Net Income Per Share (Computations of Basic and Diluted Net Income Per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2020	Aug. 02, 2019		Jul. 31, 2020	Aug. 02, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income attributable to VMware	$ 447	$ 5,303	[1]	$ 833	$ 5,683	[1]
Weighted-average shares, basic for Classes A and B (in shares)	420,031	416,983	[1]	419,208	417,310	[1]
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	3,019	8,108		3,220	8,734
Weighted-average shares, diluted for Classes A and B (in shares)	423,050	425,091	[1]	422,428	426,044	[1]
Net income per weighted-average share attributable to VMware, Inc. common stockholders, basic for Classes A and B (in USD per share)	$ 1.06	$ 12.72	[1]	$ 1.99	$ 13.62	[1]
Net income per weighted-average share attributable to VMware, Inc. common stockholders, diluted for Classes A and B (in USD per share)	$ 1.06	$ 12.47	[1]	$ 1.97	$ 13.34	[1]

[1] Adjusted to reflect the recast of prior period information due to the Pivotal Software, Inc. (“Pivotal”) acquisition in fiscal 2020, which was accounted for as a transaction between entities under common control (refer to Note A).