> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.acecloud.ai/knowledge-base/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.acecloud.ai/knowledge-base/cli/compute/spot.md). # Spot Instances Spot instances run on spare AceCloud capacity at a lower hourly price than on-demand instances. In exchange, they can be shut off when the market price rises above a limit you set. The `ace spot` command provides full lifecycle management: creation, power control, price inspection, and deletion. Spot instances use the standard cloud instance API with `billing_type` set to `spot`. **Introduced in:** CLI v1.5.0 *** ## Table of Contents * [Before You Start](#before-you-start) * [View Spot Prices](#view-spot-prices) * [List Available Images](#list-available-images) * [Create a Spot Instance](#create-a-spot-instance) * [Required Flags](#required-flags) * [Optional Flags](#optional-flags) * [Boot From a Snapshot](#boot-from-a-snapshot) * [Pass a Cloud-Init Script](#pass-a-cloud-init-script) * [List Spot Instances](#list-spot-instances) * [Get Spot Instance Details](#get-spot-instance-details) * [Update the Termination Price](#update-the-termination-price) * [Power Management](#power-management) * [Delete Spot Instances](#delete-spot-instances) * [Understanding the Termination Price](#understanding-the-termination-price) * [Command Reference](#command-reference) * [Example Workflow](#example-workflow) *** ## Before You Start Two things about spot instances differ from on-demand instances and are worth knowing up front: * **They can be shut off.** If you set a termination price and the market price rises above it, the instance is shut off. Do not run anything on a spot instance that cannot tolerate being interrupted. * **GPU spot requests are asynchronous.** A successful `ace spot create` for a GPU flavor means the request was *accepted*, not that the instance is running. Check the outcome with `ace spot list` or `ace spot get `. *** ## View Spot Prices Spot prices move with demand, so check the current price before you create anything. You also need the current price to choose a sensible termination price. ```bash ace spot prices ``` **Output columns:** Flavor, Resource Type, vCPU, RAM, Type, Currency, Spot Price (per hour). ``` FLAVOR RESOURCE TYPE VCPU RAM TYPE CURRENCY SPOT PRICE (per hour) S4a.medium compute 1 4 GB standard USD 0.0128 S4a.large compute 2 8 GB standard USD 0.0288 S4a.4xlarge compute 16 64 GB standard USD 0.2177 C4a.medium compute 1 2 GB cpu USD 0.0124 M3a.8xlarge compute 32 256 GB memory USD 0.5776 ``` The full list is long, so filter it: | Flag | Description | | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--flavor` | Show the price for a single flavor name or UUID | | `--gpu` | GPU flavors only | | `--linux` | Linux non-GPU flavors only | | `--windows` | Windows non-GPU flavors only | | `--os-type` | Filter by OS type. Cannot be combined with `--linux`, `--windows` or `--gpu` | | `--count` | Number of instances to price (default `1`) | | `--currency` | Currency code | | `--usd` | Show prices in USD | | `--inr` | Show prices in INR | | `--cpu` | Non-GPU flavors only (legacy; cannot be combined with `--gpu`, `--linux` or `--windows`) | ```bash # Price one flavor ace spot prices --flavor S4a.large # GPU flavors, in INR ace spot prices --gpu --inr # Cost of running four instances of a flavor ace spot prices --flavor C4a.medium --count 4 ``` > **Note on currency:** prices are returned in your account's billing currency unless you override it. If `ace auth me` reports one currency and `ace spot prices` shows another, pin it explicitly with `--usd` or `--inr` so you know what you are comparing against. *** ## List Available Images Not every image can be used for a spot instance. List the ones that can: ```bash ace spot images ``` **Aliases:** `image`, `image-list` **Output columns:** ID, Name, Status, Size, Visibility. ``` ID NAME STATUS SIZE VISIBILITY e081161e-2371-47bb-b40e-d1d8991a55a4 Ubuntu-26.04-LTS active 20.0 GB public ad6b342b-7c30-472b-9350-a847618ef72b Ubuntu-22.04-LTS active 20.0 GB public 849f6c58-20e0-44c0-8b67-a3362723ee21 Ubuntu-22.04-LTS-NVIDIA-580-Base active 15.0 GB public d496946b-7149-4680-a4c9-48904b7f7403 Windows-server-2022 active 50.0 GB public 63f295b3-c11b-45c9-a148-6a1a031bed87 Debian-13 active 5.0 GB public ``` | Flag | Description | | ------------ | ------------------------------------- | | `--os` | Filter by OS, e.g. `ubuntu`, `centos` | | `--gpu` | GPU images only | | `--category` | Filter by category | ```bash ace spot images --os ubuntu ace spot images --gpu ``` Use either the name or the ID from this list with `ace spot create --image`. *** ## Create a Spot Instance ```bash ace spot create \ --name my-spot-vm \ --flavor C4i.medium \ --image Ubuntu-22.04-LTS \ --network \ --security-group \ --termination-price 1.81 ``` The instance is created at the current server price for the selected flavor. ### Required Flags | Flag | Description | | ------------------ | -------------------------------- | | `--name` | Instance name | | `--flavor` | Flavor name or UUID | | `--network` | Network UUID (repeatable) | | `--security-group` | Security group UUID (repeatable) | You must also supply a boot source: either `--image` or `--snapshot`. ### Optional Flags | Flag | Default | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--termination-price` | | Maximum spot price you accept. The instance is shut off when the market price exceeds it | | `--image` | | Image name or UUID | | `--snapshot` | | Volume snapshot name or UUID | | `--source-type` | `image` | Boot source type: `image` or `snapshot`. Inferred from the boot flag you use | | `--key` | | SSH key pair name | | `--description` | | Instance description | | `--count` | `1` | Number of instances to create | | `--boot-size` | `20` | Boot volume size in GB | | `--volume-type` | `NVMe based High IOPS Storage` | Boot volume type | | `--availability-zone` | `nova` | Availability zone | | `--script` | | Inline plaintext cloud-init or user-data script | | `--script-file` | | Path to a plaintext cloud-init or user-data script | | `--config-drive` | `false` | Enable config drive | > `--network` and `--security-group` take a **network/VPC UUID** and a **security group UUID**, not names. Get them from `ace vpc list` and `ace security-group list`. ### Boot From a Snapshot Instead of an image, boot from an existing volume snapshot. Set `--boot-size` to at least the snapshot's size. ```bash ace spot create \ --name my-spot-vm \ --flavor C4i.medium \ --snapshot \ --network \ --security-group \ --termination-price 1.81 \ --boot-size 20 ``` `--source-type` is inferred from the boot flag, so you do not normally need to set it. ### Pass a Cloud-Init Script Run configuration at first boot, either inline or from a file: ```bash # Inline ace spot create \ --name my-spot-vm \ --flavor C4i.medium \ --image Ubuntu-22.04-LTS \ --network \ --security-group \ --termination-price 1.81 \ --script '#!/bin/bash echo hello' # From a file ace spot create \ --name my-spot-vm \ --flavor C4i.medium \ --image Ubuntu-22.04-LTS \ --network \ --security-group \ --script-file ./bootstrap.sh ``` The script must be **plaintext** — the CLI handles any encoding the API requires. *** ## List Spot Instances ```bash ace spot list ``` **Aliases:** `ls` When the project has no spot instances, the command prints `No spot instances found.` The listing shows each instance's launch price (`spot_flavor_launch_price`) and its configured maximum price (`spot_flavor_termination_price`), so you can see what you are paying against what you agreed to. ```bash ace spot list -o json ``` *** ## Get Spot Instance Details ```bash ace spot get ``` **Aliases:** `show`, `describe` Use this to confirm the eventual status of an asynchronous GPU spot request, and to read the instance's launch and termination prices. *** ## Update the Termination Price Change the maximum price you accept on a running spot instance: ```bash ace spot update --termination-price 2.25 ``` Pass `0` to disable price-based shutoff entirely: ```bash ace spot update --termination-price 0 ``` *** ## Power Management ```bash ace spot start # alias: resume ace spot stop ace spot pause ace spot reboot ace spot reboot --hard ``` `--hard` performs a hard reboot; without it the reboot is soft. *** ## Delete Spot Instances Accepts one or more instance IDs: ```bash ace spot delete ace spot delete ``` **Aliases:** `rm` Deletion prompts for confirmation. In scripts and CI, where there is no TTY, pass `--yes`: ```bash ace spot delete --yes ``` *** ## Understanding the Termination Price `--termination-price` is the **maximum hourly spot price you are willing to pay**. * When set, the instance is shut off if the market price rises above it. * The value must be **greater than the current spot price** for the flavor. Check `ace spot prices` first. * When omitted, no price-based shutoff is configured — the instance is not shut off on price. * Set it to `0` with `ace spot update` to remove an existing limit. A higher limit means the instance survives larger price swings but can cost more per hour. A limit close to the current price is cheaper to cap but far more likely to trigger a shutoff. *** ## Command Reference | Command | Description | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ | | `ace spot list` | List spot instances | | `ace spot get ` | Get spot instance details | | `ace spot create` | Create a spot instance | | `ace spot update ` | Update the termination price | | `ace spot delete [id...]` | Delete spot instance(s) | | `ace spot start ` | Start a spot instance | | `ace spot stop ` | Stop a spot instance | | `ace spot pause ` | Pause a spot instance | | `ace spot reboot ` | Reboot a spot instance | | `ace spot prices` | List current spot prices | | `ace spot images` | List images usable for spot creation | *** ## Example Workflow ```bash # Step 1: Check the current price for the flavor you want ace spot prices --flavor S4a.large # Step 2: Pick an image ace spot images --os ubuntu # Step 3: Collect the network and security group IDs ace vpc list ace security-group list # Step 4: Create the instance with a limit above the current price ace spot create \ --name my-spot-vm \ --flavor S4a.large \ --image Ubuntu-22.04-LTS \ --network \ --security-group \ --key my-keypair \ --termination-price 0.05 # Step 5: Confirm it came up (GPU requests are asynchronous) ace spot list ace spot get # Step 6: Raise the limit if prices are volatile ace spot update --termination-price 0.08 # Step 7: Clean up when finished ace spot delete --yes ```