instances, inst
Commands that act on one instance take its ID or name either as a positional argument or with --id. If you omit it, the CLI opens an interactive picker, so always pass it in scripts.
Subcommands
- list — List instances
- get — Get instance details
- create — Create a new instance
- update — Update an existing instance
- delete — Delete an instance
- start — Start an instance
- stop — Stop an instance
- reboot — Reboot an instance
- snapshot — Create a snapshot from an instance
- ssh — Open an SSH session to an instance
- ssh-key — Get an instance’s SSH key
- console-output — Get instance console output
- console-session — Get a VNC console session URL
list
List compute instances, optionally filtered by organization, project, network, or region.list, ls
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Organization ID or name | |
| Project ID or name | |
| Network ID or name | |
| Region ID or name | |
Show at most N results (client-side; every result is still fetched). Cuts before -q. 0 for all | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Example
get
Get details for a specific instance.Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance ID or name | |
| Organization ID or name | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
create
Create a new compute instance. Accepts input from a JSON file or stdin; with neither, the CLI prompts for the instance details. Optionally supply a cloud-init configuration or bind an SSH certificate authority. Provisioning is asynchronous: the API accepts the request and builds the instance in the background. Pass--wait to block until it is running.
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Path to a JSON file | |
| Read JSON from standard input | |
| Path to a cloud-init YAML file | |
| SSH certificate authority ID or name to bind (pass empty string to clear) | |
| Block until provisioning finishes | |
How long polls before giving up; the operation keeps running server-side (default 30m0s) | |
| Preview actions and payload without persisting | |
| Automatically confirm creation | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Examples
update
Update an existing instance. Accepts input from a JSON file or stdin; with neither, the CLI prompts for the fields to change. You can update the description and other mutable fields, but the instance name is immutable — it cannot be changed after creation.Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance ID or name | |
| Organization ID or name | |
| Path to a JSON file | |
| Read JSON from standard input | |
| SSH certificate authority ID or name to bind (pass empty string to clear) | |
| Preview actions and payload without persisting | |
| Automatically confirm update | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Examples
delete
Delete an existing instance. Teardown is asynchronous: the instance disappears some time after the API accepts the request. Pass--wait to block until it is gone.
delete, rm, remove
Flags
Examples
start
Start a stopped instance. The power change is asynchronous; pass--wait to block until the instance is running.
Flags
stop
Stop a running instance. The power change is asynchronous; pass--wait to block until the instance is stopped.
Flags
reboot
Reboot an instance. Use--hard for a hard reboot.
Flags
snapshot
Create an image snapshot from an instance. Accepts input from a JSON file or stdin; with neither, the CLI prompts for the snapshot name and description. The image is captured asynchronously; pass--wait to block until it is ready.
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance ID or name | |
| Organization ID or name | |
| Path to a JSON file | |
| Read JSON from standard input | |
| Block until capture finishes | |
How long polls before giving up; the operation keeps running server-side (default 30m0s) | |
| Preview actions and payload without persisting | |
| Automatically confirm snapshot | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Examples
ssh
Open an interactive SSH session to an instance using the system SSH client.Flags
Examples
ssh-key
Get the SSH key for an instance.ssh-key, sshkey
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance ID or name | |
| Organization ID or name | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Example
console-output
Retrieve the serial console output of an instance.console-output, consoleoutput
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| Instance ID or name | |
| Organization ID or name | |
| Output length in bytes (0 uses API default) | |
Emit the full JSON payload (mutually exclusive with -q) | |
jq filter for value extraction (see Query output with -q) |
Examples
console-session
Get a VNC console session URL for an instance.console-session, consolesession
Flags
Related
Instances (Console)
Create and manage instances via the Console UI.
Custom Images
Upload and use custom OS images for instances.