> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.thundercompute.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating Instances

> Create new GPU instances via the CLI. Execute terminal commands to select hardware profiles and initialize remote environments.

export const QuickstartCard = ({ title, icon, href, children, selected }) => {
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  return (
  <a href={href} className="group" style={{ textDecoration: 'none', borderBottom: 'none', color: 'inherit', display: 'block', marginBottom: '0.75rem' }}>
    <div className="border rounded-xl p-5 transition-all duration-150 border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800" style={{
      minHeight: '8rem',
      height: '100%',
      borderWidth: '1.5px',
      borderColor: selected ? '#95c5ea' : '#333',
    }} onMouseEnter={enter} onMouseLeave={leave}>
      <div data-icon style={{ marginBottom: '0.75rem', opacity: selected ? 1 : 0.35, transition: 'opacity 0.15s ease' }}>
        <Icon icon={icon} size={24} color="#95c5ea" />
      </div>
      <div data-title style={{ fontWeight: 600, fontSize: '1.05rem', marginBottom: '0.25rem', color: selected ? '#fff' : undefined, transition: 'color 0.15s ease' }}>{title}</div>
      <div data-sub style={{ fontSize: '0.9rem', opacity: selected ? 0.7 : 0.5, transition: 'opacity 0.15s ease' }}>{children}</div>
    </div>
  </a>
  );
};

<Columns cols={3}>
  <QuickstartCard title="VS Code" icon="window" href="/docs/vscode/operations/creating-instances">
    Editor extension
  </QuickstartCard>

  <QuickstartCard title="CLI" icon="terminal" href="/docs/cli/operations/creating-instances" selected={true}>
    Command line
  </QuickstartCard>

  <QuickstartCard title="Console" icon="browser" href="/docs/console/operations/creating-instances">
    Web interface
  </QuickstartCard>
</Columns>

## Create an Instance

### Interactive Mode

Run the create command to launch an interactive menu:

```bash theme={null}
tnr create
```

This walks you through selecting your instance configuration step by step.

### One-Line Creation

Specify all options in a single command:

```bash theme={null}
tnr create --gpu a6000 --num-gpus 1 --vcpus 8 --template base --disk 100
```

## Configuration Options

| Flag         | Description                                           |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `--gpu`      | GPU type                                              |
| `--num-gpus` | Number of GPUs: 1, 2, 4, or 8 when available          |
| `--vcpus`    | CPU cores. Options vary by GPU type and count         |
| `--template` | `base`, `comfy-ui`, `ollama`, or a snapshot name      |
| `--disk`     | Disk storage in GB. Range varies by GPU configuration |

### GPU, CPU, and RAM

Available GPU types, GPU counts, vCPU options, and RAM configurations vary by configuration. Use `tnr create` to see current options interactively, or check the [pricing page](https://www.thundercompute.com/pricing) for details.

## Templates

Templates pre-configure your instance for common AI workflows:

| Template   | Description                     |
| ---------- | ------------------------------- |
| `base`     | Ubuntu with PyTorch + CUDA      |
| `ollama`   | Ollama server environment       |
| `comfy-ui` | ComfyUI for AI image generation |

After connecting to an instance with a template, start the server with:

```bash theme={null}
start-ollama      # or start-comfy-ui, etc.
```

See [Using Instance Templates](/docs/guides/using-instance-templates) for more details.

## Restore from Snapshot

Your snapshots appear alongside templates in the selection menu. Select a snapshot to create an instance with your previously saved state.

```bash theme={null}
tnr create
# Select your snapshot in the "Templates" step
```