Create machine images

Use a machine image to store all the configuration, metadata, permissions, and data from multiple disks for a VM instance running on Compute Engine. The VM instance that you use to create a machine image is referred to as a source VM instance.

For information about when and how to use machine images, see Machine images.

This document describes the steps for creating a machine image from a source VM instance.

Before you begin

• If you haven't already, then set up authentication. Authentication is the process by which your identity is verified 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, then initialize it by running the following command:

     gcloud init

  2. Set a default region and zone.

  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, then initialize it by running the following command:

  gcloud init

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

Limitations and restrictions

• You can create a machine image of a specific instance at most 6 times every 60 minutes.
• You can protect a machine image by using either Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) or a customer-supplied encryption key (CSEK). The encryption key protects the content of the disks. However, metadata isn't protected.
• If you use a CSEK to protect your machine image, a full copy of all disk data is stored during the generation of the machine image. In all other scenarios disk data is stored in differential copies.

• You can't create machine images from source VMs that:

  • Have greater than 200 TB of disks attached.
  • Don't have any attached disks.
  • Have any attached Hyperdisk Extreme disks.
  • Use a C3D, H3, A3, or Z3 machine type

Instance and disk properties not supported by machine image

When you create machine images from VM instances or create VM instances from machine images, the following instance and disk properties are not preserved or restored:

• disks.architecture
• disks.description
• disks.labels
• disks.locked
• disks.multiWriter
• disks.onUpdateAction
• disks.provisionedIops
• disks.shieldedInstanceInitialState
• disks.sourceImage
• disks.sourceImageEncryptionKey
• disks.sourceInstantSnapshot
• disks.sourceSnapshot
• disks.sourceSnapshotEncryptionKey
• privateIpv6GoogleAccess
• resourceManagerTags
• resourcePolicies
• secure_tag
• shieldedInstanceConfig

Creating a machine image from a VM

You can create machine images using either the Google Cloud console, the Google Cloud CLI, or REST.

To create a machine image, you need the following information:

• A name for the machine image that you want to create.
• The name of the source VM instance.
• The zone that the source VM instance is located in.
• An optional description.
• An optional storageLocation. If you don't specify a location, the default storage location is the multiregional Cloud Storage location of the source VM instance.
• An optional encryption key. You can choose between a Google-owned and Google-managed key, a Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS) key or a customer-supplied encryption (CSEK) key. If no encryption key is specified, machine images are encrypted using a Google-owned and Google-managed key.

• If you want to use a machine image for instance cloning and snapshotting, remove the OS and app information that is unique to the instance before generating the machine image from an instance. For example, for Windows VM instances, use GCESysprep to prepare the system for replication.

gcloud compute machine-images create MACHINE_IMAGE_NAME \
    --source-instance=SOURCE_VM_NAME

gcloud compute machine-images create my-machine-image  \
    --source-instance=my-instance

Created [https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/project-12345/global/machineImages/my-machine-image].
NAME               STATUS
my-machine-image   READY

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/global/machineImages

{
  "name": "MACHINE_IMAGE_NAME",
  "sourceInstance": "SOURCE_INSTANCE_URL"
}

What's next?

• Learn more about machine images
• Create VM instances from machine images