Create Instance
compute_engine.create_instance
ActionGoogle Cloudconnection required
Calls Compute Engine API v1 POST /projects/{p}/zones/{z}/instances.
Create a Compute Engine VM instance; returns the zone operation. The VM boots asynchronously — poll compute_engine.get_instance if you need it RUNNING.
Connection
- Required
- Yes — the node will not save without one
- Auth type
- OAuth 2.0
- Providers
- Google Compute Engine
- Secret shape
- {"client_id", "client_secret", "refresh_token"}
- Config it needs
- project_id, zone
- Resolved by
- config.connection_id, else node.connection_id
Configuration
14 fields, 1 required. A dotted path is a nested object and name[] an array of objects — the editor renders the same tree.
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Constraints | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
project_id GCP project id (overrides connection). | string | No | — | — | — |
zone Zone, e.g. us-central1-a (overrides connection). | string | No | — | — | — |
instance Name for the new VM — lowercase letters, digits and hyphens. | string | Yes | — | — | — |
machine_type Machine type, e.g. e2-micro, e2-medium, n2-standard-2. Defaults to e2-micro. | string | No | — | — | — |
source_image Boot image. Defaults to the Debian 12 family. | string | No | — | — | — |
disk_size_gb Boot disk size in GB (minimum 10). Defaults to 10. | number | No | — | ≥ 1 | — |
network VPC network name. Defaults to 'default'. | string | No | — | — | — |
subnetwork Subnetwork name in the zone's region. Optional. | string | No | — | — | — |
external_ip Give the VM a public IP. Defaults to true; turn off for private-only VMs. | boolean | No | — | — | — |
labels Labels to attach, as key/value pairs. | object | No | — | — | — |
metadata Instance metadata as key/value pairs — use 'startup-script' to run code on boot. | object | No | — | — | — |
network_tags Network tags for firewall rules. | array | No | — | array of string | — |
service_account Service-account email the VM runs as. Optional. | string | No | — | — | — |
scopes OAuth scopes for that service account. Defaults to cloud-platform. | array | No | — | array of string | — |
Output
One shape.
result
| Field | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
ok | boolean | — |
instance | string | — |
operation | string | — |
done | boolean | — |
status | string | — |
{
"done": false,
"instance": "",
"ok": false,
"operation": "",
"status": ""
}See Create Instance run in a workflow.
In a technical demo we add the Google Compute Engine connection, drop the node on the canvas and let Workflow Health pre-flight it before the first real run.