> ## 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

> Provision new instances via the VSCode interface. Select hardware profiles and initialize remote environments on the Thunder Compute platform.

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="VS Code" icon="window" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card platform-current">
    Editor extension
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI" icon="terminal" href="/cli/operations/creating-instances" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card">
    Command line
  </Card>

  <Card title="Console" icon="browser" href="/console/operations/creating-instances" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card">
    Web interface
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Create an Instance

1. Open the Thunder Compute sidebar panel
2. Click the **Create Instance** button (or the `+` icon)
3. A configuration window will open—select your options from the dropdown menus
4. Click **Create**

## Configuration Options

The extension provides the same options as the CLI:

* **Mode**: Development or Production
* **GPU Type**: Available options depend on mode
* **GPU Count**: Options depend on mode and GPU type
* **vCPUs**: Options vary by GPU type and count (development only)
* **Primary Disk**: Range varies by mode
* **Ephemeral Storage**: Fast temporary storage mounted at `/ephemeral`. See [Ephemeral Storage](/guides/ephemeral-storage)
* **Template**: Base, Ollama, ComfyUI, and more

## Mode Selection

Choose between optimized development pricing or full compatibility:

* **Development** (default): Lower cost with CUDA-level optimizations. Best for development.
* **Production**: Standard VM with full compatibility. Best for long-running jobs and production workloads.

See [Development vs Production](/development-vs-production) for details on each mode.

## GPU, CPU, and RAM

Available GPU types, GPU counts, vCPU options, and RAM configurations vary by mode. Check the [pricing page](https://www.thundercompute.com/pricing) for current options.

## 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 |

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

## Restore from Snapshot

When creating a new instance, select your snapshot from the template dropdown instead of a template.