This document explains how to create a Compute Engine instance from a [custom image](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/create-delete-deprecate-private-images) that exists only in your project.

<br />

An instance contains a bootloader, a boot file system, and an OS image. You can create custom images from source disks, images, snapshots, or images stored in Cloud Storage and use these images to create instances. By default, a custom image belongs only to the project in which it was created.

<br />

## Before you begin

- When creating instances from images by using the Google Cloud CLI or the Compute Engine API, there's a limit of 20 instances per second. If you need to create a higher number of instances per second, [request a quota adjustment](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/quotas/help/request_increase) for the **Images** resource.
- If you haven't already, set up [authentication](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/authentication). Authentication verifies your identity 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](https://docs.cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install) the Google Cloud CLI.

     After installation,
     [initialize](https://docs.cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/initializing) the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:

     ```bash
     gcloud init
     ```


     If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first
     [sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/workforce-log-in-gcloud).

     > [!NOTE]
     > **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](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/gcloud-compute#set_default_zone_and_region_in_your_local_client).

  ### 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.
  1. [Install](https://docs.cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install) the Google Cloud CLI.
  2. If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first [sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/workforce-log-in-gcloud).


  For more information, see
  [Authenticate for using REST](https://docs.cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/rest)
  in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.

### Required roles


To get the permissions that
you need to create an instance from a custom image,

ask your administrator to grant you the
[Compute Instance Admin (v1)](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/roles-permissions/compute#compute.instanceAdmin.v1) (`roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1`) IAM role on the project.


For more information about granting roles, see [Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/granting-changing-revoking-access).


This predefined role contains

the permissions required to create an instance from a custom image. To see the exact permissions that are
required, expand the **Required permissions** section:


#### Required permissions

The following permissions are required to create an instance from a custom image:

- `compute.instances.create` on the project
- To use a custom image to create the instance: `compute.images.useReadOnly` on the image


You might also be able to get
these permissions
with [custom roles](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/creating-custom-roles) or
other [predefined roles](https://docs.cloud.google.com/iam/docs/roles-overview#predefined).

## Create an instance from a custom image

If you don't already have a custom image, you must first
[create a custom image](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/create-delete-deprecate-private-images#creating_a_custom_image).

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** You must have access to the custom image to use it when you create an instance. By default, you have access to all custom images in your project. However, if your project has a defined list of [trusted images](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/restricting-image-access), you can use only the images on that list to create an instance.

To create an instance from a custom image, follow these steps:

### Console

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **Create an instance** page.

   [Go to Create an instance](https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/instancesAdd)

   If prompted, select your project and click **Continue**.

   The **Create an instance** page appears and displays the
   **Machine configuration** pane.
2. In the **Machine configuration** pane, do the following:

   1. In the **Name** field, specify a name for your instance. For more information, see [Resource naming convention](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/naming-resources#resource-name-format).
   2. Optional: In the **Zone** field, select a zone for this instance.

      The default selection is **Any**. If you don't change this default
      selection, then Google automatically chooses a zone for you based on
      machine type and availability.


   3. Select the machine family for your instance. The Google Cloud console
      then displays the machine series that are available for your
      selected machine family. The following machine family options are
      available:


      - **General purpose**
      - **Compute optimized**
      - **Memory optimized**
      - **Storage optimized**
      - **Network optimized**
      - **GPUs**
      - **TPUs**

      <br />

   4. In the **Series** column, select the machine series for your
      instance.

      If you selected **GPUs** as the machine family in the previous step,
      then select the **GPU type** that you want. The machine series is
      then automatically selected for the selected GPU type.
   5. In the **Machine type** section, select the machine type for your
      instance.

3. In the navigation menu, click **OS and storage** . In the
   **Operating system and storage** pane that appears, configure your boot
   disk by doing the following:

   1. Click **Change** . The **Boot disk** pane appears and displays the **Public images** tab.
   2. Click **Custom images** . The **Custom images** tab appears.
   3. To select the image project, click **Change**, and then select the project that contains the image.
   4. In the **Image** list, select the image that you want to import.
   5. In the **Boot disk type** list, select the type of the boot disk.
   6. In the **Size (GB)** field, specify the size of the boot disk.
   7. Optional: For Hyperdisk Balanced boot disks, specify values for the **Provisioned IOPS** and **Provisioned throughput** fields.
   8. Optional: For advanced configuration options, expand the **Show advanced configurations** section.
   9. To confirm your boot disk options and return to the **Operating system and storage** pane, click **Select**.
4. In the navigation menu, click **Networking** . In the **Networking** pane
   that appears, do the following:

   1. Go to the **Firewall** section.
   2. To permit HTTP or HTTPS traffic to the instance, select
      **Allow HTTP traffic** or **Allow HTTPS traffic**.

      The Compute Engine adds a network tag to your instance and
      creates the corresponding ingress firewall rule that allows all
      incoming traffic on `tcp:80` (HTTP) or `tcp:443` (HTTPS). The
      network tag associates the firewall rule with the instance. For more
      information, see [Firewall rules overview](https://docs.cloud.google.com/firewall/docs/firewalls)
      in the Cloud Next Generation Firewall documentation.
5. Optional: Specify other configuration options. For more information, see
   [Configuration options during instance creation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/instance-creation-overview#new-instance-configuration-options).

6. To create and start the instance, click **Create**.

### gcloud


1. In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.

   [Activate Cloud Shell](https://console.cloud.google.com/?cloudshell=true)


   At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a
   [Cloud Shell](https://docs.cloud.google.com/shell/docs/how-cloud-shell-works)
   session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment
   with the Google Cloud CLI
   already installed and with values already set for
   your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.
2. Run the [`gcloud compute instances create` command](https://docs.cloud.google.com/sdk/gcloud/reference/compute/instances/create)
   to create an instance with a custom image:


   ```
   gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME \
       --image-project IMAGE_PROJECT \
       IMAGE_FLAG \
       --subnet SUBNET \
       --zone ZONE
   ```

   Replace the following:
   - `VM_NAME`: the name of the VM
   - `IMAGE_PROJECT`: the ID of the Google Cloud project that contains the image
   - `IMAGE_FLAG`: specify one of the following:
     - Use the `--image IMAGE_NAME` flag to specify a custom image.

       For example, `--image my-debian-image-v2`.
     - If you created your custom images as part of a [custom image family](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images#custom-families), use the `--image-family IMAGE_FAMILY_NAME` flag to specify that custom image family.

       This creates the VM from the most
       recent, non-deprecated OS image and OS version in your custom image family.
       For example, if you specify `--image-family my-debian-family`,
       Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest OS image in your custom
       `my-debian-family` image family.

     > [!NOTE]
     > **Note:** Compute Engine uses the default image family and project if you don't specify an image, for example `debian-10` and `debian-cloud`, respectively.

   - `SUBNET`: if the subnet and instance are in the same
     project, replace `SUBNET` with the name of a subnet that is in the same
     region as the instance.

   - `ZONE`: the [zone](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/regions-zones) for the VM

   <br />

### Terraform

To generate the Terraform code, you can use the **Equivalent code** component in the Google Cloud console.

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **VM instances** page.

   [Go to VM Instances](https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/instances)
2. Click **Create instance**.
3. Specify the parameters you want.
4. At the top or bottom of the page, click **Equivalent code** , and then click the **Terraform** tab to view the Terraform code.

### Go


Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the
[Compute Engine quickstart using
client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/api/using-libraries).


For more information, see the
[Compute Engine Go API
reference documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/go/docs/reference/cloud.google.com/go/compute/latest/apiv1).


To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials.
For more information, see

[Set up authentication for client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/authentication#client-libs).

    import (
    	"context"
    	"fmt"
    	"io"

    	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
    	computepb "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb"
    	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
    )

    // createInstanceFromCustomImage creates a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.
    func createInstanceFromCustomImage(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, customImageLink string) error {
    	// projectID := "your_project_id"
    	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
    	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
    	// customImageLink := "projects/project_name/global/images/image_name"

    	ctx := context.Background()
    	instancesClient, err := compute.https://docs.cloud.google.com/go/docs/reference/cloud.google.com/go/compute/latest/apiv1.html#cloud_google_com_go_compute_apiv1_InstancesClient_NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
    	if err != nil {
    		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %w", err)
    	}
    	defer instancesClient.Close()

    	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
    		Project: projectID,
    		Zone:    zone,
    		InstanceResource: &computepb.Instance{
    			Name: proto.String(instanceName),
    			Disks: []*computepb.AttachedDisk{
    				{
    					InitializeParams: &computepb.AttachedDiskInitializeParams{
    						DiskSizeGb:  proto.Int64(10),
    						SourceImage: proto.String(customImageLink),
    						DiskType:    proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
    					},
    					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
    					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
    					Type:       proto.String(computepb.https://docs.cloud.google.com/go/docs/reference/cloud.google.com/go/compute/latest/apiv1/computepb.html#cloud_google_com_go_compute_apiv1_computepb_AttachedDisk_UNDEFINED_TYPE_AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT_AttachedDisk_SCRATCH.String()),
    				},
    			},
    			MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
    			NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
    				{
    					Name: proto.String("global/networks/default"),
    				},
    			},
    		},
    	}

    	op, err := instancesClient.Insert(ctx, req)
    	if err != nil {
    		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create instance: %w", err)
    	}

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

    	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance created\n")

    	return nil
    }

### Java


Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the
[Compute Engine quickstart using
client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/api/using-libraries).


For more information, see the
[Compute Engine Java API
reference documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/overview).


To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials.
For more information, see

[Set up authentication for client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/authentication#client-libs).


    import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/gax/latest/com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.html.Type;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface.html;
    import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation.html;
    import java.io.IOException;
    import java.util.Vector;
    import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
    import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
    import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

    public class CreateInstancesAdvanced {

      /**
       * Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the source
       * for the new disk.
       *
       * @param diskType the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
       * "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)". For example:
       * "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
       * @param diskSizeGb size of the new disk in gigabytes
       * @param boot boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an
       * instance
       * @param sourceImage source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
       * this disk. This can be one of the publicly available images or an image from one of your
       * projects. This value uses the following format:
       * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
       * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
       */
      private static https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.html diskFromImage(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
          String sourceImage) {
        https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.html disk =
            https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.html.newBuilder()
                .setBoot(boot)
                // Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when
                // you delete your VM instance.
                .setAutoDelete(true)
                .setType(Type.PERSISTENT.toString())
                .https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Builder.html#com_google_cloud_compute_v1_AttachedDisk_Builder_setInitializeParams_com_google_cloud_compute_v1_AttachedDiskInitializeParams_(
                    https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams.html.newBuilder()
                        .setSourceImage(sourceImage)
                        .setDiskSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
                        .setDiskType(diskType)
                        .build())
                .build();
        return disk;
      }


      /**
       * Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.
       *
       * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
       * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
       * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
       * @param disks a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks you want to attach
       * to your new instance.
       * @param machineType machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the following format:
       * "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
       * For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
       * @param network name of the network you want the new instance to use. For example:
       * "global/networks/default" represents the network named "default", which is created
       * automatically for each project.
       * @param subnetwork name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use. This value uses the
       * following format: "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
       * @return Instance object.
       */
      private static https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance.html createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
          Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
          throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
        try (https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient.html instancesClient = https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient.html.create()) {
          // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
          https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface.html networkInterface;
          if (subnetwork != null) {
            networkInterface = https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface.html.newBuilder()
                .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
                .build();
          } else {
            networkInterface = https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface.html.newBuilder()
                .setName(network).build();
          }

          machineType = String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/%s", zone, machineType);

          // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
          https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance.html instanceResource =
              https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance.html.newBuilder()
                  .setName(instanceName)
                  .setMachineType(machineType)
                  .addAllDisks(disks)
                  .addNetworkInterfaces(networkInterface)
                  .build();

          System.out.printf("Creating instance: %s at %s ", instanceName, zone);

          // Insert the instance in the specified project and zone.
          https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest.html insertInstanceRequest = https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest.html.newBuilder()
              .setProject(project)
              .setZone(zone)
              .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

          OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.insertAsync(
              insertInstanceRequest);

          // Wait for the operation to complete.
          https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation.html response = operation.get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

          if (response.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation.html#com_google_cloud_compute_v1_Operation_hasError__()) {
            System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
            return null;
          }
          System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation.html#com_google_cloud_compute_v1_Operation_getStatus__());

          return instancesClient.get(project, zone, instanceName);
        }
      }

      /**
       * Create a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.
       *
       * @param project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
       * @param zone name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
       * @param instanceName name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
       * @param customImage link to the custom image you want to use in the form of:
       * "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
       * @return Instance object.
       */
      public static https://docs.cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-compute/latest/com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance.html createFromCustomImage(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
          String customImage)
          throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
        String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone);
        Vector<AttachedDisk> disks = new Vector<>();
        disks.add(diskFromImage(diskType, 10, true, customImage));
        return createWithDisks(project, zone, instanceName, disks, "n1-standard-1",
            "global/networks/default", null);
      }

### Node.js


Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the
[Compute Engine quickstart using
client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/api/using-libraries).


For more information, see the
[Compute Engine Node.js API
reference documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/nodejs/docs/reference/compute/latest).


To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials.
For more information, see

[Set up authentication for client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/authentication#client-libs).

    /**
     * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
     */
    // const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
    // const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
    // const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';
    // const customImageLink = 'projects/YOUR_PROJECT/global/images/YOUR_IMAGE_NAME';

    const compute = require('https://docs.cloud.google.com/nodejs/docs/reference/compute/latest/overview.html');

    // Creates a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.
    async function createInstanceFromCustomImage() {
      const instancesClient = new compute.https://docs.cloud.google.com/nodejs/docs/reference/compute/latest/overview.html();

      const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
        project: projectId,
        zone,
        instanceResource: {
          name: instanceName,
          disks: [
            {
              initializeParams: {
                diskSizeGb: '10',
                sourceImage: customImageLink,
                diskType: `zones/${zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard`,
              },
              autoDelete: true,
              boot: true,
              type: 'PERSISTENT',
            },
          ],
          machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
          networkInterfaces: [
            {
              name: 'global/networks/default',
            },
          ],
        },
      });
      let operation = response.latestResponse;
      const operationsClient = new compute.https://docs.cloud.google.com/nodejs/docs/reference/compute/latest/overview.html();

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

      console.log('Instance created.');
    }

    createInstanceFromCustomImage();

### Python


Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the
[Compute Engine quickstart using
client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/api/using-libraries).


For more information, see the
[Compute Engine Python API
reference documentation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/python/docs/reference/compute/latest).


To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials.
For more information, see

[Set up authentication for client libraries](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/authentication#client-libs).

    from __future__ import annotations

    import re
    import sys
    from typing import Any
    import warnings

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


    def get_image_from_family(project: str, family: str) -> compute_v1.Image:
        """
        Retrieve the newest image that is part of a given family in a project.

        Args:
            project: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to get image from.
            family: name of the image family you want to get image from.

        Returns:
            An Image object.
        """
        image_client = compute_v1.ImagesClient()
        # List of public operating system (OS) images: https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/os-details
        newest_image = image_client.get_from_family(project=project, family=family)
        return newest_image


    def disk_from_image(
        disk_type: str,
        disk_size_gb: int,
        boot: bool,
        source_image: str,
        auto_delete: bool = True,
    ) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk:
        """
        Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses an image as the
        source for the new disk.

        Args:
             disk_type: the type of disk you want to create. This value uses the following format:
                "zones/{zone}/diskTypes/(pd-standard|pd-ssd|pd-balanced|pd-extreme)".
                For example: "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
            disk_size_gb: size of the new disk in gigabytes
            boot: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be used as a boot disk of an instance
            source_image: source image to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk. This can be one
                of the publicly available images or an image from one of your projects.
                This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"
            auto_delete: boolean flag indicating whether this disk should be deleted with the VM that uses it

        Returns:
            AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified image.
        """
        boot_disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
        initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
        initialize_params.source_image = source_image
        initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
        initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
        boot_disk.initialize_params = initialize_params
        # Remember to set auto_delete to True if you want the disk to be deleted when you delete
        # your VM instance.
        boot_disk.auto_delete = auto_delete
        boot_disk.boot = boot
        return boot_disk


    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 create_instance(
        project_id: str,
        zone: str,
        instance_name: str,
        disks: list[compute_v1.AttachedDisk],
        machine_type: str = "n1-standard-1",
        network_link: str = "global/networks/default",
        subnetwork_link: str = None,
        internal_ip: str = None,
        external_access: bool = False,
        external_ipv4: str = None,
        accelerators: list[compute_v1.AcceleratorConfig] = None,
        preemptible: bool = False,
        spot: bool = False,
        instance_termination_action: str = "STOP",
        custom_hostname: str = None,
        delete_protection: bool = False,
    ) -> compute_v1.Instance:
        """
        Send an instance creation request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

        Args:
            project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
            zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
            instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
            disks: a list of compute_v1.AttachedDisk objects describing the disks
                you want to attach to your new instance.
            machine_type: machine type of the VM being created. This value uses the
                following format: "zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{type_name}".
                For example: "zones/europe-west3-c/machineTypes/f1-micro"
            network_link: name of the network you want the new instance to use.
                For example: "global/networks/default" represents the network
                named "default", which is created automatically for each project.
            subnetwork_link: name of the subnetwork you want the new instance to use.
                This value uses the following format:
                "regions/{region}/subnetworks/{subnetwork_name}"
            internal_ip: internal IP address you want to assign to the new instance.
                By default, a free address from the pool of available internal IP addresses of
                used subnet will be used.
            external_access: boolean flag indicating if the instance should have an external IPv4
                address assigned.
            external_ipv4: external IPv4 address to be assigned to this instance. If you specify
                an external IP address, it must live in the same region as the zone of the instance.
                This setting requires `external_access` to be set to True to work.
            accelerators: a list of AcceleratorConfig objects describing the accelerators that will
                be attached to the new instance.
            preemptible: boolean value indicating if the new instance should be preemptible
                or not. Preemptible VMs have been deprecated and you should now use Spot VMs.
            spot: boolean value indicating if the new instance should be a Spot VM or not.
            instance_termination_action: What action should be taken once a Spot VM is terminated.
                Possible values: "STOP", "DELETE"
            custom_hostname: Custom hostname of the new VM instance.
                Custom hostnames must conform to RFC 1035 requirements for valid hostnames.
            delete_protection: boolean value indicating if the new virtual machine should be
                protected against deletion or not.
        Returns:
            Instance object.
        """
        instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()

        # Use the network interface provided in the network_link argument.
        network_interface = compute_v1.NetworkInterface()
        network_interface.network = network_link
        if subnetwork_link:
            network_interface.subnetwork = subnetwork_link

        if internal_ip:
            network_interface.network_i_p = internal_ip

        if external_access:
            access = compute_v1.AccessConfig()
            access.type_ = compute_v1.AccessConfig.Type.ONE_TO_ONE_NAT.name
            access.name = "External NAT"
            access.network_tier = access.NetworkTier.PREMIUM.name
            if external_ipv4:
                access.nat_i_p = external_ipv4
            network_interface.access_configs = [access]

        # Collect information into the Instance object.
        instance = compute_v1.Instance()
        instance.network_interfaces = [network_interface]
        instance.name = instance_name
        instance.disks = disks
        if re.match(r"^zones/[a-z\d\-]+/machineTypes/[a-z\d\-]+$", machine_type):
            instance.machine_type = machine_type
        else:
            instance.machine_type = f"zones/{zone}/machineTypes/{machine_type}"

        instance.scheduling = compute_v1.Scheduling()
        if accelerators:
            instance.guest_accelerators = accelerators
            instance.scheduling.on_host_maintenance = (
                compute_v1.Scheduling.OnHostMaintenance.TERMINATE.name
            )

        if preemptible:
            # Set the preemptible setting
            warnings.warn(
                "Preemptible VMs are being replaced by Spot VMs.", DeprecationWarning
            )
            instance.scheduling = compute_v1.Scheduling()
            instance.scheduling.preemptible = True

        if spot:
            # Set the Spot VM setting
            instance.scheduling.provisioning_model = (
                compute_v1.Scheduling.ProvisioningModel.SPOT.name
            )
            instance.scheduling.instance_termination_action = instance_termination_action

        if custom_hostname is not None:
            # Set the custom hostname for the instance
            instance.hostname = custom_hostname

        if delete_protection:
            # Set the delete protection bit
            instance.deletion_protection = True

        # Prepare the request to insert an instance.
        request = compute_v1.InsertInstanceRequest()
        request.zone = zone
        request.project = project_id
        request.instance_resource = instance

        # Wait for the create operation to complete.
        print(f"Creating the {instance_name} instance in {zone}...")

        operation = instance_client.insert(request=request)

        wait_for_extended_operation(operation, "instance creation")

        print(f"Instance {instance_name} created.")
        return instance_client.get(project=project_id, zone=zone, instance=instance_name)


    def create_from_custom_image(
        project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, custom_image_link: str
    ) -> compute_v1.Instance:
        """
        Create a new VM instance with custom image used as its boot disk.

        Args:
            project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
            zone: name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
            instance_name: name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
            custom_image_link: link to the custom image you want to use in the form of:
                "projects/{project_name}/global/images/{image_name}"

        Returns:
            Instance object.
        """
        disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
        disks = [disk_from_image(disk_type, 10, True, custom_image_link, True)]
        instance = create_instance(project_id, zone, instance_name, disks)
        return instance

### REST

The process for creating an instance with a custom image in the API
is the same as if you were creating an instance with a
[publicly available image](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/create-vm-from-public-image).

To create the instance from a custom image, use the
[`instances.insert` method](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/reference/rest/v1/instances/insert).


    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances

    {
       "machineType":"zones/MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
       "name":"VM_NAME",
       
       "disks":[
          {
             "initializeParams":{
                "sourceImage":"projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"
             },
             "boot":true
          }
       ],
       
       
       "networkInterfaces":[
          {
             "network":"global/networks/NETWORK_NAME"
          }
       ],
       
      
       "shieldedInstanceConfig":{
          "enableSecureBoot":"ENABLE_SECURE_BOOT"
       }
    }

Replace the following:

- `PROJECT_ID`: ID of the project to create the VM in
- `ZONE`: zone to create the VM in
- `MACHINE_TYPE_ZONE`: zone containing the machine type to use for the new VM
- `MACHINE_TYPE`: machine type, [predefined](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-resource) or [custom](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/general-purpose-machines#custom_machine_types), for the new VM
- `VM_NAME`: [name](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/naming-resources#resource-name-format) of the new VM
- `IMAGE_PROJECT`: name of the project that contains the custom image
- `IMAGE`: specify one of the following:
  - `IMAGE`: name of your custom image. For example, `"sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/my-debian-image-v2"`.
  - `IMAGE_FAMILY`: if you created your custom images as part of a [custom image family](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images#custom-families), specify that custom image family.

    This creates the VM from the most
    recent, non-deprecated OS image in your custom image family.
    For example, if you specify
    `"sourceImage": "projects/my-project-1234/global/images/family/my-debian-family"`,
    Compute Engine creates a VM from the latest version of the OS image
    in the custom `my-debian-family` image family.
- `NETWORK_NAME`: the VPC network that you want to use for the VM. You can specify `default` to use your default network.
- `ENABLE_SECURE_BOOT`: Optional: If you chose an image that supports
  [Shielded VM](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/shielded-vm/docs/shielded-vm) features,
  Compute Engine, by default, enables the [virtual
  trusted platform module (vTPM)](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/shielded-vm/docs/shielded-vm#vtpm) and [integrity
  monitoring](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/shielded-vm/docs/shielded-vm#integrity-monitoring). Compute Engine does not enable [Secure
  Boot](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/shielded-vm/docs/shielded-vm#secure-boot) by default.

  If you specify `true` for `enableSecureBoot`, Compute Engine
  creates a VM with all three Shielded VM features enabled. After Compute Engine
  starts your VM, to [modify
  Shielded VM](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/shielded-vm/docs/modifying-shielded-vm) options, you must stop the VM.

<br />

## What's next

- Learn more about [custom images](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/create-custom) and [how to share them](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images/managing-access-custom-images).
- Learn how to [check the status of an instance](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/instance-life-cycle) to see when it is ready to use.
- Learn how to [connect to your instance](https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/connecting-to-instance).