Console

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

   Go to Create an instance

2. In theAvailability policies section, expandVM provisioning model advanced settings.

3. Select theSet a time limit for the VM checkbox. TheTime limit type field appears.

4. In theTime limit type field, selectBy hours (default)to specify the time limit as a duration.In the following field, enter the duration in hours.

5. In theOn VM termination list, select what happenswhen the run time of the VM reaches the specified time limit:

   • To automatically stop the VM, selectStop (default).
   • To delete the VM, selectDelete.

6. Optional: Specify other VM options. For more information,seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

7. To create and start the VM, clickCreate.

gcloud

To create a VM from the gcloud CLI, use thegcloud compute instances create command.

• To create a VM that is automatically terminated after a specific duration,you must include the--max-run-duration flag.
• To specify the termination action, include the--instance-termination-action flag.
• Configure the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp flag:
  • If the VM has any local SSDs and the termination action(TERMINATION_ACTION) is stop (STOP), you mustinclude the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=trueflag.
  • Otherwise, omit the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestampflag.

gcloud compute instances createVM_NAME \    --max-run-duration=DURATION \    --instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION

Replace the following:

• VM_NAME: Thename of thenew VM.
• DURATION: The duration you want this VMto run before being automatically terminated. Format the durationas the number of days, hours, minutes, and secondsfollowed byd,h,m, ands respectively. For example, specify30m for a duration of 30 minutes, or specify1d2h3m4s for aduration of 1 day, 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 4 seconds. The minimumduration is 30 seconds (30s) and the maximum duration is 120 days(120d).
• TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model:
  • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the--provisioning-model=SPOT flag), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTIONflag is optional. If this flag is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
  • Otherwise (default), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTIONflag isrequired.

For more information about other options you can specify when creating a VM,seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

Terraform

To create a VM using Terraform, use thegoogle_compute_instance resource.

• To create a VM that is automatically terminated after a specific duration,you must include themax_run_duration argument.
• To specify the termination action, include theinstance_termination_action argument.You must include theinstance_termination_action argument unless you arecreating a Spot VM (set theprovisioning_model argumenttoSPOT), which defaults to stop (STOP).
• Configure theon_instance_stop_action argument:
  • If the VM has any local SSDs and the termination action(instance_termination_action argument) is stop (STOP), you mustset theon_instance_stop_action argument to true (true).
  • Otherwise, omit theon_instance_stop_action argument.

For more information, see theTerraform documentation for thegoogle_compute_instance resource.

REST

To create a VM from the Compute Engine API, use theinstances.insert method.You must specify a name, machine type, and boot disk for the VM.

To create a VM that is automatically terminated after a specific duration,you must include themaxRunDuration field. To specify thetermination action, include theinstanceTerminationActionfield, which is optional for Spot VMs.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances{  "machineType": "zones/ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",  "name": "VM_NAME",  "disks": [    {      "initializeParams": {        "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"      },      "boot": true    }  ]  "scheduling":  {    "maxRunDuration":    {      "seconds":DURATION    },    "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"  },}

Replace the following:

• PROJECT_ID: Theproject idof the project to create the VM in.
• ZONE: Thezoneto create the VM in. The zone must also support themachine type to use for the new VM.
• MACHINE_TYPE: Thepredefinedorcustommachine type for the new VM.
• VM_NAME: Thename of thenew VM.
• IMAGE_PROJECT: Theproject containing the image.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image,specifydebian-cloud as the image project.
• IMAGE: The image for the new VM. You canspecify either a specific version of a publicimage or animage family.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image anddebian-cloud as the image project, Compute Engine creates aVM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.
• DURATION: The duration in seconds that you wantthis VM to run before being automatically terminated. The minimumduration is 30 seconds (30s) and the maximum duration is 120 days(120d).
• TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model:
  • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the"provisioningModel": "SPOT" field), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"field is optional. If this field is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
  • Otherwise (default), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION" field isrequired.

For more information about the options you can specify when creating a VM, seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

Console

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

   Go to Create an instance

2. In theAvailability policies section, expandVM provisioning model advanced settings.

3. Select theSet a time limit for the VM checkbox. TheTime limit type field appears.

4. In theTime limit type field, selectBy date to specifythe time limit as a time and date. In the following field, clickdate_rangeSelect date and time and select the date, time, and timezone forthe time limit.

5. In theOn VM termination list, select what happenswhen the run time of the VM reaches the specified time limit:

   • To automatically stop the VM, selectStop (default).
   • To delete the VM, selectDelete.

6. Optional: Specify other VM options. For more information,seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

7. To create and start the VM, clickCreate.

gcloud

To create a VM from the gcloud CLI, use thegcloud compute instances create command.

• To create a VM that is automatically terminated at a specific time,you must include the--termination-time flag.
• To specify the termination action, include the--instance-termination-action flag, which is optional forSpot VMs.
• Configure the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp flag:
  • If the VM has any local SSDs and sets the termination action(TERMINATION_ACTION) to stop (STOP), you mustinclude the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=trueflag.
  • Otherwise, omit the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestampflag.

gcloud compute instances createVM_NAME \    --termination-time=TIME \    --instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION

Replace the following:

• VM_NAME: Thename of thenew VM.

• TIME: The time you want this VMto be automatically terminated. The time you specify must be at least 30seconds in the future and at most 120 days in the future. Format the timeas aRFC 3339 timestamp:

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSOFFSET

  Replace the following:

  • YYYY-MM-DD: A date formatted as a 4-digit year,2-digit month, and 2-digit day of the month separated by hyphens.
  • HH:MM:SS: A time formatted as a 2-digit hourusing 24-hour time, 2-digit minute, and 2-digit secondseparated by colons.
  • OFFSET: The time zone formatted as an offsetof Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, to usePacific Standard Time (PST), which is 8 hours earlier than UTC, specify-08:00. Alternatively, to use no offset (UTC+0), specifyZ.

• TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model:

  • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the--provisioning-model=SPOT flag), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTIONflag is optional. If this flag is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
  • Otherwise (default), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION flag isrequired.

For more information about other options you can specify when creating a VM,seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

REST

To create a VM from the Compute Engine API, use theinstances.insert method.You must specify a name, machine type, and boot disk for the VM.

To create a VM that is automatically terminated at a specific time,you must include theterminationTime field. To specify thetermination action, include theinstanceTerminationActionfield, which is optional for Spot VMs.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances{  "machineType": "zones/ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",  "name": "VM_NAME",  "disks": [    {      "initializeParams": {        "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/IMAGE"      },      "boot": true    }  ]  "scheduling":  {    "terminationTime": "TIME",    "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"  },}

Replace the following:

• PROJECT_ID: Theproject idof the project to create the VM in.
• ZONE: Thezoneto create the VM in. The zone must also support themachine type to use for the new VM.
• MACHINE_TYPE: Thepredefinedorcustommachine type for the new VM.
• VM_NAME: Thename of thenew VM.
• IMAGE_PROJECT: Theproject containing the image.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image,specifydebian-cloud as the image project.
• IMAGE: The image for the new VM. You canspecify either a specific version of a publicimage or animage family.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image anddebian-cloud as the image project, Compute Engine creates aVM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.

• TIME: The time you want this VMto be automatically terminated. The time you specify must be at least 30seconds in the future and at most 120 days in the future. Format the timeas aRFC 3339 timestamp:

  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSOFFSET

  Replace the following:

  • YYYY-MM-DD: A date formatted as a 4-digit year,2-digit month, and 2-digit day of the month separated by hyphens.
  • HH:MM:SS: A time formatted as a 2-digit hourusing 24-hour time, 2-digit minute, and 2-digit secondseparated by colons.
  • OFFSET: The time zone formatted as an offsetof Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, to usePacific Standard Time (PST), which is 8 hours earlier than UTC, specify-08:00. Alternatively, to use no offset (UTC+0), specifyZ.

• TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model::

  • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the"provisioningModel": "SPOT" field), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"field is optional. If this field is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
  • Otherwise (default), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION" field isrequired.

For more information about the options you can specify when creating a VM, seeCreating and starting a VM instance.

Console

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

   Go to VM instances

2. In theName column, click the name of the VM that you wantto update.

3. From theVM instance details page, complete the following steps:

   1. If the VM is running, clickStop to stop the VM.
   2. To edit the VM, clickeditEdit.

   3. On theEdit instance page, complete the following steps:

      1. In theAvailability policies section, modify theSet a time limit for the VM checkboxand any fields below it as desired.

         For more information about how to configure the properties fortime limits, seelimit the run time of a new VM.

      2. To save your changes, clickSave.

   4. Optional: If you want to start running the VM now, clickStart.

gcloud

To update a VM's time limit by using thegcloud CLI, complete the following steps:

1. If the VM is running, stop the VM by using thegcloud compute instances stop command:

   gcloud compute instances stopVM_NAME

   ReplaceVM_NAME with the name of VM thatyou want to update.

2. Update the VM's time limit by using thegcloud compute instances set-scheduling command.

   gcloud compute instances set-schedulingVM_NAME \    --max-run-duration=DURATION \    --termination-time=TIME \    --instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION \    --discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=true

   Configure the following flags:

   • You must omit either the--max-run-durationflag or the--termination-time flag to set the time limitas either a time or duration, respectively.
   • Include--instance-termination-action flag to set thetermination action.
   • If the VM has any local SSDs and sets the termination action(TERMINATION_ACTION) to stop (STOP), youmust include the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=true flag.Otherwise, omit the--discard-local-ssds-at-termination-timestamp=true flag.

   Then, replace the following:

   • VM_NAME: Thename of theVM that you want to update.
   • DURATION: The duration you want this VMto run before being automatically terminated. Format the durationas the number of days, hours, minutes, and secondsfollowed byd,h,m, ands respectively. For example, specify30m for a duration of 30 minutes, or specify1d2h3m4s for aduration of 1 day, 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 4 seconds. The minimumduration is 30 seconds (30s) and the maximum duration is 120 days(120d).

   • TIME: The time you want this VMto be automatically terminated. The time you specify must be at least 30seconds in the future and at most 120 days in the future. Format the timeas aRFC 3339 timestamp:

     YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSOFFSET

     Replace the following:

     • YYYY-MM-DD: a date formatted as a 4-digit year,2-digit month, and 2-digit day of the month separated by hyphens.
     • HH:MM:SS: a time formatted as a 2-digit hourusing 24-hour time, 2-digit minute, and 2-digit secondseparated by colons.
     • OFFSET: the time zone formatted as an offsetof Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, to usePacific Standard Time (PST), which is 8 hours earlier than UTC, specify-08:00. Alternatively, to use no offset (UTC+0), specifyZ.

   • TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model:

     • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the--provisioning-model=SPOT flag), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTIONflag is optional. If this flag is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
     • Otherwise (default), the--instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTIONflag is required.

3. If you want the VM to start running, start the VM by using thegcloud compute instances start command:

   gcloud compute instances startVM_NAME

   ReplaceVM_NAME with the name of the VM.

REST

To update a VM's time limit by using theCompute Engine API, complete the following steps:

1. If the VM is running, stop the VM by using theinstances.stop method:

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

   Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: Theproject idof the project that contains the VM.
   • ZONE: Thezonethat contains the VM.
   • VM_NAME: Thename of theVM that you want to update.

2. Update the VM'sscheduling property, including fields forthe VM's time limit, by using theinstances.setScheduling method.Include either themaxRunDuration field or theterminationTime fieldto set the time limit as either a duration or time, respectively:

   • To set aduration, use the following request:

     POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/VM_NAME/setScheduling{  "maxRunDuration":  {    "seconds":DURATION  },  "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"}

   • To set atime, use the following request:

     POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/VM_NAME/setScheduling{  "terminationTime": "TIME",  "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"}

   Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: Theproject idof the project to create the VM in.
   • ZONE: Thezoneto create the VM in. The zone must also support themachine type to use for the new VM.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: Thepredefinedorcustommachine type for the new VM.
   • VM_NAME: Thename of thenew VM.
   • IMAGE_PROJECT: Theproject containing the image.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image,specifydebian-cloud as the image project.
   • IMAGE: The image for the new VM. You canspecify either a specific version of a publicimage or animage family.For example, if you specifyfamily/debian-10 as the image anddebian-cloud as the image project, Compute Engine creates aVM from the latest version of the OS image in the Debian 10 image family.
   • DURATION: The duration in seconds that you wantthis VM to run before being automatically terminated. The minimumduration is 30 seconds (30s) and the maximum duration is 120 days(120d).

   • TIME: The time you want this VMto be automatically terminated. The time you specify must be at least 30seconds in the future and at most 120 days in the future. Format the timeas aRFC 3339 timestamp:

     YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSOFFSET

     Replace the following:

     • YYYY-MM-DD: A date formatted as a 4-digit year,2-digit month, and 2-digit day of the month separated by hyphens.
     • HH:MM:SS: A time formatted as a 2-digit hourusing 24-hour time, 2-digit minute, and 2-digit secondseparated by colons.
     • OFFSET: The time zone formatted as an offsetof Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, to usePacific Standard Time (PST), which is 8 hours earlier than UTC, specify-08:00. Alternatively, to use no offset (UTC+0), specifyZ.

   • TERMINATION_ACTION: The termination action forthis VM, which can be either stop (STOP) or delete (DELETE).Whether this field is required or has a default value varies based onthe VM's provisioning model:

     • If this is a Spot VM (if the VM uses the"provisioningModel": "SPOT" field), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"field is optional. If this field is omitted, the default terminationaction is stop.
     • Otherwise (default), the"instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION" field isrequired.

3. If you want the VM to start running, start the VM by using theinstances.start method:

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

   Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: theproject idof the project that contains the VM.
   • ZONE: thezonethat contains the VM.
   • VM_NAME: thename of theVM.