Instance Management

The instance command group allows you to create and manage full virtual machine instances on the Aleph.im network.

Key Commands

Command	Description
create	Create a new VM instance
update	Update an existing instance
show	Display instance details
list	List your deployed instances
ssh	Connect to an instance via SSH

Creating an Instance

Deploy a full virtual machine:

# Create a basic instance
aleph instance create \
  --name my-instance \
  --system debian \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 2048

# Create with SSH key for access
aleph instance create \
  --name my-instance \
  --system ubuntu \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 2048 \
  --ssh-key "ssh-rsa AAAA..."

Supported Operating Systems

Aleph.im provides several base images:

• debian - Debian Linux
• ubuntu - Ubuntu Linux
• alpine - Alpine Linux
• custom - Custom image (specify with --image-hash)

Instance Resources

Configure computing resources for your instance:

# Specify CPU, memory, and storage
aleph instance create \
  --name my-instance \
  --system debian \
  --cpu 4 \
  --memory 4096 \
  --volume-size 20

Specialized Instance Types

GPU Instances

Create instances with GPU access:

# Create a GPU-enabled instance
aleph instance create \
  --name gpu-instance \
  --system ubuntu \
  --cpu 4 \
  --memory 8192 \
  --gpu-model nvidia-a100 \
  --gpu-count 1

Confidential Instances

Deploy instances with enhanced security:

# Create a confidential computing instance
aleph instance create \
  --name secure-instance \
  --system ubuntu \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 4096 \
  --confidential

Connecting to Instances

SSH into your running instance:

# Connect using the CLI
aleph instance ssh INSTANCE_HASH

# Get SSH connection details
aleph instance show INSTANCE_HASH --connection-info

Managing Instances

# List all your instances
aleph instance list

# Show detailed information
aleph instance show INSTANCE_HASH

# Update an instance
aleph instance update INSTANCE_HASH \
  --cpu 4 \
  --memory 8192

Payment Options

Aleph.im offers two payment models:

# Create with staking payment (default)
aleph instance create \
  --name my-instance \
  --system debian \
  --payment-method stake

# Create with Pay-As-You-Go
aleph instance create \
  --name my-instance \
  --system debian \
  --payment-method payg

Advanced Configuration

Custom Images

Use your own VM images:

# Create from custom image
aleph instance create \
  --name custom-instance \
  --system custom \
  --image-hash QmHash123456789

Networking

Configure network settings:

# Expose specific ports
aleph instance create \
  --name web-server \
  --system debian \
  --cpu 2 \
  --memory 2048 \
  --open-ports 80,443

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

• Instance not starting: Check resource allocation and system compatibility
• SSH connection failures: Verify your SSH key was properly added and the instance is running
• Performance issues: Consider increasing CPU, memory, or using a GPU instance
• Payment errors: Ensure you have sufficient ALEPH tokens for staking or PAYG balance