Restore from a snapshot

If you use a standard or archive snapshot to back up a disk, then you can access the backed-up data by using the snapshot to create a new disk. The new disk can immediately achieve its maximum performance and doesn't require pre-warming. Creating a new disk from a snapshot is called restoring a snapshot.

You can use snapshots to backup and restore disk data in the following ways:

Before you begin

If you haven't already, set up 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 the Google Cloud CLI. After installation, initialize the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:
  gcloud init
  If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
  
  Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by running gcloud components update.
2. Set a default region and zone.
Go

To use the Go samples on this page in a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.
1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
```
gcloud auth application-default login
```
You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

If an authentication error is returned, and you are using an external identity provider (IdP), confirm that you have signed in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

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

Java

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

Install the Google Cloud CLI.
If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
```
gcloud auth application-default login
```
You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

If an authentication error is returned, and you are using an external identity provider (IdP), confirm that you have signed in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

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

Node.js

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

Install the Google Cloud CLI.
If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
```
gcloud auth application-default login
```
You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

If an authentication error is returned, and you are using an external identity provider (IdP), confirm that you have signed in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

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

Python

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

Install the Google Cloud CLI.
If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
```
gcloud auth application-default login
```
You don't need to do this if you're using Cloud Shell.

If an authentication error is returned, and you are using an external identity provider (IdP), confirm that you have signed in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

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

REST

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

Install the Google Cloud CLI.

If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

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

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to restore from a snapshot, ask your administrator to grant you the Compute Instance Admin (v1) (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1) IAM role on the project. For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

This predefined role contains the permissions required to restore from a snapshot. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand the Required permissions section:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to restore from a snapshot:

To create a disk from a globally scoped snapshot (default):
- compute.disks.create on the project
- compute.instances.attachDisk on the instance
- compute.disks.use on the disk to attach
- compute.snapshots.useReadOnly, compute.snapshots.create, or compute.disks.createSnapshot on the project
To create a disk from a regionally scoped snapshot:
- compute.disks.create on the project
- compute.instances.attachDisk on the instance
- compute.disks.use on the disk to attach
- compute.snapshots.useReadOnly on the project
To create an instance from a boot disk and non-boot disk snapshot, at a minimum, you need the following permissions:
- compute.instances.create on the project
- compute.snapshots.useReadOnly on the snapshot
- compute.disks.create on the project
- compute.disks.use on the disk
- compute.instances.attachDisk on the instance

You might also be able to get these permissions with custom roles or other predefined roles.

Limitations

The new disk must be at least the same size as the original source disk for the snapshot. If you create a disk that is larger than the original source disk for the snapshot, you must resize the file system on that disk to include the additional disk space. Depending on your operating system and file system type, you might need to use a different file system resizing tool. For more information, see your operating system documentation.
You can create a new zonal or regional disks from a given snapshot at most once every ten minutes. If you want to issue a burst of requests to snapshot your disks, you can issue at most 6 requests in 60 minutes. This limit does not apply when creating regional disks from a snapshot. For more information, see Snapshot frequency limits.

Create a disk from a snapshot and optionally attach it to an instance

If you backed up a boot or non-boot disk with a snapshot, you can create a new disk based on the snapshot.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Snapshots page.

Go to Snapshots
Find the name of the snapshot that you want to restore.
Go to the Disks page.

Go to the Disks page
Click Create new disk.
Specify the following configuration parameters:
- A name for the disk.
- A type for the disk.
- Optionally, you can override the default region and zone selection. You can select any region and zone, regardless of the storage location of the source snapshot.
Under Source type, click Snapshot.
Select the name of the snapshot to restore.
Select the size of the new disk, in gigabytes. This number must be equal to or larger than the original source disk for the snapshot.
Click Create to create the disk.

Optionally, you can then attach a non-boot disk to an instance.

gcloud

Use the gcloud compute snapshots list command to find the name of the snapshot you want to restore:
```
gcloud compute snapshots list
```
Use the gcloud compute snapshots describe command to find the size of the snapshot you want to restore:
```
gcloud compute snapshots describe SNAPSHOT_NAME
```
Replace SNAPSHOT_NAME with the name of the snapshot being restored.
Use the gcloud compute disks create command to create a new regional or zonal disk from your snapshot. You can include the --type flag to specify the type of disk to create.
- To create a zonal disk from a globally scoped snapshot:
```
gcloud compute disks create DISK_NAME \
    --zone=ZONE \
    --size=DISK_SIZE \
    --source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_NAME \
    --type=DISK_TYPE
```
- (Preview) To create a zonal disk from a regionally scoped snapshot:
```
gcloud beta compute disks create DISK_NAME \
    --zone=ZONE \
    --source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_NAME \
    --source-snapshot-region=SOURCE_REGION \
    --type=DISK_TYPE
```
- To create a regional disk from a globally scoped snapshot:
```
gcloud beta compute disks create DISK_NAME \
    --size=DISK_SIZE \
    --source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_NAME \
    --type=DISK_TYPE \
    --region=REGION \
    --replica-zones=ZONE1,ZONE2
```
- (Preview) To create a regional disk from a regionally scoped snapshot:
```
gcloud beta compute disks create DISK_NAME \
    --size=DISK_SIZE \
    --source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_NAME \
    --source-snapshot-region=SOURCE_REGION \
    --type=DISK_TYPE \
    --region=REGION \
    --replica-zones=ZONE1,ZONE2
```
Replace the following:
- DISK_NAME: the name of the new disk
- DISK_SIZE: the size of the new disk, in gibibytes (GiB). This number must be equal to or larger than the original source disk for the snapshot.
- SNAPSHOT_NAME: the name of the snapshot being restored
- DISK_TYPE: the type of the disk, for example, pd-ssd, hyperdisk-throughput or hyperdisk-balanced-high-availability
- REGION: the region for the regional disk to reside in, for example: europe-west1
- SOURCE_REGION: the region that the source snapshot is scoped to
- ZONE: the zone where the new disk will reside
- ZONE1,ZONE2: the zones within the region where the two disk replicas are located, for example: europe-west1-b and europe-west1-c
Optional: Attach the new disk to an existing instance by using the gcloud compute instances attach-disk command:
```
gcloud compute instances attach-disk INSTANCE_NAME \
    --disk DISK_NAME
```
Replace the following:
- INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the instance
- DISK_NAME: the name of the disk made from your snapshot

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

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

// createDiskFromSnapshot creates a new disk in a project in given zone.
func createDiskFromSnapshot(
	w io.Writer,
	projectID, zone, diskName, diskType, snapshotLink string,
	diskSizeGb int64,
) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "us-west3-b" // should match diskType below
	// diskName := "your_disk_name"
	// diskType := "zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd"
	// snapshotLink := "projects/your_project_id/global/snapshots/snapshot_name"
	// diskSizeGb := 120

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

	req := &computepb.InsertDiskRequest{
		Project: projectID,
		Zone:    zone,
		DiskResource: &computepb.Disk{
			Name:           proto.String(diskName),
			Zone:           proto.String(zone),
			Type:           proto.String(diskType),
			SourceSnapshot: proto.String(snapshotLink),
			SizeGb:         proto.Int64(diskSizeGb),
		},
	}

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

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

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

	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.


import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Disk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.DisksClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertDiskRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

public class CreateDiskFromSnapshot {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.

    // Project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
    String projectId = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID";

    // Name of the zone in which you want to create the disk.
    String zone = "europe-central2-b";

    // Name of the disk you want to create.
    String diskName = "YOUR_DISK_NAME";

    // 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"
    String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-ssd", zone);

    // Size of the new disk in gigabytes.
    long diskSizeGb = 10;

    // The full path and name of the snapshot that you want to use as the source for the new disk.
    // This value uses the following format:
    // "projects/{projectName}/global/snapshots/{snapshotName}"
    String snapshotLink = String.format("projects/%s/global/snapshots/%s", projectId,
        "SNAPSHOT_NAME");

    createDiskFromSnapshot(projectId, zone, diskName, diskType, diskSizeGb, snapshotLink);
  }

  // Creates a new disk in a project in given zone, using a snapshot.
  public static void createDiskFromSnapshot(String projectId, String zone, String diskName,
      String diskType, long diskSizeGb, String snapshotLink)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `disksClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (DisksClient disksClient = DisksClient.create()) {

      // Set the disk properties and the source snapshot.
      Disk disk = Disk.newBuilder()
          .setName(diskName)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setSizeGb(diskSizeGb)
          .setType(diskType)
          .setSourceSnapshot(snapshotLink)
          .build();

      // Create the insert disk request.
      InsertDiskRequest insertDiskRequest = InsertDiskRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(projectId)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setDiskResource(disk)
          .build();

      // Wait for the create disk operation to complete.
      Operation response = disksClient.insertAsync(insertDiskRequest)
          .get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Disk creation failed!" + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.println("Disk created. Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Node.js API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b';
// const diskName = 'YOUR_DISK_NAME';
// const diskType = 'zones/us-west3-b/diskTypes/pd-ssd';
// const diskSizeGb = 10;
// const snapshotLink = 'projects/project_name/global/snapshots/snapshot_name';

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

async function createDiskFromSnapshot() {
  const disksClient = new compute.DisksClient();

  const [response] = await disksClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    diskResource: {
      sizeGb: diskSizeGb,
      name: diskName,
      zone,
      type: diskType,
      sourceSnapshot: snapshotLink,
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

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

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

createDiskFromSnapshot();

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Python API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

from __future__ import annotations

import sys
from typing import Any

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


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

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

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

    Returns:
        Whatever the operation.result() returns.

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

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

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

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

    return result


def create_disk_from_snapshot(
    project_id: str,
    zone: str,
    disk_name: str,
    disk_type: str,
    disk_size_gb: int,
    snapshot_link: str,
) -> compute_v1.Disk:
    """
    Creates a new disk in a project in given zone.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone in which you want to create the disk.
        disk_name: name of the disk you want to create.
        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
        snapshot_link: a link to the snapshot you want to use as a source for the new disk.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"

    Returns:
        An unattached Disk instance.
    """
    disk_client = compute_v1.DisksClient()
    disk = compute_v1.Disk()
    disk.zone = zone
    disk.size_gb = disk_size_gb
    disk.source_snapshot = snapshot_link
    disk.type_ = disk_type
    disk.name = disk_name
    operation = disk_client.insert(project=project_id, zone=zone, disk_resource=disk)

    wait_for_extended_operation(operation, "disk creation")

    return disk_client.get(project=project_id, zone=zone, disk=disk_name)

REST

Construct a GET request to snapshots.list to display the list of snapshots in your project.
```
GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/snapshots
```
Replace PROJECT_ID with your project ID.
Construct a POST request to create a zonal disk or a regional disk using the respective disks.insert method:
- For zonal disks: disks.insert
- For regional disks: regionDisks.insert
Include the name, sizeGb, and type properties. To restore a disk using a snapshot, you must include the sourceSnapshot property.
- To create a zonal disk from a globally scoped snapshot:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/disks
{
  "name": "DISK_NAME",
  "sourceSnapshot": "SNAPSHOT_NAME",
  "sizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
  "type": "zones/ZONE/diskTypes/DISK_TYPE"
}
```
- (Preview) To create a zonal disk from a regionally scoped snapshot:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/disks
{
  "name": "DISK_NAME",
  "sourceSnapshot": "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/SOURCE_REGION/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_NAME",
  "sizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
  "type": "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/DISK_TYPE",
  "zone": "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE"
}
```
- To create a regional disk from a globally scoped snapshot:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/disks
{
  "name": "DISK_NAME",
  "sourceSnapshot": "SNAPSHOT_NAME",
  "region": "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION",
  "replicaZones": [
     "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE1",
     "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE2"
  ],
  "sizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
  "type": "zones/ZONE/diskTypes/DISK_TYPE"
}
```
- (Preview) To create a regional disk from a regionally scoped snapshot:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/disks
{
  "name": "DISK_NAME",
  "sourceSnapshot": "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/SOURCE_REGION/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_NAME",
  "replicaZones": [
     "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE1",
     "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE2"
  ],
  "sizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
  "type": "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/diskTypes/DISK_TYPE"
}
```
Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: your project ID
- ZONE: the zone where your instance and new disk are located
- DISK_NAME: the name of the new disk
- SNAPSHOT_NAME: the source snapshot for the disk that you're restoring
- REGION: the region for the regional disk to reside in, for example: europe-west1
- SOURCE_REGION: the region that the source snapshot is scoped to
- ZONE1, ZONE2: the zones where replicas of the new disk should be located
- DISK_SIZE: the size of the new disk, in gibibytes (GiB). This number must be equal to or larger than the original source disk for the snapshot.
- DISK_TYPE: full or partial URL for the type of the disk, for example, PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd, PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced or PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced-high-availability
Optional. Attach the new disk to an existing instance.

Construct a POST request to the instances.attachDisk method, and include the URL to the disk that you just created from your snapshot.

For zonal disks:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE_NAME/attachDisk
{
  "source": "/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/disks/DISK_NAME"
}
```
For regional disks:
```
POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE_NAME/attachDisk
{
  "source": "/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/disks/DISK_NAME"
}
```
Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: your project ID
- ZONE: the zone where your instance and new disk are located
- REGION: the region where the regional disk is located. This must be the same region that the compute instance is located in.
- INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the instance where you're adding the new disk
- DISK_NAME: the name of the new disk

After you create and attach a new disk to an instance, you must mount the disk so that the operating system can use the available storage space.

Create an instance from existing disks

You can create boot disks and data disks from snapshots and then attach these disks to a new compute instance.

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

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

// createWithExistingDisks create a new VM instance using selected disks.
// The first disk in diskNames will be used as boot disk.
func createWithExistingDisks(
	w io.Writer,
	projectID, zone, instanceName string,
	diskNames []string,
) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// diskNames := []string{"boot_disk", "disk1", "disk2"}

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

	disksClient, err := compute.NewDisksRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewDisksRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer disksClient.Close()

	disks := [](*computepb.Disk){}

	for _, diskName := range diskNames {
		reqDisk := &computepb.GetDiskRequest{
			Project: projectID,
			Zone:    zone,
			Disk:    diskName,
		}

		disk, err := disksClient.Get(ctx, reqDisk)
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("unable to get disk: %w", err)
		}

		disks = append(disks, disk)
	}

	attachedDisks := [](*computepb.AttachedDisk){}

	for _, disk := range disks {
		attachedDisk := &computepb.AttachedDisk{
			Source: proto.String(disk.GetSelfLink()),
		}
		attachedDisks = append(attachedDisks, attachedDisk)
	}

	attachedDisks[0].Boot = proto.Bool(true)

	instanceResource := &computepb.Instance{
		Name:        proto.String(instanceName),
		Disks:       attachedDisks,
		MachineType: proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone)),
		NetworkInterfaces: []*computepb.NetworkInterface{
			{
				Name: proto.String("global/networks/default"),
			},
		},
	}

	req := &computepb.InsertInstanceRequest{
		Project:          projectID,
		Zone:             zone,
		InstanceResource: instanceResource,
	}

	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. For more information, see the Compute Engine Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.


import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Disk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.DisksClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

public class CreateInstanceWithExistingDisks {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.

    // Project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
    String projectId = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID";

    // Name of the zone to create the instance in. For example: "us-west3-b"
    String zone = "europe-central2-b";

    // Name of the new virtual machine (VM) instance.
    String instanceName = "YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME";

    // Array of disk names to be attached to the new virtual machine.
    // First disk in this list will be used as the boot disk.
    List<String> diskNames = List.of("your-boot-disk", "another-disk1", "another-disk2");

    createInstanceWithExistingDisks(projectId, zone, instanceName, diskNames);
  }

  // Create a new VM instance using the selected disks.
  // The first disk in diskNames will be used as the boot disk.
  public static void createInstanceWithExistingDisks(String projectId, String zone,
      String instanceName, List<String> diskNames)
      throws IOException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException, TimeoutException {

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `instancesClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create();
        DisksClient disksClient = DisksClient.create()) {

      if (diskNames.size() == 0) {
        throw new Error("At least one disk should be provided");
      }

      // Create the list of attached disks to be used in instance creation.
      List<AttachedDisk> attachedDisks = new ArrayList<>();
      for (int i = 0; i < diskNames.size(); i++) {
        String diskName = diskNames.get(i);
        Disk disk = disksClient.get(projectId, zone, diskName);
        AttachedDisk attDisk = null;

        if (i == 0) {
          // Make the first disk in the list as the boot disk.
          attDisk = AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
              .setSource(disk.getSelfLink())
              .setBoot(true)
              .build();
        } else {
          attDisk = AttachedDisk.newBuilder()
              .setSource(disk.getSelfLink())
              .build();
        }
        attachedDisks.add(attDisk);
      }

      // Create the instance.
      Instance instance = Instance.newBuilder()
          .setName(instanceName)
          // Add the attached disks to the instance.
          .addAllDisks(attachedDisks)
          .setMachineType(String.format("zones/%s/machineTypes/n1-standard-1", zone))
          .addNetworkInterfaces(
              NetworkInterface.newBuilder().setName("global/networks/default").build())
          .build();

      // Create the insert instance request.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(projectId)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instance)
          .build();

      // Wait for the create operation to complete.
      Operation response = instancesClient.insertAsync(insertInstanceRequest)
          .get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed!" + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

    }
  }
}

Node.js

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

/**
 * 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 diskNames = ['boot_disk', 'disk1', 'disk2'];

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

async function createWithExistingDisks() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();
  const disksClient = new compute.DisksClient();

  if (diskNames.length < 1) {
    throw new Error('At least one disk should be provided');
  }

  const disks = [];
  for (const diskName of diskNames) {
    const [disk] = await disksClient.get({
      project: projectId,
      zone,
      disk: diskName,
    });
    disks.push(disk);
  }

  const attachedDisks = [];

  for (const disk of disks) {
    attachedDisks.push({
      source: disk.selfLink,
    });
  }

  attachedDisks[0].boot = true;

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: attachedDisks,
      machineType: `zones/${zone}/machineTypes/n1-standard-1`,
      networkInterfaces: [
        {
          name: 'global/networks/default',
        },
      ],
    },
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // 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.');
}

createWithExistingDisks();

Python

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

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_disk(project_id: str, zone: str, disk_name: str) -> compute_v1.Disk:
    """
    Gets a disk from a project.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone where the disk exists.
        disk_name: name of the disk you want to retrieve.
    """
    disk_client = compute_v1.DisksClient()
    return disk_client.get(project=project_id, zone=zone, disk=disk_name)


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_with_existing_disks(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, disk_names: list[str]
) -> compute_v1.Instance:
    """
    Create a new VM instance using selected disks. The first disk in disk_names will
    be used as 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.
        disk_names: list of disk names to be attached to the new virtual machine.
            First disk in this list will be used as the boot device.

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    assert len(disk_names) >= 1
    disks = [get_disk(project_id, zone, disk_name) for disk_name in disk_names]
    attached_disks = []
    for disk in disks:
        adisk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
        adisk.source = disk.self_link
        attached_disks.append(adisk)
    attached_disks[0].boot = True
    instance = create_instance(project_id, zone, instance_name, attached_disks)
    return instance

Create an instance from a boot disk snapshot

If you created a snapshot of the boot disk of a compute instance,you can use that snapshot to create a new instance.

To quickly create more than one instance with the same boot disk, create a custom image, then create instances from that image instead of using a snapshot.

To create a compute instance with a regional boot disk that was created from a snapshot, use the Google Cloud CLI or REST.

Console

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

Go to Create an instance

If prompted, select your project and click Continue. The Create an instance page appears and displays the Machine configuration pane.
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.
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
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.
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 Snapshots. The Snapshot tab appears.
3. In the Snapshot list, select the snapshot to use.
4. In the Boot disk type list, select the type of the boot disk.
5. In the Size (GB) field, specify the size of the boot disk.
6. Optional: For advanced configuration options, expand the Show advanced configurations section.
7. To confirm your boot disk options and return to the Operating system and storage pane, click Select.
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 Google Cloud console 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 in the Virtual Private Cloud documentation.
Optional: Specify other configuration options. For more information, see Configuration options during instance creation.
To create and start the instance, click Create.

gcloud

Zonal boot disk

Use the gcloud compute instances create command and include the --source-snapshot flag.

   gcloud compute instances create INSTANCE_NAME  

       --source-snapshot=BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME  

       --boot-disk-size=BOOT_DISK_SIZE  

       --boot-disk-type=BOOT_DISK_TYPE  

       --boot-disk-device-name=BOOT_DISK_NAME

Replace the following:

INSTANCE_NAME: name for the new instance
BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: name of the boot disk snapshot that you want to restore to the boot disk of the new instance
BOOT_DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in GiB, of the new boot disk

The size must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.
BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot disk, for example PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd or PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced
BOOT_DISK_NAME: name of the new boot disk for this instance

Regional boot disk

Use the gcloud compute instances create command and include the --create-disk flag with the source-snapshot, replica-zones, and boot properties.

  gcloud compute instances create INSTANCE_NAME 

      --zone=ZONE 

      --create-disk=^:^name=DISK_NAME:source-snapshot=BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME:boot=true:type=BOOT_DISK_TYPE:replica-zones=ZONE,REMOTE_ZONE

The characters ^:^ specify that a colon : is used as the separator between each of the disk properties. This is required so that you can use a comma , when specifying the zones for replica-zones.

Replace the following:

INSTANCE_NAME: name for the new instance
ZONE: To zone to create the instance in
DISK_NAME: Optional: a name for the disk
BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: name of the boot disk snapshot that you want to restore to the boot disk of the new instance.
BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot disk, for example pd-ssd or hyperdisk-balanced-high-availability
REMOTE_ZONE: The region that the boot disk is replicated to. The replica-zones property requires two zones separated by comma, and one of the zones must the same as the zone for the instance.

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Compute Engine quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Compute Engine Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

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

// createInstanceFromSnapshot creates a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
func createInstanceFromSnapshot(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName, snapshotLink string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	// snapshotLink := "projects/project_name/global/snapshots/snapshot_name"

	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.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(11),
						SourceSnapshot: proto.String(snapshotLink),
						DiskType:       proto.String(fmt.Sprintf("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone)),
					},
					AutoDelete: proto.Bool(true),
					Boot:       proto.Bool(true),
					Type:       proto.String(computepb.AttachedDisk_PERSISTENT.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. For more information, see the Compute Engine Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.


import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDisk.Type;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.ImagesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InsertInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Instance;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.NetworkInterface;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
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 {

  /**
   * @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 diskSnapshot disk snapshot to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to
   * this disk. This value uses the following format:
   * "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"
   * @return AttachedDisk object configured to be created using the specified snapshot.
   */
  private static AttachedDisk diskFromSnapshot(String diskType, int diskSizeGb, boolean boot,
      String diskSnapshot) {
    AttachedDisk disk =
        AttachedDisk.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())
            .setInitializeParams(
                AttachedDiskInitializeParams.newBuilder()
                    .setSourceSnapshot(diskSnapshot)
                    .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 Instance createWithDisks(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      Vector<AttachedDisk> disks, String machineType, String network, String subnetwork)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {
      // Use the network interface provided in the networkName argument.
      NetworkInterface networkInterface;
      if (subnetwork != null) {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).setSubnetwork(subnetwork)
            .build();
      } else {
        networkInterface = NetworkInterface.newBuilder()
            .setName(network).build();
      }

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

      // Bind `instanceName`, `machineType`, `disk`, and `networkInterface` to an instance.
      Instance instanceResource =
          Instance.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.
      InsertInstanceRequest insertInstanceRequest = InsertInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstanceResource(instanceResource).build();

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

      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance creation failed ! ! " + response);
        return null;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());

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

  /**
   * Create a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
   *
   * @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 snapshotName link to the snapshot you want to use as the source of your boot disk in the
   * form of: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"
   * @return Instance object.
   */
  public static Instance createFromSnapshot(String project, String zone, String instanceName,
      String snapshotName)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
    String diskType = String.format("zones/%s/diskTypes/pd-standard", zone);
    Vector<AttachedDisk> disks = new Vector<>();
    disks.add(diskFromSnapshot(diskType, 11, true, snapshotName));
    return createWithDisks(project, zone, instanceName, disks, "n1-standard-1",
        "global/networks/default", null);
  }

Node.js

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

/**
 * 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 snapshotLink = 'projects/YOUR_PROJECT/global/snapshots/YOUR_SNAPSHOT_NAME';

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

// Creates a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot.
async function createInstanceFromSnapshot() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();

  const [response] = await instancesClient.insert({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instanceResource: {
      name: instanceName,
      disks: [
        {
          initializeParams: {
            diskSizeGb: '11',
            sourceSnapshot: snapshotLink,
            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.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // 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.');
}

createInstanceFromSnapshot();

Python

To authenticate to Compute Engine, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.

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 disk_from_snapshot(
    disk_type: str,
    disk_size_gb: int,
    boot: bool,
    source_snapshot: str,
    auto_delete: bool = True,
) -> compute_v1.AttachedDisk():
    """
    Create an AttachedDisk object to be used in VM instance creation. Uses a disk snapshot 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_snapshot: disk snapshot to use when creating this disk. You must have read access to this disk.
            This value uses the following format: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_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 snapshot.
    """
    disk = compute_v1.AttachedDisk()
    initialize_params = compute_v1.AttachedDiskInitializeParams()
    initialize_params.source_snapshot = source_snapshot
    initialize_params.disk_type = disk_type
    initialize_params.disk_size_gb = disk_size_gb
    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.
    disk.auto_delete = auto_delete
    disk.boot = boot
    return 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_snapshot(
    project_id: str, zone: str, instance_name: str, snapshot_link: str
):
    """
    Create a new VM instance with boot disk created from a snapshot. The
    new boot disk will have 20 gigabytes.

    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.
        snapshot_link: link to the snapshot you want to use as the source of your
            boot disk in the form of: "projects/{project_name}/global/snapshots/{snapshot_name}"

    Returns:
        Instance object.
    """
    disk_type = f"zones/{zone}/diskTypes/pd-standard"
    disks = [disk_from_snapshot(disk_type, 20, True, snapshot_link)]
    instance = create_instance(project_id, zone, instance_name, disks)
    return instance

REST

When you use the API to create an instance from a snapshot, the following restrictions apply:

Only one disk can be used as the boot disk.
You must attach the boot disk as the first disk for that instance.
If you specify the source property, you cannot also specify the initializeParams property. Providing a source indicates that the boot disk exists already, but the initializeParams property indicates that Compute Engine should create a new boot disk.

Zonal boot disk

To create an instance from a boot disk snapshot, use the instances.insert method and specify the sourceSnapshot field under the disks property. You can optionally specify the diskSizeGb and diskType properties for the new boot disk.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "name": "INSTANCE_NAME",
  "machineType": "machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
  "disks": [{
     "boot": true,
     "initializeParams": {
       "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME",
       "diskSizeGb": "BOOT_DISK_SIZE",
       "diskType": "BOOT_DISK_TYPE"
      }
   }],
  "networkInterfaces": [
    {
       "nicType": "GVNIC"
    }
  ]
}

Replace the following:

PROJECT_ID: your project ID
ZONE: zone where you want to create the new instance
INSTANCE_NAME: name of the instance that you want to restore a snapshot to
MACHINE_TYPE: machine type of the instance
BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: name of the snapshot that you want to use to create the boot disk of the new instance
BOOT_DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in gibibytes (GiB), for the new boot disk

The size must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.
BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot disk, for example PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd or PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced

Regional boot disk

To create a compute instance with a regional boot disk using a boot disk snapshot as the source, use the instances.insert method and specify the sourceSnapshot and replicaZones fields in the disks property.

   POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
   {
     "name": "INSTANCE_NAME",
     "disks": [
       {
         "boot": true,
         "initializeParams": {
            "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME",
            "replicaZones": [
                "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE",
                "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/REMOTE_ZONE"
              ],
            "diskType": "BOOT_DISK_TYPE"
         }
       }
     ],
     "networkInterfaces": [
       {
         "nicType": "GVNIC"
       }
     ]
   }

Replace the following:

PROJECT_ID: your project ID
ZONE: the name of the zone where you want to create the instance
INSTANCE_NAME: a name for the instance
BOOT_SNAPSHOT_NAME: the name of the boot disk snapshot
REMOTE_ZONE: the remote zone for the regional disk
BOOT_DISK_TYPE: Optional: type of the boot disk, for example PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd or PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced-high-availability

Create a compute instance from a non-boot disk snapshot

If you backed up a non-boot disk with a snapshot, you can create an instance with an additional non-boot disk based on the snapshot.

Console

When restoring non-boot snapshots to a new instance from the console, first create a disk from each snapshot. Then, attach the new disks when you create the instance.

Restore each non-boot snapshot to a new disk.
1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Disks page.
  
  Go to Disks
2. Click Create disk.
3. Specify a Name for your disk. For more information, see Resource naming convention.
4. Select the Region and Zone for this disk. The disk and instance must be in the same zone for zonal disks, or region for regional disks.
5. Select a disk Type.
6. Under Source type, select Snapshot.
7. Under the new Source snapshot field, select a non-boot snapshot that you want to restore to the new disk.
8. To create the disk, click Create.
Repeat these steps to create a disk from each snapshot that you want to restore.
In the Google Cloud console, go to the VM instances page.

Go to VM instances
Select your project and click Continue.
Click Create instance.
Specify a Name for your instance. For more information, see Resource naming convention.
Select the Region and Zone for this instance. The disk and instance must be in the same zone for zonal disks, or region for regional disks.
Select a Machine type for your instance.
If you want to allow incoming external traffic, change the Firewall rules for the instance.
To attach disks to the instance, expand the Advanced options section, and then do the following:
1. Expand the Disks section.
2. Click Attach existing disk.
3. In the Disk list, select a disk to attach to this instance.
4. In the Attachment Setting section, select disk's attachment Mode and the Deletion rule. For more information about adding new disks, see Add a Persistent Disk or Add Hyperdisk.
5. Click Save.
Repeat these steps for each disk that you want to attach.
To create and start the instance, click Create.

gcloud

Create an instance by using the gcloud compute instances create command. For each non-boot snapshot that you want to restore, include the --create-disk flag, and specify a source-snapshot.

For example, to restore two snapshots of non-boot disks to a new instance, use the following command:

gcloud compute instances create INSTANCE_NAME \
    --create-disk source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_1_NAME,name=DISK_1_NAME,size=DISK_1_SIZE,type=DISK_1_TYPE \
    --create-disk source-snapshot=SNAPSHOT_2_NAME,name=DISK_2_NAME,size=DISK_2_SIZE,type=DISK_2_TYPE

Replace the following:

INSTANCE_NAME: name for the new instance
SNAPSHOT_1_NAME and SNAPSHOT_2_NAME: names of the non-boot disk snapshots that you want to restore
DISK_1_NAME and DISK_2_NAME: names of the new non-boot disks to create for this instance
DISK_1_SIZE and DISK_2_SIZE: Optional: sizes, in gibibytes (GiB), of each new non-boot disk

The sizes must be equal to or larger than the sizes of the source disks from which the snapshot was made.
DISK_1_TYPE and DISK_2_TYPE: Optional: the disk types to create, for example pd-ssd or hyperdisk-balanced

REST

When using REST to restore a non-boot snapshot to a new instance, the following restrictions apply:

Only one disk can be the boot disk.
You must attach the boot disk as the first disk for that instance.
If you specify the source property, you can't also specify the initializeParams property. Providing a source indicates that the boot disk exists already, but the initializeParams property indicates that Compute Engine should create a new boot disk.

Create a POST request to the instances.insert method and specify the sourceSnapshot field under the initializeParams property. You can add multiple non-boot disks by repeating the initializeParams property for every non-boot disk that you want to create. You can optionally specify the diskSizeGb and diskType properties for any of the disks that you create.

For example, to restore two non-boot disk snapshots to a new instance, make the following request:

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "name": "INSTANCE_NAME",
  "machineType": "machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
  "networkInterfaces": [
    {
      "nicType": "GVNIC"
    }
  ],
  "disks": [
    {
      "autoDelete": "true",
      "boot": "true",
      "diskSizeGb": "BOOT_DISK_SIZE",
      "diskType": "BOOT_DISK_TYPE",
      "initializeParams": {
         "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
      }
    },
    {
      "deviceName": "DEVICE_1_NAME",
      "initializeParams": {
         "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_1_NAME",
         "diskSizeGb": "DISK_1_SIZE",
         "diskType": "DISK_1_TYPE"
      }
    },
    {
      "deviceName": "DEVICE_2_NAME",
      "initializeParams": {
         "sourceSnapshot": "global/snapshots/SNAPSHOT_2_NAME",
         "diskSizeGb": "DISK_2_SIZE",
         "diskType": "DISK_2_TYPE"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Replace the following:

PROJECT_ID: your project ID
ZONE: zone where you want to create the instance
INSTANCE_NAME: a name for the new instance
MACHINE_TYPE: machine type of the instance
DISK_SIZE: Optional: size, in gibibytes (GiB), of the corresponding disk

When provided, this property must be equal to or larger than the size of the source disk from which the snapshot was made.
DISK_TYPE: Optional: full or partial URL for the type of the corresponding disk, for example, PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/pd-ssd or PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/diskTypes/hyperdisk-balanced
IMAGE_PROJECT: the project containing the image. For example, debian-cloud
IMAGE_FAMILY: an image family. This creates the instance from the most recent, non-deprecated OS image in that family. For example, if you specify "sourceImage": "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-13", the Compute Engine creates an instance using the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 13 image family.
DEVICE_NAME: Optional: the device name displayed in the guest OS of the instance
SNAPSHOT_NAME: the names of corresponding non-boot disk snapshots that you want to restore to new disks on the instance

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2026-10-02 UTC.

Restore from a snapshot Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Before you begin

Console

gcloud

Go

Java

Node.js

Python

REST

Required roles

Required permissions

Limitations

Create a disk from a snapshot and optionally attach it to an instance

Console

gcloud

Go

Go

Java

Java

Node.js

Node.js

Python

Python

REST

Create an instance from existing disks

Go

Go

Java

Java

Node.js

Node.js

Python

Python

Create an instance from a boot disk snapshot

Console

gcloud

Zonal boot disk

Regional boot disk

Go

Go

Java

Java

Node.js

Node.js

Python

Python

REST

Zonal boot disk

Regional boot disk

Create a compute instance from a non-boot disk snapshot

Console

gcloud

REST

Restore from a snapshot