If you’re running a Linux guest OS with a desktop environment (X-Windows) in ESXi or Workstation, it is beneficial that you install VMware Tools.
A minimal Linux installation with no desktop environment does not enjoy all the benefits of having VMware Tools; simply because there is no X Window System installed. Most of the time, you just SSH into the Linux guest and your client or terminal such as PuTTY, has the features that you need.
However, If you need to, you need the following installed before running vmware-install.pl
gcc
make
linux-headers-$(uname -r)
Installation: VMware Tools for Linux Guests