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Quickstart

InstaVM's fastest path to something live is the installed CLI. This guide installs instavm, authenticates it, deploys a tiny static app with instavm deploy, and returns a share URL.

1. Get an API key​

  1. Sign up at the InstaVM Dashboard
  2. Navigate to API Keys
  3. Create a new key that starts with instavm_sk_...

2. Install the package​

pip install instavm
instavm --help
note

pip install instavm installs both the Python SDK and the instavm CLI. If the CLI entrypoint is not on your PATH, use python -m instavm.cli --help.

3. Authenticate the CLI​

instavm auth set-key
instavm auth status
instavm whoami

instavm auth set-key stores the key in ~/.instavm/config.json. For automation and CI, you can use INSTAVM_API_KEY instead of a stored key.

4. Create a tiny app​

mkdir hello-instavm
cd hello-instavm

cat > index.html <<'EOF'
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <title>Hello InstaVM</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello from InstaVM</h1>
    <p>This site was deployed with instavm deploy.</p>
  </body>
</html>
EOF

A directory with index.html is enough for the CLI to detect a static-site deploy.

5. Preview the deploy plan​

instavm deploy --plan

The dry run prints the detected runtime, install command, start command, port, health path, and any secrets that will be requested at deploy time.

6. Deploy and get the URL​

instavm deploy

The CLI creates a VM, uploads the project, starts the service, creates a share, and prints the VM ID, share URL, and cleanup hints.

note

instavm deploy is experimental. It works best today for straightforward static, Node.js, Python, Go, and Deno apps.

7. Common follow-ups​

instavm ls
instavm connect <vm_id>
instavm rm <vm_id>

Use these when you want to inspect the running VM, SSH in, or delete it when you are done. If you need a private deploy or a reusable image, rerun with instavm deploy --private or instavm deploy --save-snapshot.

Other paths​

  • Need the full terminal workflow? Start with CLI.
  • Want the deploy flags and follow-up workflows in one place? See Deploy a Web App.
  • Already building inside Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, or another coding agent? See Deploy from a Coding Agent.
  • Want a curated starter app instead of deploying your own project? Try instavm cookbook deploy hello-fastapi.
  • Need lower-level control instead of CLI automation? See Python SDK Reference.

Next steps​