---
title: "Launch a VM"
method: POST
path: "/v1/vms"
tags: ["vms"]
---

# Launch a VM

`POST /v1/vms`

Creates a new VM, either from a machineType (fresh boot) or a
snapshotId (restore from snapshot).

- Returns **201** when the VM is already running in the response.
- Returns **202** when the VM is queued; clients must poll
  `GET /v1/vms/{id}` until status transitions to `running`. Terminal
  failure statuses are `error` and `stopped`.

The SDK's `launch()` helper handles the 201/202 branching and
polling automatically.

## Request body

- CreateVMRequest — Boot behavior depends on which fields are set: - `snapshotId` set → restore from snapshot (takes precedence over `machineType` if both are sent). - Otherwise → fresh boot. `machineType` selects the size; if omitted or empty, defaults to `c1m2`.
  - `name` string — User-facing name (trimmed + whitespace-collapsed, max 64 runes after normalization — longer values are truncated server-side). Auto-generated as `vm-<8-char-id-prefix>` if empty.
  - `machineType` string — Machine size identifier (e.g. `c1m2`, `c2m4`). Controls CPU and memory allocation. Must be supplied on launch unless restoring from a snapshot.
  - `snapshotId` string — Snapshot ID to restore from.
  - `diskGiB` integer — Override the default disk size (GiB).
  - `firewall` FirewallPolicy
    - `mode` string, required — Firewall mode. Known values: `open` (allow all inbound traffic), `restricted` (deny by default; only rules listed in `ingress` are allowed). Additional values may be introduced in future server versions.
    - `ingress` FirewallRule[]
      - `protocol` string, required — IP protocol. Known values: `tcp`, `udp`. Additional values may be introduced in future server versions.
      - `portStart` integer, required — Start of port range (inclusive). Required.
      - `portEnd` integer — End of port range (inclusive). Omit for single-port rules.
      - `sourceCidrs` string[] — Allowed source CIDRs in IPv6 notation (e.g. `2001:db8::/32`). Omit or empty to allow any source. IPv4 CIDRs are rejected.
      - `description` string
  - `metadata` Metadata — Free-form string→string map. Server-enforced limits: up to 256 keys, key length 1–256 bytes, value length ≤4096 bytes, total JSON encoding ≤65536 bytes.

## Response `201`

VM is already running

- VM
  - `id` string, required
  - `name` string, required
  - `orgId` string, required
  - `machineName` string
  - `sourceName` string — Source snapshot or image name (empty on fresh boot).
  - `firewall` FirewallPolicy
    - `mode` string, required — Firewall mode. Known values: `open` (allow all inbound traffic), `restricted` (deny by default; only rules listed in `ingress` are allowed). Additional values may be introduced in future server versions.
    - `ingress` FirewallRule[]
      - `protocol` string, required — IP protocol. Known values: `tcp`, `udp`. Additional values may be introduced in future server versions.
      - `portStart` integer, required — Start of port range (inclusive). Required.
      - `portEnd` integer — End of port range (inclusive). Omit for single-port rules.
      - `sourceCidrs` string[] — Allowed source CIDRs in IPv6 notation (e.g. `2001:db8::/32`). Omit or empty to allow any source. IPv4 CIDRs are rejected.
      - `description` string
  - `metadata` Metadata — Free-form string→string map. Server-enforced limits: up to 256 keys, key length 1–256 bytes, value length ≤4096 bytes, total JSON encoding ≤65536 bytes.
  - `publicIpv6` string
  - `cpu` integer, required
  - `memoryMiB` integer, required
  - `diskGiB` integer, required
  - `status` string, required — Lifecycle status. Known values: `provisioning`, `running`, `stopped`, `deleting`, `error`. Terminal failure statuses are `error` and `stopped`; any other non-`running` value indicates the VM is still transitioning. Additional values may be introduced in future server versions; clients should treat unknown values as "in transition" rather than as hard errors.
  - `createdAt` string, date-time, required
  - `deletedAt` string, date-time, nullable

## Other responses

- `202` — VM is queued; poll for readiness
- `400` — Invalid request
- `401` — Missing or invalid credentials
- `403` — Org quota exceeded
- `404` — Snapshot or base image not found
- `500` — Internal server error
- `502` — Upstream worker error
- `503` — Service temporarily unavailable

## Changes

- **2026-04-22** `fdb53b5a79b3` — 17 breaking, 28 info
  - removed `subschema #1, subschema #2` from the request body `oneOf` list
  - removed the enum value `c1m2` of the request property `machineType`
  - removed the enum value `c2m4` of the request property `machineType`
  - removed the enum value `c4m8` of the request property `machineType`
  - …41 more

[Change history](https://skmtc.dev/fastvm-org/apis/fastvm-api/changes/v1/vms/post.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/fastvm-org/apis/fastvm-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/fastvm-org/apis/fastvm-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-production.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/fastvm-org/fastvm-api/revisions/fdb53b5a79b3/schema)