gcloud beta compute instance-templates create

NAME
gcloud beta compute instance-templates create - create a Compute Engine virtual machine instance template
SYNOPSIS
gcloud beta compute instance-templates create NAME [--accelerator=[count=COUNT],[type=TYPE]] [--no-boot-disk-auto-delete] [--boot-disk-device-name=BOOT_DISK_DEVICE_NAME] [--boot-disk-interface=BOOT_DISK_INTERFACE] [--boot-disk-provisioned-iops=BOOT_DISK_PROVISIONED_IOPS] [--boot-disk-provisioned-throughput=BOOT_DISK_PROVISIONED_THROUGHPUT] [--boot-disk-size=BOOT_DISK_SIZE] [--boot-disk-type=BOOT_DISK_TYPE] [--can-ip-forward] [--configure-disk=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]] [--create-disk=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]] [--description=DESCRIPTION] [--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=DISCARD_LOCAL_SSDS_AT_TERMINATION_TIMESTAMP] [--disk=[auto-delete=AUTO-DELETE],[boot=BOOT],[device-name=DEVICE-NAME],[interface=INTERFACE],[mode=MODE],[name=NAME]] [--[no-]enable-nested-virtualization] [--[no-]enable-uefi-networking] [--external-ipv6-address=EXTERNAL_IPV6_ADDRESS] [--external-ipv6-prefix-length=EXTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX_LENGTH] [--host-error-timeout-seconds=HOST_ERROR_TIMEOUT_SECONDS] [--instance-template-region=INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_REGION] [--instance-termination-action=INSTANCE_TERMINATION_ACTION] [--internal-ipv6-address=INTERNAL_IPV6_ADDRESS] [--internal-ipv6-prefix-length=INTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX_LENGTH] [--ipv6-network-tier=IPV6_NETWORK_TIER] [--key-revocation-action-type=POLICY] [--labels=[KEY=VALUE,…]] [--local-ssd=[device-name=DEVICE-NAME],[interface=INTERFACE],[size=SIZE]] [--local-ssd-recovery-timeout=LOCAL_SSD_RECOVERY_TIMEOUT] [--machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE] [--maintenance-interval=MAINTENANCE_INTERVAL] [--maintenance-policy=MAINTENANCE_POLICY] [--max-run-duration=MAX_RUN_DURATION] [--mesh=[gke-cluster=GKE-CLUSTER],[workload=WORKLOAD]] [--metadata=KEY=VALUE,[KEY=VALUE,…]] [--metadata-from-file=KEY=LOCAL_FILE_PATH,[…]] [--min-cpu-platform=PLATFORM] [--min-node-cpu=MIN_NODE_CPU] [--network=NETWORK] [--network-interface=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]] [--network-performance-configs=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]] [--network-tier=NETWORK_TIER] [--partner-metadata=[NAMESPACE/KEY=VALUE,…]] [--partner-metadata-from-file=LOCAL_FILE_PATH] [--performance-monitoring-unit=PERFORMANCE_MONITORING_UNIT] [--post-key-revocation-action-type=POLICY] [--preemptible] [--private-ipv6-google-access-type=PRIVATE_IPV6_GOOGLE_ACCESS_TYPE] [--private-network-ip=PRIVATE_NETWORK_IP] [--provisioning-model=PROVISIONING_MODEL] [--region=REGION] [--resource-manager-tags=[KEY=VALUE,…]] [--resource-policies=[RESOURCE_POLICY,…]] [--no-restart-on-failure] [--shielded-integrity-monitoring] [--shielded-secure-boot] [--shielded-vtpm] [--source-instance=SOURCE_INSTANCE] [--source-instance-zone=SOURCE_INSTANCE_ZONE] [--stack-type=STACK_TYPE] [--subnet=SUBNET] [--tags=TAG,[TAG,…]] [--termination-time=TERMINATION_TIME] [--threads-per-core=THREADS_PER_CORE] [--turbo-mode=TURBO_MODE] [--visible-core-count=VISIBLE_CORE_COUNT] [--address=ADDRESS     | --no-address] [--boot-disk-kms-key=BOOT_DISK_KMS_KEY : --boot-disk-kms-keyring=BOOT_DISK_KMS_KEYRING --boot-disk-kms-location=BOOT_DISK_KMS_LOCATION --boot-disk-kms-project=BOOT_DISK_KMS_PROJECT] [--confidential-compute     | --confidential-compute-type=CONFIDENTIAL_COMPUTE_TYPE] [--custom-cpu=CUSTOM_CPU --custom-memory=CUSTOM_MEMORY : --custom-extensions --custom-vm-type=CUSTOM_VM_TYPE] [--image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT --image=IMAGE     | --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY] [--node=NODE     | --node-affinity-file=PATH_TO_FILE     | --node-group=NODE_GROUP] [--reservation=RESERVATION --reservation-affinity=RESERVATION_AFFINITY; default="any"] [--scopes=[SCOPE,…]     | --no-scopes] [--service-account=SERVICE_ACCOUNT     | --no-service-account] [--service-proxy=[enabled],[intercept-all-outbound-traffic],[access-log=ACCESS-LOG],[exclude-outbound-ip-ranges=EXCLUDE-OUTBOUND-IP-RANGES],[exclude-outbound-port-ranges=EXCLUDE-OUTBOUND-PORT-RANGES],[mesh=MESH],[network=NETWORK],[project-number=PROJECT-NUMBER],[proxy-port=PROXY-PORT],[scope=SCOPE],[serving-ports=SERVING-PORTS],[tracing=TRACING] --service-proxy-labels=[KEY=VALUE, …,…]] [GCLOUD_WIDE_FLAG]
DESCRIPTION
(BETA) gcloud beta compute instance-templates create facilitates the creation of Compute Engine virtual machine instance templates. Instance templates are global resources, and can be used to create instances in any zone.
EXAMPLES
To create an instance template named 'INSTANCE-TEMPLATE' with the 'n2' vm type, '9GB' memory, and 2 CPU cores, run:
gcloud beta compute instance-templates create INSTANCE-TEMPLATE --custom-vm-type=n2 --custom-cpu=2 --custom-memory=9GB
POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS
NAME
Name of the instance template to create.
FLAGS
--accelerator=[count=COUNT],[type=TYPE]
Attaches accelerators (e.g. GPUs) to the instances.
type
The specific type (e.g. nvidia-tesla-t4 for NVIDIA T4) of accelerator to attach to the instances. Use 'gcloud compute accelerator-types list' to learn about all available accelerator types.
count
Number of accelerators to attach to each instance. The default value is 1.
--boot-disk-auto-delete
Automatically delete boot disks when their instances are deleted. Enabled by default, use --no-boot-disk-auto-delete to disable.
--boot-disk-device-name=BOOT_DISK_DEVICE_NAME
The name the guest operating system will see for the boot disk. This option can only be specified if a new boot disk is being created (as opposed to mounting an existing persistent disk).
--boot-disk-interface=BOOT_DISK_INTERFACE
Indicates the interface to use for the boot disk. The value must be one of the following:
  • SCSI
  • NVME
--boot-disk-provisioned-iops=BOOT_DISK_PROVISIONED_IOPS
Indicates how many IOPS to provision for the disk. This sets the number of I/O operations per second that the disk can handle. Value must be between 10,000 and 120,000.
--boot-disk-provisioned-throughput=BOOT_DISK_PROVISIONED_THROUGHPUT
Indicates how much throughput to provision for the disk. This sets the number of throughput mb per second that the disk can handle.
--boot-disk-size=BOOT_DISK_SIZE
The size of the boot disk. This option can only be specified if a new boot disk is being created (as opposed to mounting an existing persistent disk). The value must be a whole number followed by a size unit of KB for kilobyte, MB for megabyte, GB for gigabyte, or TB for terabyte. For example, 10GB will produce a 10 gigabyte disk. Disk size must be a multiple of 1 GB. Default size unit is GB.
--boot-disk-type=BOOT_DISK_TYPE
The type of the boot disk. This option can only be specified if a new boot disk is being created (as opposed to mounting an existing persistent disk). To get a list of available disk types, run $ gcloud compute disk-types list.
--can-ip-forward
If provided, allows the instances to send and receive packets with non-matching destination or source IP addresses.
--configure-disk=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]
This option has effect only when used with --source-instance. It allows you to override how the source-instance's disks are defined in the template.
device-name
Name of the device for which the configuration is being overridden.
auto-delete
If true, this persistent disk will be automatically deleted when the instance is deleted. However, if the disk is detached from the instance, this option won't apply. If not provided, the setting is copied from the source instance. Allowed values of the flag are: false, no, true, and yes.
instantiate-from
Specifies whether to include the disk and which image to use. Valid values are: attach-read-only, blank, custom-image, do-not-include, source-image, source-image-family
custom-image
The custom image to use if custom-image is specified for instantiate-from.
--create-disk=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]
Creates and attaches persistent disks to the instances.
name
Specifies the name of the disk. This option cannot be specified if more than one instance is being created.
description
Optional textual description for the disk being created.
mode
Specifies the mode of the disk. Supported options are ro for read-only and rw for read-write. If omitted, rw is used as a default.
image
Specifies the name of the image that the disk will be initialized with. A new disk will be created based on the given image. To view a list of public images and projects, run $ gcloud compute images list. It is best practice to use image when a specific version of an image is needed. If both image and image-family flags are omitted a blank disk will be created.
image-family
The image family for the operating system that the boot disk will be initialized with. Compute Engine offers multiple Linux distributions, some of which are available as both regular and Shielded VM images. When a family is specified instead of an image, the latest non-deprecated image associated with that family is used. It is best practice to use --image-family when the latest version of an image is needed.
image-project
The Google Cloud project against which all image and image family references will be resolved. It is best practice to define image-project. A full list of available image projects can be generated by running gcloud compute images list.
  • If specifying one of our public images, image-project must be provided.
  • If there are several of the same image-family value in multiple projects, image-project must be specified to clarify the image to be used.
  • If not specified and either image or image-family is provided, the current default project is used.
size
The size of the disk. The value must be a whole number followed by a size unit of KB for kilobyte, MB for megabyte, GB for gigabyte, or TB for terabyte. For example, 10GB will produce a 10 gigabyte disk. Disk size must be a multiple of 1 GB. If not specified, the default image size will be used for the new disk.
type
The type of the disk. To get a list of available disk types, run $ gcloud compute disk-types list. The default disk type is pd-standard.
device-name
An optional name to display the disk name in the guest operating system. If omitted, a device name of the form persistent-disk-N is used.
provisioned-iops
Indicates how many IOPS to provision for the disk. This sets the number of I/O operations per second that the disk can handle. Value must be between 10,000 and 120,000.
provisioned-throughput
Indicates how much throughput to provision for the disk. This sets the number of throughput mb per second that the disk can handle.
disk-resource-policy
Resource policy to apply to the disk. Specify a full or partial URL. For example:
  • https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/my-project/regions/us-central1/resourcePolicies/my-resource-policy
  • projects/my-project/regions/us-central1/resourcePolicies/my-resource-policy

For more information, see the following docs:

auto-delete
If yes, this persistent disk will be automatically deleted when the instance is deleted. However, if the disk is later detached from the instance, this option won't apply. The default value for this is yes.
architecture
Specifies the architecture or processor type that this disk can support. For available processor types on Compute Engine, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/cpu-platforms.
storage-pool
The name of the storage pool in which the new disk is created. The new disk and the storage pool must be in the same location.
interface
The interface to use with the disk. The value must be one of the following:
  • SCSI
  • NVME
boot
If yes, indicates that this is a boot disk. The instance will use the first partition of the disk for its root file system. The default value for this is no.
kms-key
Fully qualified Cloud KMS cryptokey name that will protect the disk.

This can either be the fully qualified path or the name.

The fully qualified Cloud KMS cryptokey name format is: projects/<kms-project>/locations/<kms-location>/keyRings/<kms-keyring>/ cryptoKeys/<key-name>.

If the value is not fully qualified then kms-location, kms-keyring, and optionally kms-project are required.

See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/customer-managed-encryption for more details.

kms-project
Project that contains the Cloud KMS cryptokey that will protect the disk.

If the project is not specified then the project where the disk is being created will be used.

If this flag is set then key-location, kms-keyring, and kms-key are required.

See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/customer-managed-encryption for more details.

kms-location
Location of the Cloud KMS cryptokey to be used for protecting the disk.

All Cloud KMS cryptokeys are reside in a 'location'. To get a list of possible locations run 'gcloud kms locations list'. If this flag is set then kms-keyring and kms-key are required. See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/customer-managed-encryption for more details.

kms-keyring
The keyring which contains the Cloud KMS cryptokey that will protect the disk.

If this flag is set then kms-location and kms-key are required.

See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/customer-managed-encryption for more details.

multi-writer
If yes, the disk is created in multi-writer mode so that it can be attached with read-write access to two VMs. The default value is no. The multi-writer feature requires specialized filesystems, among other restrictions. For more information, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/sharing-disks-between-vms.
replica-zones
Required for each regional disk associated with the instance. Specify the URLs of the zones where the disk should be replicated to. You must provide exactly two replica zones, and one zone must be the same as the instance zone.
labels
List of label KEY=VALUE pairs separated by : character to add to the disk.

Example: Key1=Value1:Key2=Value2:Key3=Value3. Keys must start with a lowercase character and contain only hyphens (-), underscores (_), lowercase characters, and numbers. Values must contain only hyphens (-), underscores (_), lowercase characters, and numbers.

--description=DESCRIPTION
Specifies a textual description for the instance template.
--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=DISCARD_LOCAL_SSDS_AT_TERMINATION_TIMESTAMP
Required to be set to true and only allowed for VMs that have one or more local SSDs, use --instance-termination-action=STOP, and use either --max-run-duration or --termination-time.

This flag indicates the value that you want Compute Engine to use for the --discard-local-ssd flag in the automatic gcloud compute instances stop command. This flag only supports the true value, which discards local SSD data when automatically stopping this VM during its terminationTimestamp.

For more information about the --discard-local-ssd flag, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/disks/local-ssd#stop_instance.

--disk=[auto-delete=AUTO-DELETE],[boot=BOOT],[device-name=DEVICE-NAME],[interface=INTERFACE],[mode=MODE],[name=NAME]
Attaches an existing disk to the instances.
name
The disk to attach to the instances. If you create more than one instance, you can only attach a disk in read-only mode. By default, you attach a zonal disk located in the same zone of the instance. If you want to attach a regional disk, you must specify the disk using its URI; for example, projects/myproject/regions/us-central1/disks/my-regional-disk.
mode
The mode of the disk. Supported options are ro for read-only mode and rw for read-write mode. If omitted, rw is used as a default value. If you use rw when creating more than one instance, you encounter errors.
boot
If set to yes, you attach a boot disk. The virtual machine then uses the first partition of the disk for the root file systems. The default value for this is no.
device-name
An optional name to display the disk name in the guest operating system. If omitted, a device name of the form persistent-disk-N is used.
auto-delete
If set to yes, the persistent disk is automatically deleted when the instance is deleted. However, if you detach the disk from the instance, deleting the instance doesn't delete the disk. The default value is yes.
interface
The interface to use for the disk. The value must be one of the following:
  • SCSI
  • NVME
--[no-]enable-nested-virtualization
If set to true, enables nested virtualization for the instance. Use --enable-nested-virtualization to enable and --no-enable-nested-virtualization to disable.
--[no-]enable-uefi-networking
If set to true, enables UEFI networking for the instance creation. Use --enable-uefi-networking to enable and --no-enable-uefi-networking to disable.
--external-ipv6-address=EXTERNAL_IPV6_ADDRESS
Assigns the given external IPv6 address to the instance that is created. The address must be the first IP address in the range. This option can be used only when creating a single instance.
--external-ipv6-prefix-length=EXTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX_LENGTH
The prefix length of the external IPv6 address range. This field should be used together with --external-ipv6-address. Only the /96 IP address range is supported, and the default value is 96.
--host-error-timeout-seconds=HOST_ERROR_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
The timeout in seconds for host error detection. The value must be set with 30 second increments, with a range of 90 to 330 seconds. If unset, the default behavior of the host error recovery is used.
--instance-template-region=INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_REGION
Specifies the region of the regional instance template.
--instance-termination-action=INSTANCE_TERMINATION_ACTION
Specifies the termination action that will be taken upon VM preemption (--provisioning-model=SPOT) or automatic instance termination (--max-run-duration or --termination-time).

INSTANCE_TERMINATION_ACTION must be one of:

DELETE
Permanently delete the VM.
STOP
Default only for Spot VMs. Stop the VM without preserving memory. The VM can be restarted later.
--internal-ipv6-address=INTERNAL_IPV6_ADDRESS
Assigns the given internal IPv6 address or range to the instance that is created. The address must be the first IP address in the range or from a /96 IP address range. This option can be used only when creating a single instance.
--internal-ipv6-prefix-length=INTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX_LENGTH
Optional field that indicates the prefix length of the internal IPv6 address range. It should be used together with --internal-ipv6-address. Only /96 IP address range is supported and the default value is 96. If not set, either the prefix length from --internal-ipv6-address will be used or the default value of 96 will be assigned.
--ipv6-network-tier=IPV6_NETWORK_TIER
Specifies the IPv6 network tier that will be used to configure the instance network interface IPv6 access config. IPV6_NETWORK_TIER must be (only one value is supported):
PREMIUM
High quality, Google-grade network tier.
--key-revocation-action-type=POLICY
Specifies the behavior of the instance when the KMS key of one of its attached disks is revoked. The default is none. POLICY must be one of:
none
No operation is performed.
stop
The instance is stopped when the KMS key of one of its attached disks is revoked.
--labels=[KEY=VALUE,…]
List of label KEY=VALUE pairs to add.

Keys must start with a lowercase character and contain only hyphens (-), underscores (_), lowercase characters, and numbers. Values must contain only hyphens (-), underscores (_), lowercase characters, and numbers.

--local-ssd=[device-name=DEVICE-NAME],[interface=INTERFACE],[size=SIZE]
Attaches a local SSD to the instances.
device-name
Optional. A name that indicates the disk name the guest operating system will see. Can only be specified if interface is SCSI. If omitted, a device name of the form local-ssd-N will be used.
interface
Optional. The kind of disk interface exposed to the VM for this SSD. Valid values are SCSI and NVME. SCSI is the default and is supported by more guest operating systems. NVME might provide higher performance.
size
Optional. The only valid value is 375GB. Specify the --local-ssd flag multiple times if you need multiple 375GB local SSD partitions. You can specify a maximum of 24 local SSDs for a maximum of 9TB attached to an instance.
--local-ssd-recovery-timeout=LOCAL_SSD_RECOVERY_TIMEOUT
Specifies the maximum amount of time a Local Ssd Vm should wait while recovery of the Local Ssd state is attempted. Its value should be in between 0 and 168 hours with hour granularity and the default value being 1 hour.
--machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE
Specifies the machine type used for the instances. To get a list of available machine types, run 'gcloud compute machine-types list'. If unspecified, the default type is n1-standard-1.
--maintenance-interval=MAINTENANCE_INTERVAL
Specifies the frequency of planned maintenance events. MAINTENANCE_INTERVAL must be (only one value is supported):
PERIODIC
PERIODIC means the VM is a Stable Fleet VM.
--maintenance-policy=MAINTENANCE_POLICY
Specifies the behavior of the VMs when their host machines undergo maintenance. The default is MIGRATE. For more information, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/host-maintenance-options. MAINTENANCE_POLICY must be one of:
MIGRATE
The instances should be migrated to a new host. This will temporarily impact the performance of instances during a migration event.
TERMINATE
The instances should be terminated.
--max-run-duration=MAX_RUN_DURATION
Limits how long this VM instance can run, specified as a duration relative to the last time when the VM began running. Format the duration, MAX_RUN_DURATION, as the number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds followed by d, h, m, and s respectively. For example, specify 30m for a duration of 30 minutes or specify 1d2h3m4s for a duration of 1 day, 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 4 seconds. Alternatively, to specify a timestamp, use --termination-time instead.

If neither --max-run-duration nor --termination-time is specified (default), the VM instance runs until prompted by a user action or system event. If either is specified, the VM instance is scheduled to be automatically terminated at the VM's termination timestamp (terminationTimestamp) using the action specified by --instance-termination-action.

Note: The terminationTimestamp is removed whenever the VM is stopped or suspended and redefined whenever the VM is rerun. For --max-run-duration specifically, the terminationTimestamp is the sum of MAX_RUN_DURATION and the time when the VM last entered the RUNNING state, which changes whenever the VM is rerun.

--mesh=[gke-cluster=GKE-CLUSTER],[workload=WORKLOAD]
Controls whether the Anthos Service Mesh service proxy (Envoy) and agent are installed and configured on the VM. "cloud-platform" scope is enabled automatically to allow the service proxy to be started. Do not use the --no-scopes flag.
gke-cluster
The location/name of the GKE cluster. The location can be a zone or a region, e.g. us-central1-a/my-cluster.
workload
The workload identifier of the VM. In a GKE cluster, it is the identifier namespace/name of the WorkloadGroup custom resource representing the VM workload, e.g. foo/my-workload.
--metadata=KEY=VALUE,[KEY=VALUE,…]
Metadata to be made available to the guest operating system running on the instances. Each metadata entry is a key/value pair separated by an equals sign. Each metadata key must be unique and have a max of 128 bytes in length. Each value must have a max of 256 KB in length. Multiple arguments can be passed to this flag, e.g., --metadata key-1=value-1,key-2=value-2,key-3=value-3. The combined total size for all metadata entries is 512 KB.

In images that have Compute Engine tools installed on them, such as the official images, the following metadata keys have special meanings:

startup-script
Specifies a script that will be executed by the instances once they start running. For convenience, --metadata-from-file can be used to pull the value from a file.
startup-script-url
Same as startup-script except that the script contents are pulled from a publicly-accessible location on the web. For startup scripts on Windows instances, the following metadata keys have special meanings: windows-startup-script-url, windows-startup-script-cmd, windows-startup-script-bat, windows-startup-script-ps1, sysprep-specialize-script-url, sysprep-specialize-script-cmd, sysprep-specialize-script-bat, and sysprep-specialize-script-ps1. For more information, see Running startup scripts.
--metadata-from-file=KEY=LOCAL_FILE_PATH,[…]
Same as --metadata except that the value for the entry will be read from a local file. This is useful for values that are too large such as startup-script contents.
--min-cpu-platform=PLATFORM
When specified, the VM will be scheduled on host with specified CPU architecture or a newer one. To list available CPU platforms in given zone, run:
gcloud beta compute zones describe ZONE --format="value(availableCpuPlatforms)"

Default setting is "AUTOMATIC".

CPU platform selection is available only in selected zones.

You can find more information on-line: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/specify-min-cpu-platform

--min-node-cpu=MIN_NODE_CPU
Minimum number of virtual CPUs this instance will consume when running on a sole-tenant node.
--network=NETWORK
Specifies the network that the VM instances are a part of. If --subnet is also specified, subnet must be a subnetwork of the network specified by this --network flag. If neither is specified, the default network is used.
--network-interface=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]
Adds a network interface to the instance. Mutually exclusive with any of these flags: --address, --network, --network-tier, --subnet, --private-network-ip, --stack-type, --ipv6-network-tier, --internal-ipv6-address, --internal-ipv6-prefix-length, --ipv6-address, --ipv6-prefix-length, --external-ipv6-address, --external-ipv6-prefix-length, --ipv6-public-ptr-domain. This flag can be repeated to specify multiple network interfaces.

The following keys are allowed:

address
Assigns the given external address to the instance that is created. Specifying an empty string will assign an ephemeral IP. Mutually exclusive with no-address. If neither key is present the instance will get an ephemeral IP.
network
Specifies the network that the interface will be part of. If subnet is also specified it must be subnetwork of this network. If neither is specified, this defaults to the "default" network.
no-address
If specified the interface will have no external IP. Mutually exclusive with address. If neither key is present the instance will get an ephemeral IP.
network-tier
Specifies the network tier of the interface. NETWORK_TIER must be one of: PREMIUM, STANDARD. The default value is PREMIUM.
private-network-ip
Assigns the given RFC1918 IP address to the interface.
subnet
Specifies the subnet that the interface will be part of. If network key is also specified this must be a subnetwork of the specified network.
nic-type
Specifies the Network Interface Controller (NIC) type for the interface. NIC_TYPE must be one of: GVNIC, VIRTIO_NET.
queue-count
Specifies the networking queue count for this interface. Both Rx and Tx queues will be set to this number. If it's not specified, a default queue count will be assigned. See https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/network-bandwidth#rx-tx for more details.
stack-type
Specifies whether IPv6 is enabled on the interface. STACK_TYPE must be one of: IPV4_ONLY, IPV4_IPV6, IPV6_ONLY. The default value is IPV4_ONLY.
ipv6-network-tier
Specifies the IPv6 network tier that will be used to configure the instance network interface IPv6 access config. IPV6_NETWORK_TIER must be PREMIUM (currently only one value is supported).
internal-ipv6-address
Assigns the given internal IPv6 address or range to the instance that is created. The address must be the first IP address in the range or from a /96 IP address range. This option can be used only when creating a single instance.
internal-ipv6-prefix-length
Optional field that indicates the prefix length of the internal IPv6 address range. It should be used together with internal-ipv6-address. Only /96 IP address range is supported and the default value is 96. If not set, either the prefix length from --internal-ipv6-address will be used or the default value of 96 will be assigned.
external-ipv6-address
Assigns the given external IPv6 address to the instance that is created. The address must be the first IP address in the range. This option can be used only when creating a single instance.
external-ipv6-prefix-length
The prefix length of the external IPv6 address range. This field should be used together with external-ipv6-address. Only the /96 IP address range is supported, and the default value is 96.
ipv6-public-ptr-domain
Assigns a custom PTR domain for the external IPv6 in the IPv6 access configuration of instance. If its value is not specified, the default PTR record will be used. This option can only be specified for the default network interface, nic0.
aliases
Specifies the IP alias ranges to allocate for this interface. If there are multiple IP alias ranges, they are separated by semicolons.

For example:

--aliases="10.128.1.0/24;range1:/32"
Each IP alias range consists of a range name and a CIDR netmask (e.g. /24) separated by a colon or just the netmask. The range name is the name of the range within the network interface's subnet from which to allocate an IP alias range. If unspecified, it defaults to the primary IP range of the subnet. The IP allocator will pick an available range with the specified netmask and allocate it to this network interface.
network-attachment
Specifies the network attachment that this interface should connect to. Mutually exclusive with --network and --subnet flags.
--network-performance-configs=[PROPERTY=VALUE,…]
Configures network performance settings for the instance. If this flag is not specified, the instance will be created with its default network performance configuration.
total-egress-bandwidth-tier
Total egress bandwidth is the available outbound bandwidth from a VM, regardless of whether the traffic is going to internal IP or external IP destinations. The following tier values are allowed: [DEFAULT,TIER_1]
--network-tier=NETWORK_TIER
Specifies the network tier that will be used to configure the instance. NETWORK_TIER must be one of: PREMIUM, STANDARD. The default value is PREMIUM.
--partner-metadata=[NAMESPACE/KEY=VALUE,…]
Partner metadata specifying namespace and its entries. The entries can be key-value pairs or in json format.
--partner-metadata-from-file=LOCAL_FILE_PATH
Path to a local json file containing partner metadata. Use a full or relative path to a local file containing the value of partner_metadata.
--performance-monitoring-unit=PERFORMANCE_MONITORING_UNIT
The type of performance monitoring counters (PMCs) to enable in the instance. PERFORMANCE_MONITORING_UNIT must be one of:
architectural
This enables architecturally defined non-last level cache (LLC) events.
enhanced
This enables most documented core/L2 and LLC events.
standard
This enables most documented core/L2 events.
--post-key-revocation-action-type=POLICY
Specifies the behavior of the instance when the KMS key of one of its attached disks is revoked. The default is noop. POLICY must be one of:
noop
No operation is performed.
shutdown
The instance is shut down when the KMS key of one of its attached disks is revoked.
--preemptible
If provided, instances will be preemptible and time-limited. Instances might be preempted to free up resources for standard VM instances, and will only be able to run for a limited amount of time. Preemptible instances can not be restarted and will not migrate.
--private-ipv6-google-access-type=PRIVATE_IPV6_GOOGLE_ACCESS_TYPE
The private IPv6 Google access type for the VM. PRIVATE_IPV6_GOOGLE_ACCESS_TYPE must be one of: enable-bidirectional-access, enable-outbound-vm-access, inherit-subnetwork.
--private-network-ip=PRIVATE_NETWORK_IP
Specifies the RFC1918 IP to assign to the instance. The IP should be in the subnet or legacy network IP range.
--provisioning-model=PROVISIONING_MODEL
Specifies provisioning model, which determines price, obtainability, and runtime for the VM instance. PROVISIONING_MODEL must be one of:
SPOT
Spot VMs are spare capacity; Spot VMs are discounted to have much lower prices than standard VMs but have no guaranteed runtime. Spot VMs are the new version of preemptible VM instances, except Spot VMs do not have a 24-hour maximum runtime.
STANDARD
Default. Standard provisioning model for VM instances, which has user-controlled runtime but no Spot discounts.
--region=REGION
Region of the subnetwork to attach. If not specified, you might be prompted to select a region (interactive mode only).

To avoid prompting when this flag is omitted, you can set the compute/region property:

gcloud config set compute/region REGION

A list of regions can be fetched by running:

gcloud compute regions list

To unset the property, run:

gcloud config unset compute/region

Alternatively, the region can be stored in the environment variable CLOUDSDK_COMPUTE_REGION.

--resource-manager-tags=[KEY=VALUE,…]
Specifies a list of resource manager tags to apply to the instance.
--resource-policies=[RESOURCE_POLICY,…]
A list of resource policy names (not URLs) to be added to each instance created using this instance template. If you attach any resource policies to an instance template, you can only use that instance template to create instances that are in the same region as the resource policies. Do not include resource policies that are located in different regions in the same instance template.
--restart-on-failure
The instances will be restarted if they are terminated by Compute Engine. This does not affect terminations performed by the user. Enabled by default, use --no-restart-on-failure to disable.
--shielded-integrity-monitoring
Enables monitoring and attestation of the boot integrity of the instance. The attestation is performed against the integrity policy baseline. This baseline is initially derived from the implicitly trusted boot image when the instance is created. This baseline can be updated by using gcloud compute instances update --shielded-learn-integrity-policy. On Shielded VM instances, integrity monitoring is enabled by default. For information about how to modify Shielded VM options, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/modifying-shielded-vm. For information about monitoring integrity on Shielded VM instances, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/integrity-monitoring."
--shielded-secure-boot
The instance boots with secure boot enabled. On Shielded VM instances, Secure Boot is not enabled by default. For information about how to modify Shielded VM options, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/modifying-shielded-vm.
--shielded-vtpm
The instance boots with the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) enabled. A TPM is a hardware module that can be used for different security operations such as remote attestation, encryption, and sealing of keys. On Shielded VM instances, vTPM is enabled by default. For information about how to modify Shielded VM options, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/modifying-shielded-vm.
--source-instance=SOURCE_INSTANCE
The name of the source instance that the instance template will be created from.
--source-instance-zone=SOURCE_INSTANCE_ZONE
Zone of the instance to operate on. Overrides the default compute/zone property value for this command invocation.
--stack-type=STACK_TYPE
Specifies whether IPv6 is enabled on the default network interface. If not specified, IPV4_ONLY will be used. STACK_TYPE must be one of:
IPV4_IPV6
The network interface can have both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
IPV4_ONLY
The network interface will be assigned IPv4 addresses
IPV6_ONLY
The network interface will be assigned IPv6 addresses
--subnet=SUBNET
Specifies the subnet that the VM instances are a part of. If --network is also specified, subnet must be a subnetwork of the network specified by the --network flag.
--tags=TAG,[TAG,…]
Specifies a list of tags to apply to the instance. These tags allow network firewall rules and routes to be applied to specified VM instances. See gcloud compute firewall-rules create(1) for more details.

To read more about configuring network tags, read this guide: https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/add-remove-network-tags

To list instances with their respective status and tags, run:

gcloud compute instances list --format='table(name,status,tags.list())'

To list instances tagged with a specific tag, tag1, run:

gcloud compute instances list --filter='tags:tag1'
--termination-time=TERMINATION_TIME
Limits how long this VM instance can run, specified as a time. Format the time, TERMINATION_TIME, as a RFC 3339 timestamp. For more information, see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3339. Alternatively, to specify a duration, use --max-run-duration instead.

If neither --termination-time nor --max-run-duration is specified (default), the VM instance runs until prompted by a user action or system event. If either is specified, the VM instance is scheduled to be automatically terminated at the VM's termination timestamp (terminationTimestamp) using the action specified by --instance-termination-action.

Note: The terminationTimestamp is removed whenever the VM is stopped or suspended and redefined whenever the VM is rerun. For --termination-time specifically, the terminationTimestamp remains the same whenever the VM is rerun, but any requests to rerun the VM fail if the specified timestamp is in the past.

--threads-per-core=THREADS_PER_CORE
The number of visible threads per physical core. To disable simultaneous multithreading (SMT) set this to 1. Valid values are: 1 or 2.

For more information about configuring SMT, see: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/configuring-simultaneous-multithreading.

--turbo-mode=TURBO_MODE
Turbo mode to use for the instance. Supported modes include:
  • ALL_CORE_MAX

To achieve all-core-turbo frequency for more consistent CPU performance, set the field to ALL_CORE_MAX. The field is unset by default, which results in maximum performance single-core boosting.

--visible-core-count=VISIBLE_CORE_COUNT
The number of physical cores to expose to the instance's guest operating system. The number of virtual CPUs visible to the instance's guest operating system is this number of cores multiplied by the instance's count of visible threads per physical core.
At most one of these can be specified:
--address=ADDRESS
Assigns the given external IP address to the instance that is created. This option can only be used when creating a single instance.
--no-address
If provided, the instances are not assigned external IP addresses. To pull container images, you must configure private Google access if using Container Registry or configure Cloud NAT for instances to access container images directly. For more information, see:
Key resource - The Cloud KMS (Key Management Service) cryptokey that will be used to protect the disk. The 'Compute Engine Service Agent' service account must hold permission 'Cloud KMS CryptoKey Encrypter/Decrypter'. The arguments in this group can be used to specify the attributes of this resource.
--boot-disk-kms-key=BOOT_DISK_KMS_KEY
ID of the key or fully qualified identifier for the key.

To set the kms-key attribute:

  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-key on the command line.

This flag argument must be specified if any of the other arguments in this group are specified.

--boot-disk-kms-keyring=BOOT_DISK_KMS_KEYRING
The KMS keyring of the key.

To set the kms-keyring attribute:

  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-key on the command line with a fully specified name;
  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-keyring on the command line.
--boot-disk-kms-location=BOOT_DISK_KMS_LOCATION
The Google Cloud location for the key.

To set the kms-location attribute:

  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-key on the command line with a fully specified name;
  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-location on the command line.
--boot-disk-kms-project=BOOT_DISK_KMS_PROJECT
The Google Cloud project for the key.

To set the kms-project attribute:

  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-key on the command line with a fully specified name;
  • provide the argument --boot-disk-kms-project on the command line;
  • set the property core/project.
At most one of these can be specified:
--confidential-compute
(DEPRECATED) The instance boots with Confidential Computing enabled. Confidential Computing is based on Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV), an AMD virtualization feature for running confidential instances.

The --confidential-compute flag will soon be deprecated. Please use --confidential-compute-type=SEV instead

--confidential-compute-type=CONFIDENTIAL_COMPUTE_TYPE
The instance boots with Confidential Computing enabled. Confidential Computing can be based on Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) or Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP), both of which are AMD virtualization features for running confidential instances. Trust Domain eXtension based on Intel virtualization features for running confidential instances is also supported. CONFIDENTIAL_COMPUTE_TYPE must be one of:
SEV
Secure Encrypted Virtualization
SEV_SNP
Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Secure Nested Paging
TDX
Trust Domain eXtension
Custom machine type extensions.
--custom-cpu=CUSTOM_CPU
A whole number value specifying the number of cores that are needed in the custom machine type.

For some machine types, shared-core values can also be used. For example, for E2 machine types, you can specify micro, small, or medium.

This flag argument must be specified if any of the other arguments in this group are specified.

--custom-memory=CUSTOM_MEMORY
A whole number value indicating how much memory is desired in the custom machine type. A size unit should be provided (eg. 3072MB or 9GB) - if no units are specified, GB is assumed.

This flag argument must be specified if any of the other arguments in this group are specified.

--custom-extensions
Use the extended custom machine type.
--custom-vm-type=CUSTOM_VM_TYPE
Specifies a custom machine type. The default is n1. For more information about custom machine types, see: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/general-purpose-machines#custom_machine_types
--image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT
The Google Cloud project against which all image and image family references will be resolved. It is best practice to define image-project. A full list of available projects can be generated by running gcloud projects list.
  • If specifying one of our public images, image-project must be provided.
  • If there are several of the same image-family value in multiple projects, image-project must be specified to clarify the image to be used.
  • If not specified and either image or image-family is provided, the current default project is used.
At most one of these can be specified:
--image=IMAGE
Specifies the boot image for the instances. For each instance, a new boot disk will be created from the given image. Each boot disk will have the same name as the instance. To view a list of public images and projects, run $ gcloud compute images list. It is best practice to use --image when a specific version of an image is needed.

When using this option, --boot-disk-device-name and --boot-disk-size can be used to override the boot disk's device name and size, respectively.

--image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY
The image family for the operating system that the boot disk will be initialized with. Compute Engine offers multiple Linux distributions, some of which are available as both regular and Shielded VM images. When a family is specified instead of an image, the latest non-deprecated image associated with that family is used. It is best practice to use --image-family when the latest version of an image is needed.

By default, debian-11 is assumed for this flag.

Sole Tenancy.

At most one of these can be specified:

--node=NODE
The name of the node to schedule this instance on.
--node-affinity-file=PATH_TO_FILE
The JSON/YAML file containing the configuration of desired nodes onto which this instance could be scheduled. These rules filter the nodes according to their node affinity labels. A node's affinity labels come from the node template of the group the node is in.

The file should contain a list of a JSON/YAML objects. For an example, see https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/nodes/provisioning-sole-tenant-vms#configure_node_affinity_labels. The following list describes the fields:

key
Corresponds to the node affinity label keys of the Node resource.
operator
Specifies the node selection type. Must be one of: IN: Requires Compute Engine to seek for matched nodes. NOT_IN: Requires Compute Engine to avoid certain nodes.
values
Optional. A list of values which correspond to the node affinity label values of the Node resource.

Use a full or relative path to a local file containing the value of node_affinity_file.

--node-group=NODE_GROUP
The name of the node group to schedule this instance on.
Specifies the reservation for instances created from this template.
--reservation=RESERVATION
The name of the reservation, required when --reservation-affinity is one of: specific, specific-then-any-reservation or specific-then-no-reservation.
--reservation-affinity=RESERVATION_AFFINITY; default="any"
The type of reservation for instances created from this template. RESERVATION_AFFINITY must be one of:
any
Consume any available, matching reservation.
none
Do not consume from any reserved capacity.
specific
Must consume from a specific reservation.
specific-then-any-reservation
Prefer to consume from a specific reservation, but still consume any available matching reservation if the specified reservation is not available or exhausted.
specific-then-no-reservation
Prefer to consume from a specific reservation, but still consume from the on-demand pool if the specified reservation is not available or exhausted.
At most one of these can be specified:
--scopes=[SCOPE,…]
If not provided, the instance will be assigned the default scopes, described below.

SCOPE can be either the full URI of the scope or an alias. Default scopes are assigned to all instances. Available aliases are:

Alias URI
bigquery https://www.googleapis.com/auth/bigquery
cloud-platform https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
cloud-source-repos https://www.googleapis.com/auth/source.full_control
cloud-source-repos-ro https://www.googleapis.com/auth/source.read_only
compute-ro https://www.googleapis.com/auth/compute.readonly
compute-rw https://www.googleapis.com/auth/compute
datastore https://www.googleapis.com/auth/datastore
default https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring.write
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/pubsub
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/service.management.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/servicecontrol
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/trace.append
gke-default https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/service.management.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/servicecontrol
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/trace.append
logging-write https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write
monitoring https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring
monitoring-read https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring.read
monitoring-write https://www.googleapis.com/auth/monitoring.write
pubsub https://www.googleapis.com/auth/pubsub
service-control https://www.googleapis.com/auth/servicecontrol
service-management https://www.googleapis.com/auth/service.management.readonly
sql (deprecated) https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sqlservice
sql-admin https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sqlservice.admin
storage-full https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.full_control
storage-ro https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only
storage-rw https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_write
taskqueue https://www.googleapis.com/auth/taskqueue
trace https://www.googleapis.com/auth/trace.append
userinfo-email https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email
DEPRECATION WARNING: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sqlservice account scope and sql alias do not provide SQL instance management capabilities and have been deprecated. Please, use https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sqlservice.admin or sql-admin to manage your Google SQL Service instances.
--no-scopes
Create instance without scopes
At most one of these can be specified:
--service-account=SERVICE_ACCOUNT
A service account is an identity attached to the instance. Its access tokens can be accessed through the instance metadata server and are used to authenticate applications on the instance. The account can be set using an email address corresponding to the required service account.

If not provided, the instance will use the project's default service account.

--no-service-account
Create instance without service account
--service-proxy=[enabled],[intercept-all-outbound-traffic],[access-log=ACCESS-LOG],[exclude-outbound-ip-ranges=EXCLUDE-OUTBOUND-IP-RANGES],[exclude-outbound-port-ranges=EXCLUDE-OUTBOUND-PORT-RANGES],[mesh=MESH],[network=NETWORK],[project-number=PROJECT-NUMBER],[proxy-port=PROXY-PORT],[scope=SCOPE],[serving-ports=SERVING-PORTS],[tracing=TRACING]
Controls whether the Traffic Director service proxy (Envoy) and agent are installed and configured on the VM. "cloud-platform" scope is enabled automatically to allow connections to the Traffic Director API. Do not use the --no-scopes flag.
enabled
If specified, the service-proxy software will be installed when the instance is created. The instance is configured to work with Traffic Director.
serving-ports
Semi-colon-separated (;) list of the ports, specified inside quotation marks ("), on which the customer's application/workload is serving.

For example:

serving-ports="80;8080"

The service proxy will intercept inbound traffic, then forward it to the specified serving port(s) on localhost. If not provided, no incoming traffic is intercepted.

proxy-port
The port on which the service proxy listens. The VM intercepts traffic and redirects it to this port to be handled by the service proxy. If omitted, the default value is '15001'.
tracing
Enables the service proxy to generate distributed tracing information. If set to ON, the service proxy's control plane generates a configuration that enables request ID-based tracing. For more information, refer to the generate_request_id documentation for the Envoy proxy. Allowed values are ON and OFF.
access-log
The filepath for access logs sent to the service proxy by the control plane. All incoming and outgoing requests are recorded in this file. For more information, refer to the file access log documentation for the Envoy proxy.
network
The name of a valid VPC network. The Google Cloud Platform VPC network used by the service proxy's control plane to generate dynamic configuration for the service proxy.
intercept-all-outbound-traffic
Enables interception of all outgoing traffic. The traffic is intercepted by the service proxy and then redirected to external host.
exclude-outbound-ip-ranges
Semi-colon-separated (;) list of the IPs or CIDRs, specified inside quotation marks ("), that should be excluded from redirection. Only applies when intercept-all-outbound-traffic flag is set.

For example:

exclude-outbound-ip-ranges="8.8.8.8;129.168.10.0/24"
exclude-outbound-port-ranges
Semi-colon-separated (;) list of the ports or port ranges, specified inside quotation marks ("), that should be excluded from redirection. Only applies when intercept-all-outbound-traffic flag is set.

For example:

exclude-outbound-port-ranges="81;8080-8090"
scope
Scope defines a logical configuration boundary for a Gateway resource. On VM boot up, the service proxy reaches the Traffic Director to retrieve routing information that corresponds to the routes attached to the gateway with this scope name. When scope is specified, the network value is ignored. You cannot specify scope and mesh values at the same time.
mesh
Mesh defines a logical configuration boundary for a Mesh resource. On VM boot up, the service proxy reaches the Traffic Director to retrieve routing information that corresponds to the routes attached to the mesh with this mesh name. When mesh is specified, the network value is ignored. You cannot specify scope and mesh values at the same time.
project-number
Project number defines the project where Mesh and Gateway resources are created. If not specified, the project where the instance exists is used.
--service-proxy-labels=[KEY=VALUE, …,…]
Labels that you can apply to your service proxy. These will be reflected in your Envoy proxy's bootstrap metadata. These can be any key=value pairs that you want to set as proxy metadata (for example, for use with config filtering). You might use these flags for application and version labels: app=review and/or version=canary.
GCLOUD WIDE FLAGS
These flags are available to all commands: --access-token-file, --account, --billing-project, --configuration, --flags-file, --flatten, --format, --help, --impersonate-service-account, --log-http, --project, --quiet, --trace-token, --user-output-enabled, --verbosity.

Run $ gcloud help for details.

NOTES
This command is currently in beta and might change without notice. These variants are also available:
gcloud compute instance-templates create
gcloud alpha compute instance-templates create