Instances - Quickstart

Reviewed on January 29, 2026

Scaleway Instances are computing units that provide you with resources to run your applications. After you have created your Instance and installed your image of choice (e.g., an operating system), you can connect to it via SSH to use it as you wish. When you are done using the Instance, you can delete it from your account.

Console overview

Discover the CPU Instances interface on the Scaleway console.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
• An SSH key

How to create an Instance

1. Click CPU & GPU Instances in the Compute section of the side menu. The Instance dashboard displays.

2. Click Create Instance, then select Create CPU Instance. The Instance creation wizard displays.

3. Select an Instance range based on your usage. Instance offers vary in pricing, processing power, memory, storage, and bandwidth. Discover the best Instance type for your needs.

   Tip

   Click Instance view > List to view a list of all available Instances.

4. Choose an Instance configuration from the list and click the select icon. A pop-up displays.

5. Select the Availability Zone in which you want to deploy your Instance. Then click Configure Instance.

6. Complete the following steps:

   • Name your Instance, or leave the randomly-generated name in place. Optionally, you can add tags to help you organize your Instance.
   • Choose an image to run on your Instance.
     This can be an operating system, an InstantApp, or a custom image. Check all available Linux distributions and InstantApps.
   • Add volumes, which are storage spaces used by your Instances. A block volume with a default name and 5,000 IOPS is automatically provided for your system volume. You can customize this volume and attach up to 16 local and/or block type volumes as needed.
     Important

     • Ensure that the volume containing your OS image has a minimum size of 10 GB. For a GPU OS, the recommended size is 125 GB.
     • When multiple Block Storage volumes are linked to your Instance, the primary volume will host the OS and is essential for booting the Instance. If needed, you can change the boot volume after the Instance creation.
     • Booting from a volume that either lacks an OS or is among multiple volumes with identical operating systems can lead to inconsistent boot outcomes.
   • Configure network of the Instance.
     • Leave the checkbox ticked to assign a Public IPv4 to the Instance. You can either allocate a new IPv4 address or select one or multiple existing IPv4s. Alternatively, uncheck the box if you do not want an IPv4.
     • Leave the checkbox ticked to assign a Public IPv6 to the Instance. You can either allocate a new IPv6 address or select one or multiple existing IPv6s. Alternatively, uncheck the box if you do not want an IPv6.
       Note

       You can attach up to 5 IPv4 and 5 IPv6 addresses to an Instance, which is useful for running different services or applications on the same Instance.

   • (Optional) Click Cloud-init to set up a cloud-init configuration. Otherwise, leave this option set to its default values. Cloud-init scripts are the standard way to automate Instance setup, such as setting up software, users, and system configurations at the first boot.
   • Verify the SSH keys that will give you access to your Instance.

7. Click Review to see a order summary. Verify the estimated cost of your Instance, based on the specifications you chose.

8. Click Create Instance. The creation of your Instance begins, and you will be informed when the Instance is ready.

   Your Instance is now created, and you are redirected to the Overview tab. From here, you can see information including your Instance's Public IP, the SSH command to use to connect to it, and other information, settings, and actions for the Instance.

How to connect to an Instance

How to connect from OSX (Mac) and Linux

1. Open a terminal program.
2. Enter the command below into the terminal. Make sure you replace your_private_key with the filename of your private key (often id_rsa) and your_instance_ip with the IP address of your Instance.
   ssh -i ~/.ssh/your_private_key root@your_instance_ip

3. If / when prompted, allow connection to the host by typing yes, then press Enter.
   The authenticity of host 'myhost.ext (your_instance_ip)' can't be established.
   RSA key fingerprint is 4f:ba:65:cf:14:64:a7:1e:b6:07:7c:00:71:95:21:fa.
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

You are now connected to your Instance.

How to connect from Windows

To connect to your Instance from Windows, you will need to use a small application called PuTTY, an SSH client.

1. Download and install PuTTY.

2. Launch PuTTY on your computer.

3. Enter your Instance's IP address in the Hostname field.

4. In the side menu, under Connection, navigate to the Auth sub-category. (Connection > SSH > Auth).

5. Click the Browse button and select the private key file you created previously.

6. Click Open at the bottom of the screen to open a connection to the Instance. PuTTY asks you to allow the connection to the host.

7. Click OK to confirm. The terminal window displays.

8. Enter the username root and press Enter to authenticate against the server with your SSH key.

   You are now connected to your Instance.

How to delete an Instance

1. Click CPU & GPU Instances in the Compute section of the side menu. The Instances page displays.
2. Select the Availability Zone (AZ) from the drop-down menu (e.g., PAR1) to view resources in the selected AZ.
3. Click the more icon icon next to the Instance you want to delete and select Delete from the drop-down menu. A pop-up asks you to confirm the action.
4. Type DELETE and then click Delete Instance.