Get, List, and Delete Instance Templates Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
This page describes how to get, list, and delete instance templates.
Before you begin
- If you haven't already, set upauthentication. 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
Install the Google Cloud CLI. After installation,initialize the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:
gcloudinit
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 runninggcloud components update.- 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.
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.
Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by runninggcloud components update.If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
gcloudauthapplication-defaultlogin
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.
Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by runninggcloud components update.If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
gcloudauthapplication-defaultlogin
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.
Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by runninggcloud components update.If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
gcloudauthapplication-defaultlogin
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.
Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by runninggcloud components update.If you're using a local shell, then create local authentication credentials for your user account:
gcloudauthapplication-defaultlogin
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.
Note: If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by runninggcloud components update.For more information, seeAuthenticate for using REST in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.
Get information about an instance template
When you view an existing instance template, you can see its name, unique ID,creation timestamp, and all the instance properties that it specifies.
Console
- In the Google Cloud console, go to the Instance Templates page.
- Click the name of the instance template to see the details of thetemplate.
gcloud
To get information about a regional or a global instance template, use theinstance-templates describe command.
For a regional instance template, use the following command:
gcloud compute instance-templates describeINSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME_OR_ID \ --region=REGION
For a global instance template, use the following command:
gcloud compute instance-templates describeINSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME_OR_ID
Go
import("context""fmt"compute"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"computepb"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb")// getInstanceTemplate retrieves an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine// (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).funcgetInstanceTemplate(projectID,templateNamestring)(*computepb.InstanceTemplate,error){// projectID := "your_project_id"// templateName := "your_template_name"ctx:=context.Background()instanceTemplatesClient,err:=compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)iferr!=nil{returnnil,fmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w",err)}deferinstanceTemplatesClient.Close()req:=&computepb.GetInstanceTemplateRequest{Project:projectID,InstanceTemplate:templateName,}returninstanceTemplatesClient.Get(ctx,req)}Java
importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.GetInstanceTemplateRequest;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplate;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;importjava.io.IOException;publicclassGetInstanceTemplate{publicstaticvoidmain(String[]args)throwsIOException{// TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.// projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.// templateName: name of the template to retrieve.StringprojectId="your-project-id";StringtemplateName="template-name";getInstanceTemplate(projectId,templateName);}// Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine// (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).publicstaticvoidgetInstanceTemplate(StringprojectId,StringtemplateName)throwsIOException{try(InstanceTemplatesClientinstanceTemplatesClient=InstanceTemplatesClient.create()){GetInstanceTemplateRequestgetInstanceTemplateRequest=GetInstanceTemplateRequest.newBuilder().setProject(projectId).setInstanceTemplate(templateName).build();InstanceTemplateinstanceTemplate=instanceTemplatesClient.get(getInstanceTemplateRequest);System.out.println("Instance Template retrieved: "+instanceTemplate.getName());}}}Node.js
/** * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample. */// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';// const templateName = 'your_template_name';constcompute=require('@google-cloud/compute');// Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create// virtual machine (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs).asyncfunctiongetInstanceTemplate(){constinstanceTemplatesClient=newcompute.InstanceTemplatesClient();const[instance]=awaitinstanceTemplatesClient.get({project:projectId,instanceTemplate:templateName,});console.log('Instance template:',instance);}getInstanceTemplate();Python
fromgoogle.cloudimportcompute_v1defget_instance_template(project_id:str,template_name:str)->compute_v1.InstanceTemplate:""" Retrieve an instance template, which you can use to create virtual machine (VM) instances and managed instance groups (MIGs). Args: project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use. template_name: name of the template to retrieve. Returns: InstanceTemplate object that represents the retrieved template. """template_client=compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()returntemplate_client.get(project=project_id,instance_template=template_name)REST
To get information about a regional instance template, use theregionInstanceTemplates.get methodas follows:
GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME_OR_ID
To get information about a global instance template, use theinstanceTemplates.get methodas follows:
GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/[PROJECT_ID]/global/instanceTemplates/[INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME_OR_ID]
List instance templates
To get a list of instance templates you created:
Console
The Instance Templates page lists all of the instance templates in yourproject.
gcloud
To get a list of all regional instance templates, use thefollowing command:
gcloud compute instance-templates list \ --regions
To get a list of regional instance templates in a specific region, use thefollowing command:
gcloud compute instance-templates list \ --filter="region:(REGION)"
To get a list of global instance templates, use the following command:
gcloud compute instance-templates list \ --global
To get a list of all instance templates, including the regional and global,use the following command:
gcloud compute instance-templates list
Go
import("context""fmt""io"compute"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"computepb"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb""google.golang.org/api/iterator")// listInstanceTemplates prints a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project.funclistInstanceTemplates(wio.Writer,projectIDstring)error{// projectID := "your_project_id"ctx:=context.Background()instanceTemplatesClient,err:=compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)iferr!=nil{returnfmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w",err)}deferinstanceTemplatesClient.Close()req:=&computepb.ListInstanceTemplatesRequest{Project:projectID,}it:=instanceTemplatesClient.List(ctx,req)for{instance,err:=it.Next()iferr==iterator.Done{break}iferr!=nil{returnerr}fmt.Fprintf(w,"- %s %s\n",instance.GetName(),instance.GetProperties().GetMachineType())}returnnil}Java
importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplate;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient.ListPagedResponse;importjava.io.IOException;publicclassListInstanceTemplates{publicstaticvoidmain(String[]args)throwsIOException{// TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.// projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.StringprojectId="your-project-id";listInstanceTemplates(projectId);}// Get a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project.publicstaticListPagedResponselistInstanceTemplates(StringprojectId)throwsIOException{try(InstanceTemplatesClientinstanceTemplatesClient=InstanceTemplatesClient.create()){intcount=0;System.out.println("Listing instance templates...");ListPagedResponsetemplates=instanceTemplatesClient.list(projectId);for(InstanceTemplateinstanceTemplate:templates.iterateAll()){System.out.printf("%s. %s%n",++count,instanceTemplate.getName());}returntemplates;}}}Node.js
/** * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample. */// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';constcompute=require('@google-cloud/compute');// Print a list of instance template objects available in a project.asyncfunctionlistInstanceTemplates(){constinstanceTemplatesClient=newcompute.InstanceTemplatesClient();constinstanceTemplates=instanceTemplatesClient.listAsync({project:projectId,});forawait(constinstanceTemplateofinstanceTemplates){console.log(` -${instanceTemplate.name}`);}}listInstanceTemplates();Python
from__future__importannotationsfromcollections.abcimportIterablefromgoogle.cloudimportcompute_v1deflist_instance_templates(project_id:str)->Iterable[compute_v1.InstanceTemplate]:""" Get a list of InstanceTemplate objects available in a project. Args: project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use. Returns: Iterable list of InstanceTemplate objects. """template_client=compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()returntemplate_client.list(project=project_id)REST
To get a list of regional instance templates, make aregionInstanceTemplates.listrequest:
GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates
To get a list of global instance templates, make ainstanceTemplates.listrequest:
GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/instanceTemplates
Delete an instance template
Deleting an instance template removes it from your list of templates. Youcannot delete an instance template if a managed instance group references it.
Console
- In the Google Cloud console, go to the Instance Templates page.
- Select the instance templates you want to delete.
- ClickDelete.
gcloud
Using the Google Cloud CLI, run:
gcloud compute instance-templates deleteINSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME
For a regional instance template,INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME mustcontain the full URL of the template. For example,https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/example-project/regions/us-central1/instanceTemplates/example-regional-instance-template.
Go
import("context""fmt""io"compute"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"computepb"cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1/computepb")// deleteInstanceTemplate deletes an instance template.funcdeleteInstanceTemplate(wio.Writer,projectID,templateNamestring)error{// projectID := "your_project_id"// templateName := "your_template_name"ctx:=context.Background()instanceTemplatesClient,err:=compute.NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient(ctx)iferr!=nil{returnfmt.Errorf("NewInstanceTemplatesRESTClient: %w",err)}deferinstanceTemplatesClient.Close()req:=&computepb.DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest{Project:projectID,InstanceTemplate:templateName,}op,err:=instanceTemplatesClient.Delete(ctx,req)iferr!=nil{returnfmt.Errorf("unable to delete instance template: %w",err)}iferr=op.Wait(ctx);err!=nil{returnfmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %w",err)}fmt.Fprintf(w,"Instance template deleted\n")returnnil}Java
importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstanceTemplatesClient;importcom.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;importjava.io.IOException;importjava.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;importjava.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;importjava.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;publicclassDeleteInstanceTemplate{publicstaticvoidmain(String[]args)throwsIOException,ExecutionException,InterruptedException,TimeoutException{// TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.// projectId: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use.// templateName: name of the new template to create.StringprojectId="your-project-id";StringtemplateName="template-name";deleteInstanceTemplate(projectId,templateName);}// Delete an instance template.publicstaticvoiddeleteInstanceTemplate(StringprojectId,StringtemplateName)throwsIOException,ExecutionException,InterruptedException,TimeoutException{try(InstanceTemplatesClientinstanceTemplatesClient=InstanceTemplatesClient.create()){DeleteInstanceTemplateRequestdeleteInstanceTemplateRequest=DeleteInstanceTemplateRequest.newBuilder().setProject(projectId).setInstanceTemplate(templateName).build();Operationresponse=instanceTemplatesClient.deleteAsync(deleteInstanceTemplateRequest).get(3,TimeUnit.MINUTES);if(response.hasError()){System.out.println("Instance template deletion failed ! ! "+response);return;}System.out.printf("Instance template deletion operation status for %s: %s ",templateName,response.getStatus());}}}Node.js
/** * TODO(developer): Uncomment and replace these variables before running the sample. */// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';// const templateName = 'your_template_name';constcompute=require('@google-cloud/compute');// Delete an instance template.asyncfunctiondeleteInstanceTemplate(){constinstanceTemplatesClient=newcompute.InstanceTemplatesClient();const[response]=awaitinstanceTemplatesClient.delete({project:projectId,instanceTemplate:templateName,});letoperation=response.latestResponse;constoperationsClient=newcompute.GlobalOperationsClient();// Wait for the create operation to complete.while(operation.status!=='DONE'){[operation]=awaitoperationsClient.wait({operation:operation.name,project:projectId,});}console.log('Instance template deleted.');}deleteInstanceTemplate();Python
from__future__importannotationsimportsysfromtypingimportAnyfromgoogle.api_core.extended_operationimportExtendedOperationfromgoogle.cloudimportcompute_v1defwait_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)ifoperation.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)raiseoperation.exception()orRuntimeError(operation.error_message)ifoperation.warnings:print(f"Warnings during{verbose_name}:\n",file=sys.stderr,flush=True)forwarninginoperation.warnings:print(f" -{warning.code}:{warning.message}",file=sys.stderr,flush=True)returnresultdefdelete_instance_template(project_id:str,template_name:str)->None:""" Delete an instance template. Args: project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you use. template_name: name of the template to delete. """template_client=compute_v1.InstanceTemplatesClient()operation=template_client.delete(project=project_id,instance_template=template_name)wait_for_extended_operation(operation,"instance template deletion")REST
To delete a regional instance template, make aregionInstanceTemplates.delete request:
DELETE https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME
To delete a global instance template, make ainstanceTemplates.deleterequest:
DELETE https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/instanceTemplates/INSTANCE_TEMPLATE_NAME
Sometimes the VMs in a managed instance group can be out of sync with therest of the group, and use a different instance template than the rest of thegroup. If a VM in a managed instance group uses a different template thanwhat is specified on the group, that VM will continue to use its templateforrepair even if that templateis deleted. For more information about applying a new instance template, seeApplying new configurations to VMs in a MIG.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under theApache 2.0 License. For details, see theGoogle Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-12-09 UTC.