOWNLOAD_FILE}" --connect-to "$CDN_MIRROR" "${DOWNLOAD_URL}" || {
    echo "Error: Download failed for ${DOWNLOAD_URL}." >&2
    exit 1
  }

  if [[ "$KEEP_COMPRESSED" = true ]]; then
    echo -e "\nFinished. Downloaded file location: ${DOWNLOAD_FILE}"
    exit 0
  fi

  echo "Extracting tar..."
  mkdir -p "${EXTRACT_DIR}" && \
  tar -xf "${DOWNLOAD_FILE}" -C "${EXTRACT_DIR}" || {
    echo "Error: Extraction of tar file failed. File may be corrupt." >&2
    echo "Downloaded file location: ${DOWNLOAD_FILE}" >&2
    rm -rf "${EXTRACT_DIR}"
    exit 1
  }

  echo "Cleaning up..."
  chmod +x "${EXTRACT_DIR}/VMware-Workstation-${VERSION}-${BUILD}.x86_64.bundle"
  rm -f "${DOWNLOAD_FILE}" "${EXTRACT_DIR}/descriptor.xml" 2>/dev/null

  echo -e "\nFinished. You can now run the installer bundle."
  echo "VMware Workstation bundle location: ${BUNDLE_PATH}"
fi

• Run script to download without sign-up
• Use -k to keep download file compressed, exiting after download (ignored for v17.6.4 and higher)
• Use -v VERSION to specify the desired version (12.0.0 or higher required)

Run directly with:

bash <(curl -sSL https://gist.github.com/jetfir3/e25e74a42e7c7ac2c808a537b12dc768/raw/download_workstation.sh)

Example with arguments:

bash <(curl -sSL https://gist.github.com/jetfir3/e25e74a42e7c7ac2c808a537b12dc768/raw/download_workstation.sh) -k -v 17.6.3

VMware Tools:
https://packages-prod.broadcom.com/tools/
Latest - https://packages-prod.broadcom.com/tools/releases/latest/
Legacy / macOS - https://packages-prod.broadcom.com/tools/frozen/
Linux / Windows - https://packages-prod.broadcom.com/tools/releases/

VMware Download scripts for other platforms:

• macOS
• Windows