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I'm new to this tool and just found it because I need to recover some files.

I have a VMware RHEL8 VM with several partitions. On the root partition is have a directory called /development that I need to recover the files from.

I have booted and have TestDisk 7.2-WIP running and it sees my disk:

Disk /dev/sda - 1073 GB / 1000 Gib (RO) - VMware Virtual disk

I select Proceed and get:

Write access for this media is not available.
TestDisk won't be able to modify it

- This media may be physically write-protected, check the jumpers.

I then select EFI GPT and get

Bad GPT partition, invalid signature
trying alternate GPT
Bad GPT partition, invalid signature

How can I mount the vmdk as writeable and recover the partition?

cstewart wrote: 29 Oct 2024, 20:19 ...

Disk /dev/sda - 1073 GB / 1000 Gib (RO) - VMware Virtual disk

...

How can I mount the vmdk as writeable and recover the partition?

Please ask the VMWare support how to mount your vmdk file or simply read their documentation.
I know that this is possible but I tend to refrain from solving third party problems as this would fill the forum up with content which is not related to the TestDisk package.

I guess that mounting your vmdk file will yield one or more additional partitions in your system but I doubt that mounting the vmdk file will give you sector level access as well which would be required for TestDisk. You will have to try out - preferrably on another vmdk machine whose content you can afford to loose.

What I don't know is if a VMware Virtual disk differs from a standard disk in terms of partitioning schemes and representation of data. A vmdk file for instance can be used in a way that it's starts small in size and grows upon each write operation on a different sector. I don't know if a VMware disk is just a place that contains a vmdk file.

Your VMWare virtual disk maybe just a mounted vmdk file.

I am raising this question because TestDisk does not support VMWare virtual disks:
https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

If a VMWare disk is not regularly structured but contains a proprietary format TestDisk would either be unable to read its content or even destroy it.

Apart from this problem your case involves double virtualization. Your case description is unsufficient because it does not reflect your setup.
Unfortunately it is as unreadable as the case of this gentleman here:

viewtopic.php?t=12932

Complex setups require adequate descriptions but it seems that virtualization users don't want to spend time on such descriptions - probably expecting solutions fall easily from the sky like rain.

You stated:

I'm new to this tool and just found it because I need to recover some files.

This is not a case description and the TestDisk package is not a click-and-run type one.
An adequate answer to this description would be:

"No problem! Try PhotoRec."

Case solved.