vastai

# vastai

Manage GPU instances, templates, volumes, serverless endpoints, SSH keys, and billing on Vast.ai.

> Command is `vastai` (lowercase). Always use `--raw` for machine-readable JSON output.

## Install

```bash
# PyPI (recommended)
pip install vastai
```

## Quick start

```bash
vastai set api-key <YOUR_API_KEY>                   # Authenticate (one-time); Create API Key in account at https://console.vast.ai/manage-keys/
vastai show user                                    # Verify auth + check balance
vastai create ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub         # Register SSH key (do BEFORE create)
vastai search offers 'gpu_name=RTX_4090 num_gpus=1 verified=true direct_port_count>=1 rentable=true' -o 'dlperf_usd-'
# Note the offer ID from the output
vastai create instance <OFFER_ID> --image pytorch/pytorch:@vastai-automatic-tag --disk 20 --ssh --direct
# Automatically grab appropriate image tag; Response:  {"success": true, "new_contract": <INSTANCE_ID>}
vastai show instance <INSTANCE_ID>                  # Poll until actual_status == "running" (see Instance status values below)
vastai ssh-url <INSTANCE_ID>                        # Get SSH connection string
vastai copy local:./data/ <INSTANCE_ID>:/workspace/ # Upload files
vastai destroy instance <INSTANCE_ID> -y             # Clean up (stops all billing; -y skips confirmation)
```

API key: https://console.vast.ai/manage-keys/

## Global flags

Available on every command:

```
--api-key KEY    Override stored API key
--raw            Output machine-readable JSON (agents should always use this)
--full           Print full results (don't page with less)
--explain        Show underlying API calls (useful for debugging)
--curl           Show equivalent curl command
--no-color       Disable colored output
--url URL        Override server REST API URL
--retry RETRY    Set retry limit for API calls
--version        Show CLI version
```

## Query syntax

Search commands accept filter expressions. Operators: `=`, `!=`, `>`, `>=`, `<`, `<=`, `in`, `notin`.

```bash
# Examples
'gpu_name=RTX_4090 num_gpus=1'           # Exact match + numeric
'gpu_ram>=48 reliability>0.95'           # Greater-than filters
'geolocation=EU dph_total<=2.0'          # Region + price cap
```

Common filter fields: `num_gpus`, `gpu_name`, `gpu_ram`, `cpu_ram`, `disk_space`, `reliability`, `compute_cap`, `inet_up`, `inet_down`, `dph_total`, `geolocation`, `direct_port_count`, `verified`, `rentable`

Common sort fields: `score` (default — overall value), `dlperf_usd` (DL perf per dollar), `dph_total` (price), `num_gpus`, `reliability`

## Commands

### Instances

```bash
vastai show instances                                    # List all your instances
vastai show instances-v1                                 # Paginated instances with full filter/sort/cols support
vastai show instances-v1 --status running loading        # Filter by status
vastai show instances-v1 --gpu-name 'RTX 4090'           # Filter by GPU
vastai show instances-v1 --label training                # Filter by label
vastai show instances-v1 --order-by start_date desc      # Sort by column
vastai show instances-v1 --cols id,status,gpu,dph        # Custom columns
vastai show instance <id>                                # Poll single instance (use for status checks)
vastai create instance <offer-id> --image pytorch/pytorch:2.4.0-cuda12.4-cudnn9-runtime --disk 20 --ssh --direct
# Response includes "new_contract": <id> — that is your instance ID
vastai launch instance --gpu-name RTX_4090 --num-gpus 1 --image pytorch/pytorch
vastai start instance <id>                               # Start stopped instance
vastai stop instance <id>                                # Stop (preserves disk, no GPU charges)
vastai reboot instance <id>                              # Stop + start
vastai destroy instance <id> -y                          # Delete permanently (irreversible; -y required for non-interactive use)
vastai destroy instances <id1> <id2> -y                  # Batch delete (-y skips confirmation prompt)
vastai label instance <id> --label "training-run-1"      # Tag instance
vastai update instance <id>                              # Recreate from updated template
vastai prepay instance <id>                              # Deposit credits into reserved instance
vastai recycle instance <id>                             # Destroy + recreate
```

**Recommended Vast.ai images** (use `@vastai-automatic-tag` to get the right tag for the machine automatically; browse pre-configured models at https://vast.ai/model-library):

<!-- Note: @vastai-automatic-tag is resolved server-side — CLI passes it unchanged -->

```bash
vastai/base-image:@vastai-automatic-tag          # Minimal Ubuntu base
vastai/pytorch:@vastai-automatic-tag             # PyTorch + CUDA
vastai/linux-desktop:@vastai-automatic-tag       # Linux desktop (VNC/RDP)

# vLLM — set model via env vars with huggingface model example
vastai create instance <id> --image vastai/vllm:@vastai-automatic-tag --disk 40 --ssh --direct \
  --env '-e MODEL_NAME=Qwen/Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct -e HF_TOKEN=hf_xxx'

# ComfyUI — set model checkpoint via env vars with huggingface model example
vastai create instance <id> --image vastai/comfy:@vastai-automatic-tag --disk 40 --ssh --direct \
  --env '-e CHECKPOINT_MODEL=black-forest-labs/FLUX.1-schnell -e HF_TOKEN=hf_xxx'
```

**create instance flags:**
- `--image IMAGE` — Docker image
- `--disk DISK` — Local disk in GB
- `--ssh` / `--jupyter` — Connection type
- `--direct` — Faster direct connections
- `--label LABEL` — Instance label
- `--env ENV` — Env vars and port mappings, e.g. `'-e TZ=UTC -p 8080:8080'`
- `--onstart FILE` — Path to a startup script file
- `--onstart-cmd CMD` — Startup script as inline string (for longer scripts use `--onstart` or gzip+base64 encode)
- `--bid_price PRICE` — Interruptible (spot) pricing in $/hr
- `--template_hash HASH` — Create from template
- `--create-volume ID` — Attach new volume
- `--link-volume ID` — A