Get, List, and Delete Instance Templates

---

This page describes how to get, list, and delete instance templates.

Before you begin

• If you haven't already, then set up authentication. Authentication is the process by which your identity is verified for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to Compute Engine by selecting one of the following options:
  

  Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:

  Console

  When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.

  gcloud

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command:

     gcloud init

     Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by running gcloud components update.
  2. Set a default region and zone.

  Go

  To use the Go samples on this page in a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.

  2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

     gcloud init

  3. If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:

     gcloud auth application-default login

     You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

  For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

  Java

  To use the Java samples on this page in a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.

  2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

     gcloud init

  3. If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:

     gcloud auth application-default login

     You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

  For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

  Node.js

  To use the Node.js samples on this page in a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.

  2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

     gcloud init

  3. If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:

     gcloud auth application-default login

     You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

  For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

  Python

  To use the Python samples on this page in a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

  1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.

  2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

     gcloud init

  3. If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:

     gcloud auth application-default login

     You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

  For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

  REST

  To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.

  Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command:

  gcloud init

  For more information, see Authenticate for using REST in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.

Get information about an instance template

Console

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Instance Templates page.

   Go to the Instance templates page

2. Click the name of the instance template to see the details of the template.

gcloud

To get information about a regional or a global instance template, use the instance-templates describe command.

For a regional instance template, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates describe INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME \
    --region=REGION

For a global instance template, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates describe INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb"
)

// getInstanceTemplate retrieves an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine
// (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).
func getInstanceTemplate(projectID, templateName string) (*computepb.InstanceTemplate, error) {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// templateName := "your_template_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instanceTemplatesClient, err := compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer instanceTemplatesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.GetInstanceTemplateRequest{
		Project:          projectID,
		InstanceTemplate: templateName,
	}

	return instanceTemplatesClient.Get(ctx, req)
}

Java

import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.GetInstanceTemplateRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplate;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;
import java.io.IOException;

public class GetInstanceTemplate {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    // projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.
    // templateName: name of the template to retrieve.
    String projectId = "your-project-id";
    String templateName = "template-name";
    getInstanceTemplate(projectId, templateName);
  }

  //  Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine
  //  (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).
  public static void getInstanceTemplate(String projectId, String templateName) throws IOException {
    try (InstanceTemplatesClient instanceTemplatesClient = InstanceTemplatesClient.create()) {

      GetInstanceTemplateRequest getInstanceTemplateRequest = GetInstanceTemplateRequest
          .newBuilder()
          .setProject(projectId)
          .setInstanceTemplate(templateName).build();

      InstanceTemplate instanceTemplate = instanceTemplatesClient.get(getInstanceTemplateRequest);
      System.out.println("Instance Template retrieved: " + instanceTemplate.getName());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const templateName = 'your_template_name';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create
// virtual machine (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).
async function getInstanceTemplate() {
  const instanceTemplatesClient = new compute.InstanceTemplatesClient();

  const [instance] = await instanceTemplatesClient.get({
    project: projectId,
    instanceTemplate: templateName,
  });

  console.log('Instance template:', instance);
}

getInstanceTemplate();

Python

from google.cloud import compute_v1


def get_instance_template(
    project_id: str, template_name: str
) -> compute_v1.InstanceTemplate:
    """
    Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine
    (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.
        template_name: name of the template to retrieve.

    Returns:
        InstanceTemplate object that represents the retrieved template.
    """
    template_client = compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()
    return template_client.get(project=project_id, instance_template=template_name)

REST

To get information about a regional instance template, use the regionInstanceTemplates.get method as follows:

GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME

To get information about a global instance template, use the instanceTemplates.get as follows:

GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/[PROJECT_ID]/global/instanceTemplates/[INSTANCE_TEMPLATE]

List instance templates

To get a list of instance templates you created:

Console

The Instance Templates page lists all of the instance templates in your project.

Go to the Instance Templates page

gcloud

To get a list of all regional instance templates, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates list \
    --regions

To get a list of regional instance templates in a specific region, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates list \
    --filter="region:(REGION)"

To get a list of global instance templates, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates list \
    --global

To get a list of all instance templates, including the regional and global, use the following command:

gcloud compute instance-templates list

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb"
	"google.golang.org/api/iterator"
)

// listInstanceTemplates prints a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project.
func listInstanceTemplates(w io.Writer, projectID string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instanceTemplatesClient, err := compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer instanceTemplatesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.ListInstanceTemplatesRequest{
		Project: projectID,
	}

	it := instanceTemplatesClient.List(ctx, req)
	for {
		instance, err := it.Next()
		if err == iterator.Done {
			break
		}
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "- %s %s\n", instance.GetName(), instance.GetProperties().GetMachineType())
	}

	return nil
}

Java

import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplate;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient.ListPagedResponse;
import java.io.IOException;

public class ListInstanceTemplates {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    // projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.
    String projectId = "your-project-id";
    listInstanceTemplates(projectId);
  }

  // Get a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project.
  public static ListPagedResponse listInstanceTemplates(String projectId) throws IOException {
    try (InstanceTemplatesClient instanceTemplatesClient = InstanceTemplatesClient.create()) {
      int count = 0;
      System.out.println("Listing instance templates...");
      ListPagedResponse templates = instanceTemplatesClient.list(projectId);
      for (InstanceTemplate instanceTemplate : templates.iterateAll()) {
        System.out.printf("%s. %s%n", ++count, instanceTemplate.getName());
      }
      return templates;
    }
  }
}

Node.js

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Print a list of instance template objects available in a project.
async function listInstanceTemplates() {
  const instanceTemplatesClient = new compute.InstanceTemplatesClient();

  const instanceTemplates = instanceTemplatesClient.listAsync({
    project: projectId,
  });

  for await (const instanceTemplate of instanceTemplates) {
    console.log(` - ${instanceTemplate.name}`);
  }
}

listInstanceTemplates();

Python

from __future__ import annotations

from collections.abc import Iterable

from google.cloud import compute_v1


def list_instance_templates(project_id: str) -> Iterable[compute_v1.InstanceTemplate]:
    """
    Get a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.

    Returns:
        Iterable list of InstanceTemplate objects.
    """
    template_client = compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()
    return template_client.list(project=project_id)

REST

To get a list of regional instance templates, make a regionInstanceTemplates.list request:

GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates

To get a list of global instance templates, make a instanceTemplates.list request:

GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/instanceTemplates

Delete an instance template

Deleting an instance template removes it from your list of templates. You cannot delete an instance template if a managed instance group references it.

Console

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Instance Templates page.

   Go to the Instance Templates page

2. Select the instance templates you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.

gcloud

Using the Google Cloud CLI, run:

gcloud compute instance-templates delete INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME

For a regional instance template, INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME must contain the full URL of the template. For example, https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/example-project/regions/us-central1/instanceTemplates/example-regional-instance-template.

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb"
)

// deleteInstanceTemplate deletes an instance template.
func deleteInstanceTemplate(w io.Writer, projectID, templateName string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// templateName := "your_template_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instanceTemplatesClient, err := compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer instanceTemplatesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest{
		Project:          projectID,
		InstanceTemplate: templateName,
	}

	op, err := instanceTemplatesClient.Delete(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to delete instance template: %w", err)
	}

	if err = op.Wait(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance template deleted\n")

	return nil
}

Java

import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

public class DeleteInstanceTemplate {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    // projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.
    // templateName: name of the new template to create.
    String projectId = "your-project-id";
    String templateName = "template-name";
    deleteInstanceTemplate(projectId, templateName);
  }

  // Delete an instance template.
  public static void deleteInstanceTemplate(String projectId, String templateName)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {
    try (InstanceTemplatesClient instanceTemplatesClient = InstanceTemplatesClient.create()) {

      DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest deleteInstanceTemplateRequest = DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest
          .newBuilder()
          .setProject(projectId)
          .setInstanceTemplate(templateName).build();

      Operation response = instanceTemplatesClient.deleteAsync(deleteInstanceTemplateRequest)
          .get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance template deletion failed ! ! " + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.printf("Instance template deletion operation status for %s: %s ", templateName,
          response.getStatus());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const templateName = 'your_template_name';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Delete an instance template.
async function deleteInstanceTemplate() {
  const instanceTemplatesClient = new compute.InstanceTemplatesClient();

  const [response] = await instanceTemplatesClient.delete({
    project: projectId,
    instanceTemplate: templateName,
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.GlobalOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the create operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance template deleted.');
}

deleteInstanceTemplate();

Python

from __future__ import annotations

import sys
from typing import Any

from google.api_core.extended_operation import ExtendedOperation
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def wait_for_extended_operation(
    operation: ExtendedOperation, verbose_name: str = "operation", timeout: int = 300
) -> Any:
    """
    Waits for the extended (long-running) operation to complete.

    If the operation is successful, it will return its result.
    If the operation ends with an error, an exception will be raised.
    If there were any warnings during the execution of the operation
    they will be printed to sys.stderr.

    Args:
        operation: a long-running operation you want to wait on.
        verbose_name: (optional) a more verbose name of the operation,
            used only during error and warning reporting.
        timeout: how long (in seconds) to wait for operation to finish.
            If None, wait indefinitely.

    Returns:
        Whatever the operation.result() returns.

    Raises:
        This method will raise the exception received from `operation.exception()`
        or RuntimeError if there is no exception set, but there is an `error_code`
        set for the `operation`.

        In case of an operation taking longer than `timeout` seconds to complete,
        a `concurrent.futures.TimeoutError` will be raised.
    """
    result = operation.result(timeout=timeout)

    if operation.error_code:
        print(
            f"Error during {verbose_name}: [Code: {operation.error_code}]: {operation.error_message}",
            file=sys.stderr,
            flush=True,
        )
        print(f"Operation ID: {operation.name}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        raise operation.exception() or RuntimeError(operation.error_message)

    if operation.warnings:
        print(f"Warnings during {verbose_name}:\n", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        for warning in operation.warnings:
            print(f" - {warning.code}: {warning.message}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)

    return result


def delete_instance_template(project_id: str, template_name: str) -> None:
    """
    Delete an instance template.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.
        template_name: name of the template to delete.
    """
    template_client = compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()
    operation = template_client.delete(
        project=project_id, instance_template=template_name
    )
    wait_for_extended_operation(operation, "instance template deletion")

REST

To delete a regional instance template, make a regionInstanceTemplates.delete request:

DELETE https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME

To delete a global instance template, make a instanceTemplates.delete request:

DELETE https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME

Sometimes the VMs in a managed instance group can be out of sync with the rest of the group, and use a different instance template than the rest of the group. If a VM in a managed instance group uses a different template than what is specified on the group, that VM will continue to use its template for repair even if that template is deleted. For more information about applying a new instance template, see Applying new configurations to VMs in a MIG.