Error with template name

[taniia-a]

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Overview of the Issue

I'm creating an image with packer via vcenter (vsphere-iso). Till here, everything is working, but on the end, when I use post-processor "vsphere" and post-processor "vsphere-template" to add the image to other vcenters, I'm getting an error.

Only it works when I add "-template" on the name (commented on the code)

Reproduction Steps

2026/06/15 08:30:27 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): Opening OVA source: /tmp/images/KN-RHEL9-2026.07.ova�[0m
2026/06/15 08:30:27 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): The manifest validates�[0m
2026/06/15 08:30:29 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): Opening VI target: vi://sv.EMEA.gisosauto%40corp.int.kn@vcenter-dcamer.int.kn:443/DCAMER/host/203_us_ngk_s_lnx�[0m
2026/06/15 08:31:54 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): Deploying to VI: vi://sv.EMEA.gisosauto%40corp.int.kn@vcenter-dcamer.int.kn:443/DCAMER/host/203_us_ngk_s_lnx�[0m
2026/06/15 08:32:58 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): Transfer Completed�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:01 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere): Completed successfully�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:01 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel: Running post-processor: (type vsphere-template)�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:01 packer-plugin-vsphere_v2.1.2_x5.0_linux_amd64 plugin: 2026/06/15 08:33:01 [DEBUG] - common: sending ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/06/15 08:33:01 [DEBUG] - common: receiving ConfigSpec as protobuf
2026/06/15 08:33:01 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere-template): Pausing momentarily to prepare for the next step...�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:11 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere-template): Choosing datacenter...�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:12 ui: �[1;32m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere-template): Creating or checking destination folder...�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:12 ui error: �[1;31m==> vsphere-iso.rhel (vsphere-template): template 'KN-RHEL9-2026.07' already exists. Set 'override = true' to replace existing templates�[0m
2026/06/15 08:33:12 packer-plugin-vsphere_v2.1.2_x5.0_linux_amd64 plugin: 2026/06/15 08:33:12 error: template 'KN-RHEL9-2026.07' already exists. Set 'override = true' to replace existing templates

Packer version

Packer version: 1.12.0 [go1.22.9 linux amd64]

Simplified Packer Template

source "vsphere-iso" "rhel" {
vcenter_server = var.vmware_server_emea
username = local.vmware_username
password = local.vmware_password
datacenter = var.vmware_datacenter_emea
cluster = var.vmware_cluster_emea
datastore = var.vmware_datastore

network_adapters {
network = var.vmware_vm_network_emea
network_card = var.vm_network_card
}
folder = var.vmware_vm_folder
remote_cache_overwrite = var.vmware_overwrite

iso_url = "https://s3.int.kn/denot-packer-image-artifacts/packer-image-artifacts/ISO/rhel-${var.vm_os_version}-dvd.iso"
iso_checksum = var.iso_checksum

guest_os_type = var.vm_os_guest
vm_name = "${local.vm_name}"

cd_content = var.vm_data_source == "disk" ? local.data_source_content : null

CPUs = var.vm_hs_cpus
RAM = var.vm_hs_mem_size
firmware = "efi"

storage {
disk_size = var.vm_hs_disk_size
}

disk_controller_type = [var.vm_hs_disk_adapter_type]

boot_wait = var.vm_boot_wait
boot_command = [
// This sends the "up arrow" key, typically used to navigate through boot menu options.
"",
// This sends the "e" key. In the GRUB boot loader, this is used to edit the selected boot menu option.
"e",
// This sends two "down arrow" keys, followed by the "end" key, and then waits. This is used to navigate to a specific line in the boot menu option's configuration.
"",
// This types the string "text" followed by the value of the 'data_source_command' local variable.
// This is used to modify the boot menu option's configuration to boot in text mode and specify the kickstart data source configured in the common variables.
" text ${local.data_source_command}",
// This sends the "enter" key, waits, turns on the left control key, sends the "x" key, and then turns off the left control key. This is used to save the changes and exit the boot menu option's configuration, and then continue the boot process.
"x"
]

communicator = "ssh"
insecure_connection = var.communicator_insecure_connection
ssh_username = local.gosadmin_username
ssh_agent_auth = true
ssh_wait_timeout = var.communicator_timeout

convert_to_template = true

remove_cdrom = true

vm_version = 19
}

build {
sources = ["sources.vsphere-iso.rhel"]

post-processors {
post-processor "artifice" {
files = ["/tmp/images/${local.vm_name}.ova"]
keep_input_artifact = true
}

post-processor "vsphere" {
  # vm_name             = "${local.vm_name}-template"
  vm_name             = "${local.vm_name}"
  host                = var.vmware_host_amer
  username            = local.vmware_username
  password            = local.vmware_password
  datacenter          = var.vmware_datacenter_amer
  cluster             = var.vmware_cluster_amer
  datastore           = var.vmware_datastore
  insecure            = var.vmware_insecure
  vm_folder           = var.vmware_vm_folder
  vm_network          = var.vmware_vm_network_amer
  keep_input_artifact = var.vmware_keep_input_artifact
  overwrite           = var.vmware_overwrite
}

post-processor "vsphere-template" {
  host       = var.vmware_host_amer
  username   = local.vmware_username
  password   = local.vmware_password
  insecure   = var.vmware_insecure
  datacenter = var.vmware_datacenter_amer
  folder     = var.vmware_vm_folder
  template_name = local.vm_name
}

post-processor "vsphere" {
  vm_name             = "${local.vm_name}"
  # vm_name             = "${local.vm_name}-template"
  host                = var.vmware_host_apac
  username            = local.vmware_username
  password            = local.vmware_password
  datacenter          = var.vmware_datacenter_apac
  cluster             = var.vmware_cluster_apac
  datastore           = var.vmware_datastore
  insecure            = var.vmware_insecure
  vm_folder           = var.vmware_vm_folder
  vm_network          = var.vmware_vm_network_apac
  keep_input_artifact = var.vmware_keep_input_artifact
  overwrite           = var.vmware_overwrite
}

post-processor "vsphere-template" {
  host       = var.vmware_host_apac
  username   = local.vmware_username
  password   = local.vmware_password
  insecure   = var.vmware_insecure
  datacenter = var.vmware_datacenter_apac
  folder     = var.vmware_vm_folder
  template_name = local.vm_name
}

}
}

Operating system and Environment details

It happens on RHEL8/9/10 and Windows Server 2016/2019/2022/2025.
The problem is not the image itself is after when converting the image to template.

[tenthirtyam]

This was an issue was already reported and resolved in the source vmware/packer-plugin-vsphere repository.

Please refer to vmware/packer-plugin-vsphere#728 for more information.

Ryan Johnson, Broadcom
Maintainer for vmware/packer-plugin-vsphere

[tenthirtyam]

cc @taru-garg-2000 for closure.