Pod Management - InstaPods

List Pods

instapods pods list

Displays a table with name, preset, plan, CPU, memory, disk, status, and domain.

Create a Pod

instapods pods create my-app -p nodejs

The pod name can also be passed as a flag:

instapods pods create --name my-app -p nodejs

By default, the CLI returns immediately after the API accepts the request. Use -w to wait until the pod is fully running before returning.

Create Flags

Flag	Description	Default
`-p, --preset`	Preset: `static`, `php`, `nodejs`, `python`	Auto-detected
`-v, --version`	Runtime version (e.g. `8.4`, `22`, `3.11`)	Preset default
`--plan`	Plan: `launch`, `build`, `grow`, `scale`, `turbo`	`launch`
`-r, --region`	Region slug (e.g. `eu-nbg`)	Auto-select (closest)
`--ssh-key`	SSH public key or path to key file	None
`-w, --wait`	Wait until pod is running before returning	`false`
`--timeout`	Max seconds to wait for pod creation	`120`

The --preset flag is optional. If omitted, the CLI auto-detects the preset from your current directory by looking for signature files like package.json (Node.js), composer.json (PHP), requirements.txt (Python), or index.html (Static).

Examples

# Node.js with Build plan
instapods pods create api -p nodejs --plan build

# Python with SSH key
instapods pods create ml-service -p python --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Static site in a specific region
instapods pods create my-site -p static -r eu-nbg

# Wait until pod is fully running
instapods pods create my-site -p static -w

# Specific runtime version
instapods pods create my-app -p php --version 8.4

# Custom timeout (5 minutes)
instapods pods create big-app -p nodejs --timeout 300

Get Pod Details

instapods pods get my-app

Shows all pod information including status, IP, domain, resources, server, and creation time.

Start / Stop / Restart

instapods pods start my-app
instapods pods stop my-app
instapods pods restart my-app

Lifecycle Flags

Flag	Description	Default
`-w, --wait`	Wait until the operation completes	`false`
`--timeout`	Max seconds to wait	`60`

# Start and wait until running
instapods pods start my-app -w

# Stop with a custom timeout
instapods pods stop my-app -w --timeout 30

# Restart and wait
instapods pods restart my-app -w

Resize

Change a pod’s plan (and its associated resources):

instapods pods resize my-app --plan build

The --plan flag is required. Resources (CPU, memory, disk) are automatically set based on the target plan.

Flag	Description
`--plan`	Target plan: `launch`, `build`, `grow`, `scale`, `turbo` (required)

Downgrades check disk usage — if the pod’s current disk usage exceeds the new plan’s storage limit, the resize will fail.

Reload Application

Restart the application services inside the pod:

instapods pods reload my-app

What gets restarted depends on the preset:

Static: nginx
PHP: nginx + PHP-FPM
Node.js: app systemd service
Python: app systemd service

Reload also auto-detects and installs dependencies. If a package.json (Node.js) or requirements.txt (Python) is present, npm install or pip install runs automatically before restarting the service.

Delete

# With confirmation prompt
instapods pods delete my-app

# Skip confirmation
instapods pods delete my-app -f

# Wait until deletion completes
instapods pods delete my-app -f -w

Flag	Description	Default
`-f, --force`	Skip confirmation prompt	`false`
`-w, --wait`	Wait until deletion completes	`false`

Deletion is permanent. All files, databases, and configurations are destroyed. Deleted pod names are reserved for 7 days to prevent SSH host key conflicts.

JSON Output

Add --json to any command for machine-readable JSON output:

instapods pods list --json
instapods pods get my-app --json

​List Pods

​Create a Pod

​Create Flags

​Examples

​Get Pod Details

​Start / Stop / Restart

​Lifecycle Flags

​Resize

​Reload Application

​Delete

​JSON Output

List Pods

Create a Pod

Create Flags

Examples

Get Pod Details

Start / Stop / Restart

Lifecycle Flags

Resize

Reload Application

Delete

JSON Output