How to Create an Instance Template

1 min readUpdated 23 April 2026

An instance template is a reusable blueprint that defines the plan, OS, SSH keys, startup script, VPC, and storage configuration for instances. Templates ensure consistent deployments across a cluster and simplify scaling by eliminating the need to specify configuration details for each new instance.

This guide explains how to create an instance template using the Vultr API.

The following table describes the available fields for creating an instance template:

Field	Type	Required	Description
`plan`	string	Yes	The compute plan identifier (e.g., `vhp-4c-8gb-intel`).
`label`	string	No	A descriptive label for the template.
`os_id`	integer	No	The operating system ID.
`iso_id`	string	No	The ISO image ID.
`snapshot_id`	string	No	The snapshot ID.
`marketplace_app_id`	integer	No	The Marketplace application ID.
`marketplace_image_id`	integer	No	The Marketplace image ID.
`script_id`	string	No	The startup script ID to execute on boot.
`ssh_key_ids`	array	No	Array of SSH key IDs to install on the instance.
`vpc_ids`	array	No	Array of VPC network IDs to attach to the instance.
`vfs_ids`	array	No	Array of Vultr File Storage (VFS) subscription IDs to attach.
`user_data`	string	No	Base64-encoded Cloud-Init user data to initialize and customize the instance at boot.

Note

Creating an instance template requires only the plan field. All other fields are optional. To set an image source, choose only one of os_id, iso_id, snapshot_id, marketplace_app_id, or marketplace_image_id.

Send a POST request to the Create Instance Template endpoint to create a new template. Replace the placeholder values with your configuration.

CONSOLE
$ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/instances/templates" \
    -X POST \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "plan": "PLAN",
        "os_id": OS-ID,
        "label": "TEMPLATE-LABEL",
        "ssh_key_ids": [
            "SSH-KEY-ID"
        ],
        "vpc_ids": [
            "VPC-ID"
        ]
    }'
Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

A successful request returns an HTTP 200 OK response with the template details. Note the template id for use when creating clusters or instances.

0 Comments

Start the conversation

Be the first to comment and share your perspective with the community.

Field

Type

Required

Description

plan

string

Yes

The compute plan identifier (e.g., vhp-4c-8gb-intel).

label

string

A descriptive label for the template.

os_id

integer

The operating system ID.

iso_id

string

The ISO image ID.

snapshot_id

string

The snapshot ID.

marketplace_app_id

integer

The Marketplace application ID.

marketplace_image_id

integer

The Marketplace image ID.

script_id

string

The startup script ID to execute on boot.

ssh_key_ids

array

Array of SSH key IDs to install on the instance.

vpc_ids

array

Array of VPC network IDs to attach to the instance.

vfs_ids

array

Array of Vultr File Storage (VFS) subscription IDs to attach.

user_data

string

Base64-encoded Cloud-Init user data to initialize and customize the instance at boot.

$ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/instances/templates" \ -X POST \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "plan": "PLAN", "os_id": OS-ID, "label": "TEMPLATE-LABEL", "ssh_key_ids": [ "SSH-KEY-ID" ], "vpc_ids": [ "VPC-ID" ] }'