Quickstart

Get started with InstaVM in under 5 minutes. InstaVM allows you to spin up virtual machines in under 200ms and execute code securely in isolated environments.

What is InstaVM?

InstaVM is an infrastructure platform designed for rapid VM provisioning and secure code execution. Perfect for:

• 🤖 LLM-generated code execution - Run AI-generated code safely
• 📊 Data visualization - Generate charts and graphs in isolated environments
• 🛠️ Package installation - Install tools like ffmpeg, d3, matplotlib without affecting your system
• ⚡ Real-time processing - Process files and streams with sub-second latency

Get your API Key

1. Sign up at InstaVM Dashboard
2. Navigate to API Keys section
3. Create a new API key
4. Copy your API key (starts with sk_instavm_...)

Installation

Python

pip install instavm

JavaScript/Node.js

npm install instavm

Your First VM

Python

from instavm import InstaVM

# Initialize with your API key - grab yours from the dashboard for free credits
vm = InstaVM('sk_instavm_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx')

# Execute code on a virtual machine
result = vm.execute("""
print("Hello from InstaVM! 🚀")
print(f"2 + 2 = {2 + 2}")
""")

print(result)
# Output: {'output': 'Hello from InstaVM! 🚀\n2 + 2 = 4\n', 'execution_time': 0.123}

JavaScript/Node.js

const { InstaVM } = require('instavm');

// Initialize with your API key
const vm = new InstaVM('api_key');

// Execute code on a virtual machine
vm.execute(`
print("Hello from InstaVM! 🚀");
`).then(result => {
  console.log(result);
  // Output: { output: 'Hello from InstaVM! 🚀\n', success: true, executionTime: 0.558 }
});

Context Manager (Recommended)

For automatic session cleanup, use context managers:

Python

from instavm import InstaVM

# Automatic session cleanup - grab your API key from the dashboard for free credits
with InstaVM('your_api_key') as vm:
    result = vm.execute("print('Hello from InstaVM!')")
    print(result)
    # Session automatically closed

JavaScript/Node.js

const { InstaVM } = require('instavm');

async function example() {
  const vm = new InstaVM('your_api_key'); // grab yours from the dashboard for free credits
  const result = await vm.execute("print('Hello from InstaVM!')");
  console.log(result);
}

example();

Real-world Example: Data Visualization

Here's a complete example of generating a data visualization with matplotlib:

Python

import os
from instavm import InstaVM

with InstaVM('your_api_key') as vm:  # grab yours from the dashboard for free credits
    # Install matplotlib and generate a plot
    result = vm.execute("""
import subprocess
import sys

# Install matplotlib
subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "matplotlib"])

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

# Generate data
x = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
y = np.sin(x)

# Create plot
plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6))
plt.plot(x, y, 'b-', linewidth=2, label='sin(x)')
plt.xlabel('x')
plt.ylabel('y')
plt.title('Sine Wave Generated on InstaVM')
plt.legend()
plt.grid(True, alpha=0.3)

# Save plot
plt.savefig('sine_wave.png', dpi=150, bbox_inches='tight')
print("Plot saved as sine_wave.png")
""")

    print(result)

    # Download the sine plot from VM
    local_path = "sine_wave_downloaded.png"
    download_result = vm.download_file("sine_wave.png", local_path=local_path)

    if os.path.exists(local_path):
        file_size = os.path.getsize(local_path)
        print(f"Successfully downloaded sine_wave.png ({file_size} bytes) to {local_path}")

JavaScript/Node.js

// InstaVM JavaScript SDK - D3 Visualization Quickstart
// Generate an SVG sine wave using D3.js

const { InstaVM } = require('instavm');
const fs = require('fs');

async function generateD3Visualization() {
  const vm = new InstaVM('your_api_key'); // grab yours for free in the dashboard

  try {
    console.log('Setting up Node.js environment...');

    // Install Node.js in the VM
    await vm.execute(`%%bash
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - > /dev/null 2>&1
apt-get install -y nodejs > /dev/null 2>&1
echo "Node.js installed"
`, { timeout: 180000 });

    console.log('Installing D3 and generating visualization...');

    // You can also run Python code here using vm.execute() with Python syntax.
    // The VM supports multiple languages - just change the code you pass to execute().

    // Install D3 and generate SVG
    const result = await vm.execute(`%%bash
# Install D3 dependencies
npm install d3-node canvas --silent

# Create visualization script
cat > generate_svg.js << 'SCRIPT'
const { D3Node } = require('d3-node');
const fs = require('fs');

// Create D3 SVG
const d3n = new D3Node();
const svg = d3n.createSVG(500, 300);

// Generate sine wave data
const data = Array.from({length: 50}, (_, i) => ({
  x: i * 10,
  y: 150 + Math.sin(i * 0.1) * 100
}));

// Create line path
const d3 = d3n.d3;
const line = d3.line()
  .x(d => d.x)
  .y(d => d.y);

svg.append('path')
  .datum(data)
  .attr('fill', 'none')
  .attr('stroke', '#6772e5')
  .attr('stroke-width', 2)
  .attr('d', line);

// Save SVG
const svgString = d3n.svgString();
fs.writeFileSync('sine_wave.svg', svgString);
console.log('SVG Generated:', svgString);
SCRIPT

# Run the script
node generate_svg.js
`);

    console.log(result.output);

    // Download the SVG
    console.log('Downloading visualization...');
    const download = await vm.download('sine_wave.svg');

    // Save locally
    fs.writeFileSync('sine_wave.svg', download.content);
    console.log(`✓ Downloaded ${download.size} bytes to sine_wave.svg`);

  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error.message);
  }
}

generateD3Visualization();

Next Steps

• 📚 Learn about authentication
• 🐍 Python SDK
• 📜 JavaScript SDK

Need Help?

• 💬 Join our Discord
• 📧 Email support
• 📝 Submit issues