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Vast.ai GPU marketplace reference. Auto-invoked when the user discusses renting GPUs, launching GPU instances, searching for machines, vast.ai pricing, managing cloud GPU workloads, volumes, templates, autoscaling, SSH keys, or any vast.ai topic.

LiorZ By LiorZ schedule Updated 2/6/2026
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name: vastai description: "Vast.ai GPU marketplace reference. Auto-invoked when the user discusses renting GPUs, launching GPU instances, searching for machines, vast.ai pricing, managing cloud GPU workloads, volumes, templates, autoscaling, SSH keys, or any vast.ai topic." user-invocable: false allowed-tools: Bash

Vast.ai CLI Complete Reference

The vastai CLI (v0.5.0) interfaces with the Vast.ai GPU rental marketplace. All commands below are real and available.

Authentication

vastai set api-key <KEY>           # Store API key (from https://cloud.vast.ai/account/)
vastai show user                   # Verify auth works
  • Key stored at ~/.config/vastai/vast_api_key
  • Override: VAST_API_KEY=<key> env var or --api-key <key> flag

Global Flags (all commands)

Flag Effect
--raw Raw JSON output
--explain Show API endpoint details
--curl Show equivalent curl command
--retry N Retry count (default 5)
-q / --quiet IDs only (where supported)

1. SEARCH OFFERS

vastai search offers '<QUERY>' [OPTIONS]

Query syntax: field operator value (space-separated pairs) Operators: <, <=, ==, !=, >=, >, in, notin

Pricing flags: -d on-demand (default), -b interruptible/spot, -r reserved Sort: -o 'field1,field2-' (append - for descending) Other: --limit N, -n (no default filters), --storage <GB>

Searchable fields:

Field Type Description
gpu_name str GPU model (RTX_3090, RTX_4090, A100, A6000, H100, L40S)
num_gpus int Number of GPUs
gpu_ram float Per-GPU VRAM (GB)
gpu_total_ram float Total VRAM across all GPUs (GB)
compute_cap int CUDA compute capability × 100
cuda_vers float Max CUDA version
cpu_cores int vCPU count
cpu_ram float System RAM (GB)
cpu_ghz float CPU clock (GHz)
cpu_arch str amd64, arm64
disk_space float Disk (GB)
disk_bw float Disk bandwidth (MB/s)
dph_total float Cost ($/hr)
dlperf float DL performance score
total_flops float Total TFLOPs
reliability float Reliability score 0–1
duration float Max rental (days)
inet_down / inet_up float Bandwidth (Mb/s)
inet_down_cost / inet_up_cost float Bandwidth cost ($/GB)
geolocation str Country code (US, DE, JP, etc.)
datacenter bool Datacenter-only
verified bool Verified machine
direct_port_count int Direct ports available
pcie_bw float PCIe bandwidth
pci_gen float PCIe generation
bw_nvlink float NVLink bandwidth
gpu_mem_bw float GPU memory bandwidth (GB/s)
has_avx bool AVX support
static_ip bool Static IP
storage_cost float Storage cost ($/GB/month)
min_bid float Current min bid for interruptible
vms_enabled bool VM instance

Default filters (disabled with -n): verified=true external=false rentable=true

2. INSTANCE LIFECYCLE

Create

vastai create instance <OFFER_ID> [OPTIONS]
Option Description
--image <IMG> Docker image
--disk <GB> Disk size (default 10)
--ssh SSH access
--jupyter / --jupyter-lab Jupyter access
--direct Direct (faster) connections
--env '<OPTS>' Docker env/ports: '-e K=V -p 8080:8080'
--onstart-cmd '<SCRIPT>' Bash to run on start
--onstart <FILE> Onstart script from file
--entrypoint <CMD> Override entrypoint
--args ... Args to entrypoint (must be last)
--label <NAME> Instance label
--bid_price <$> Interruptible bid ($/hr)
--force Skip sanity checks
--cancel-unavail Error if scheduling fails
--template_hash <H> Use template
--login <AUTH> Docker registry auth
--create-volume <ID> Create volume from offer
--link-volume <ID> Attach existing volume
--mount-path <PATH> Volume mount point
--volume-size <GB> New volume size
--volume-label <NAME> New volume label
--python-utf8 Set Python locale
--lang-utf8 Set system locale
--user <USER> Container user

Returns: {"success": true, "new_contract": <instance_id>}

Alternative: Launch Instance (auto-selects offer)

vastai launch instance -g <GPU_NAME> -n <NUM_GPUS> -i <IMAGE> [OPTIONS]

Options: -d <DISK>, --limit N, -o <SORT>, plus all create instance options.

Manage

vastai show instances                    # List all instances
vastai show instance <ID>               # Single instance details
vastai start instance <ID>              # Start stopped instance
vastai stop instance <ID>               # Stop (preserves data)
vastai reboot instance <ID>             # Restart (keeps GPU priority)
vastai recycle instance <ID>            # Destroy + recreate fresh
vastai destroy instance <ID>            # Delete permanently
vastai label instance <ID> '<LABEL>'    # Set label
vastai update instance <ID> [--label]   # Update instance
vastai bid instance <ID> --price <$>    # Change bid price
vastai prepay instance <ID> <AMOUNT>    # Prepay credits

Batch operations: start instances, stop instances, destroy instances accept multiple IDs.

Instance statuses: created → scheduling → running ↔ stopped, exited, offline

3. REMOTE ACCESS & EXECUTION

SSH & SCP

vastai ssh-url <ID>                     # Returns: ssh://root@host:port
vastai scp-url <ID>                     # Returns: scp://root@host:port

To actually SSH in:

SSH_URL=$(vastai ssh-url <ID>)
# Parse host:port from URL, then:
ssh -p <PORT> root@<HOST> -L 8080:localhost:8080

Execute (API-based, limited commands)

vastai execute <ID> '<COMMAND>'         # Run ls, rm, or du remotely

Only supports: ls, rm, du. Returns results via polling.

Logs

vastai logs <ID>                        # Last 1000 lines
vastai logs <ID> --tail 100             # Last N lines
vastai logs <ID> --filter 'ERROR'       # Grep filter
vastai logs <ID> --daemon-logs          # System logs instead

Note: Not real-time streaming. Fetches a snapshot via S3 URL with polling.

File Transfer

vastai copy <SRC> <DST> [-i <SSH_KEY>]
# Formats: local:./path, C.<instance_id>:/path, V.<volume_id>:/path

Examples:

vastai copy local:./data C.12345:/workspace/data
vastai copy C.12345:/workspace/results local:./results
vastai copy C.12345:/workspace/ C.67890:/workspace/   # instance-to-instance
vastai cancel copy C.12345:/workspace/                # cancel transfer

Snapshots

vastai snapshot instance <ID> --repo <REPO> [--tag <TAG>] [--container_registry <REG>]

4. SSH KEYS

vastai show ssh-keys                    # List keys
vastai create ssh-key [<PUBLIC_KEY>]    # Upload or generate
vastai update ssh-key <ID> <KEY>        # Update key
vastai delete ssh-key <ID>              # Delete key
vastai attach ssh <INST_ID> <KEY>       # Attach to instance
vastai detach instance <INST_ID> <KEY_ID>  # Detach from instance

5. VOLUMES

# Search for volume offers
vastai search volumes '<QUERY>' [-o <SORT>] [--limit N]

# Manage volumes
vastai show volumes [-t local|network|all]
vastai create volume <OFFER_ID> [-s <SIZE_GB>]
vastai delete volume <ID>
vastai clone volume <SRC_ID> <DEST_OFFER_ID> [-s <SIZE>]
vastai list volume <ID> [-p <PRICE>]    # List for rent (hosting)
vastai unlist volume <ID>

# Network volumes
vastai search network-volumes '<QUERY>'
vastai create network-volume <OFFER_ID> [-s <SIZE_GB>]
vastai unlist network-volume <ID>

6. TEMPLATES

vastai search templates '<QUERY>'
vastai create template [--name N --image I --tag T --recommended_disk_space D]
vastai update template <HASH_ID> [OPTIONS]
vastai delete template [--template-id ID | --hash-id HASH]

7. AUTOSCALING & ENDPOINTS

# Endpoints (deployment targets)
vastai create endpoint [--endpoint_name N --target_util 0.9 --max_workers 20 ...]
vastai show endpoints
vastai update endpoint <ID> [--target_util --max_workers ...]
vastai delete endpoint <ID>
vastai get endpt-logs <ID> [--level 0-3 --tail N]

# Worker groups (auto-scaling pools)
vastai create workergroup [--template_hash H --endpoint_name N --test_workers 3 --search_params '<QUERY>' ...]
vastai show workergroups
vastai update workergroup <ID> [--target_util --cold_workers ...]
vastai delete workergroup <ID>
vastai get wrkgrp-logs <ID> [--level 0-3 --tail N]

8. CLUSTERS & OVERLAYS

vastai create cluster <SUBNET> <MANAGER_MACHINE_ID>
vastai show clusters
vastai delete cluster <ID>
vastai remove-machine-from-cluster <CLUSTER_ID> <MACHINE_ID> [NEW_MANAGER_ID]

vastai create overlay <CLUSTER_ID> <NAME>
vastai show overlays
vastai delete overlay <ID_OR_NAME>
vastai join overlay <NAME> <INSTANCE_ID>

9. ACCOUNT & BILLING

vastai show user                        # Account info
vastai set user --file <JSON>           # Update profile
vastai show deposit <ID>                # Credit balance
vastai show earnings [-s START -e END]  # Hosting earnings
vastai show invoices -c|-i [-s START -e END]  # Charges or invoices
vastai search invoices '<QUERY>'
vastai transfer credit <RECIPIENT> <AMOUNT>
vastai show ipaddrs                     # IP history
vastai show audit-logs                  # Audit trail

10. API KEYS

vastai set api-key <KEY>                # Store locally
vastai show api-key <ID>               # Show specific key
vastai show api-keys                    # List all keys
vastai create api-key [--name N --permission_file F]
vastai delete api-key <ID>
vastai reset api-key

11. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

vastai show env-vars [-s]               # List (show values with -s)
vastai create env-var <NAME> <VALUE>
vastai update env-var <NAME> <VALUE>
vastai delete env-var <NAME>

12. TEAMS

vastai create-team --team_name <NAME>
vastai destroy team
vastai show members
vastai invite member --email <E> --role <R>
vastai remove member <USER_ID>
vastai create team-role --name <N> --permissions <JSON_FILE>
vastai show team-roles
vastai show team-role <NAME>
vastai update team-role <ID> [--name --permissions]
vastai remove team-role <NAME>
vastai show subaccounts
vastai create subaccount --email E --username U --password P --type host|client

13. HOSTING (Machine Owners)

vastai show machines [-q]               # List your machines
vastai show machine <ID>               # Machine details
vastai list machine <ID> [-g PRICE_GPU -s PRICE_DISK -i INET_DOWN -u INET_UP]
vastai list machines <IDs...> [PRICING]
vastai unlist machine <ID>
vastai delete machine <ID>
vastai set min_bid <ID> --price <$>
vastai set defjob <ID> [--image --onstart-cmd ...]
vastai remove defjob <ID>
vastai cleanup machine <ID>
vastai defragment machines <IDs...>
vastai self-test machine <ID>
vastai show maints [-ids <IDs>]
vastai schedule machine-maint <ID> --sdate <EPOCH> --duration <HRS>
vastai cancel maint <ID>
vastai attach network-disk <MACHINE_IDS...> <MOUNT> [-d DISK_ID]

14. SCHEDULED JOBS

vastai show scheduled-jobs
vastai delete scheduled-job <ID>
# Scheduling via --schedule flag on: reboot, execute, bid
# e.g. vastai reboot instance <ID> --schedule DAILY --hour 3

15. NETWORK DISKS

vastai show network-disks
vastai list network-disk <ID> [-p PRICE -e END_DATE]

Common Docker Images

Use Case Image
PyTorch pytorch/pytorch:2.1.0-cuda12.1-cudnn8-devel
CUDA dev nvidia/cuda:12.1.0-devel-ubuntu22.04
TensorFlow tensorflow/tensorflow:latest-gpu
vLLM vllm/vllm-openai:latest
HF Transformers huggingface/transformers-pytorch-gpu
General vastai/pytorch

Tips

  • Use --raw for JSON output, pipe to jq for parsing
  • Use -q to get just IDs for scripting
  • Always reliability>0.9 in searches unless you want cheap unreliable machines
  • Use --disk generously — disk is cheap, running out mid-job is expensive
  • --onstart-cmd runs as root on every start/restart
  • For long training: on-demand > interruptible (avoid preemption)
  • Poll vastai show instances --raw to wait for instance readiness
  • vastai execute is limited (ls/rm/du only) — use SSH for real work
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/LiorZ/vastai-claude-skill --skill vastai
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