gcloud alpha compute instances update-from-file

NAME
gcloud alpha compute instances update-from-file - update a Compute Engine virtual machine instance using a configuration file
SYNOPSIS
gcloud alpha compute instances update-from-fileINSTANCE_NAME[--clear-secure-tag][--minimal-action=MINIMAL_ACTION][--most-disruptive-allowed-action=MOST_DISRUPTIVE_ALLOWED_ACTION][--source=SOURCE][--zone=ZONE][GCLOUD_WIDE_FLAG …]
DESCRIPTION
(ALPHA) Update a Compute Engine virtual machine instance using aconfiguration file. For more information, seehttps://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/instances/update-instance-properties.
EXAMPLES
A virtual machine instance can be updated by running:
gcloudalphacomputeinstancesupdate-from-filemy-instance--source=<path-to-file>
POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS
INSTANCE_NAME
Name of the instance to update. For details on valid instance names, refer tothe criteria documented under the field 'name' at:https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/reference/rest/v1/instances
FLAGS
--clear-secure-tag
If specified, all secure tags bound to this instance will be removed.
--minimal-action=MINIMAL_ACTION
If specified, this action or higher level action is performed on the instanceirrespective of what action is required for the update to take effect. If notspecified, then Compute Engine acts based on the minimum action required.
--most-disruptive-allowed-action=MOST_DISRUPTIVE_ALLOWED_ACTION
If specified, Compute Engine returns an error if the update requires a higheraction to be applied to the instance. If not specified, the default will beREFRESH.
--source=SOURCE
Path to a YAML file containing configuration export data. Alternatively, you mayomit this flag to read from standard input.For a schema describing theexport/import format, see:$CLOUDSDKROOT/lib/googlecloudsdk/schemas/compute/alpha/Instance.yaml.
Note:$CLOUDSDKROOTrepresentstheGoogleCloudCLI'sinstallationdirectory.
--zone=ZONE
Zone of the instance to update. If not specified, you might be prompted toselect a zone (interactive mode only).gcloud attempts to identify theappropriate zone by searching for resources in your currently active project. Ifthe zone cannot be determined,gcloud prompts you for a selection withall available Google Cloud Platform zones.

To avoid prompting when this flag is omitted, the user can set thecompute/zone property:

gcloudconfigsetcompute/zoneZONE

A list of zones can be fetched by running:

gcloudcomputezoneslist

To unset the property, run:

gcloudconfigunsetcompute/zone

Alternatively, the zone can be stored in the environment variableCLOUDSDK_COMPUTE_ZONE.

GCLOUD WIDE FLAGS
These flags are available to all commands:--access-token-file,--account,--billing-project,--configuration,--flags-file,--flatten,--format,--help,--impersonate-service-account,--log-http,--project,--quiet,--trace-token,--user-output-enabled,--verbosity.

Run$gcloud help for details.

NOTES
This command is currently in alpha and might change without notice. If thiscommand fails with API permission errors despite specifying the correct project,you might be trying to access an API with an invitation-only early accessallowlist. These variants are also available:
gcloudcomputeinstancesupdate-from-file
gcloudbetacomputeinstancesupdate-from-file

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Last updated 2025-07-22 UTC.