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Create a VM similar to an existing VM Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

This document explains how to create a virtual machine (VM) instance that has properties similar to an existing VM using the Google Cloud console.

If you have a VM with properties that you want to reuse, then you can create a VM based on it. You can create the VM by using the same properties as the reference VM or by modifying them. This is useful when you need to quickly create a VM, such as in the following scenarios:

Important: When creating the VM, the Google Cloud console uses the reference VM's properties. However, the Google Cloud console doesn't copy any data from the reference VM or from any Persistent Disk volumes attached to it.

Create a VM similar to an existing VM

To create a VM with similar properties to an existing VM, do the following:

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. In the Name column, click the name of an existing VM which you want to use to create your VM.

    The VM instance details page opens.

  3. Click Create similar.

    The Create similar button in the Google Cloud console. [The Create similar button in the Google Cloud console.]

    The Create an instance page opens. By default, the Google Cloud console specifies the same properties as the reference VM.

  4. Customize the properties of the VM.

    Note: To view the equivalent Google Cloud CLI, Compute Engine API, or Terraform code to create the VM, click Equivalent code.

  5. Click Create.

Troubleshoot

If you encounter issues when creating VMs, then see Troubleshoot creating, updating and deleting VMs.

What's next

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Last updated 2026-08-11 UTC.

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