---
title: "Create a VM from a snapshot"
description: "Launch a new TIR Virtual Machine with the disk of a snapshot, even when the VM the snapshot came from is deleted."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "tir-snapshots"
platform: "TIR"
url: "/tir/tir-snapshots/how-to/create-a-vm-from-a-snapshot/"
topic: ["use-a-snapshot"]
relationships: {"requires":["/tir/tir-snapshots/how-to/create-a-vm-snapshot/"]}
---

# Create a VM from a snapshot

Create a VM from a snapshot to launch a new TIR Virtual Machine that starts with the disk of an
earlier one. Use it to run a copy beside the original, or to start a new VM with the disk of one you
deleted.

The new VM gets only the snapshot's disk. The source VM's settings, datasets, and shared file systems
stay behind, so you choose the plan, network, and storage again on the form.

## Before you begin

- A snapshot that shows **Ready** under **Status**, in the project where you will create the VM. See
  [Create a VM snapshot](/tir/tir-snapshots/how-to/create-a-vm-snapshot/).
- Create permission in the project. See [TIR Access Control](/tir/tir-iam/).
- What any new VM needs, such as an SSH key saved in your account. See
  [Create a VM](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/create-a-vm/).

A snapshot stays after its VM is deleted and can still be used here. To get the disk of a deleted VM
back, create a new VM from its snapshot; **Restore** works only while the source VM exists.

## Launch the VM

1. Find the snapshot. In the side menu, under **Storage**, select **Snapshots** to see every snapshot
   in the project. To see only one VM's snapshots, open that VM and select its **Snapshots** tab
   instead.
2. In the **Actions** menu of the snapshot, select **Create VM**.
3. The snapshot's image and version are already chosen, and they stay fixed.
4. Fill in the rest of the form as you would for any VM: the name, the plan, the network and security
   settings, and any datasets or shared file systems. See [Create a VM](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/create-a-vm/).
5. Set the disk size to at least the snapshot's **Disk Size**.
6. Select **Launch VM**. For what you see while the VM launches, see
   [Create a VM](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/create-a-vm/#launch-the-vm).

Then connect over SSH and look for the files you expect; see
[Connect to a VM over SSH](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/connect-to-a-vm-over-ssh/). The new VM accepts the SSH
keys you chose on the form and also the SSH keys of the VM the snapshot was taken from. To remove any of
these keys, see [Manage SSH keys on a VM](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/manage-ssh-keys-on-a-vm/).

## When Create VM is greyed out

**Create VM** becomes available once the snapshot is **Ready**. It stays unavailable for a snapshot
whose source image is no longer known, because a new VM cannot be launched from it. For what to do, see [Troubleshooting TIR
Snapshots](/tir/tir-snapshots/troubleshooting/tir-snapshots/#the-source-image-for-this-snapshot-is-no-longer-known).

## Create an Auto Scaling Group from a snapshot

A snapshot can also be the source of an [Auto Scaling Group](/tir/tir-auto-scaling/): select **Create Auto Scaling Group** in
the same **Actions** menu. The new group starts with the snapshot as its source. **Create Auto
Scaling Group** is available for a **Ready** snapshot of a CPU VM, because Auto
Scaling Groups run CPU-only VMs. The steps are in [Create an Auto Scaling
Group](/tir/tir-auto-scaling/how-to/create-an-auto-scaling-group/).

To launch a VM from another VM's settings instead of its disk, see
[Clone a VM](/tir/tir-vm/how-to/clone-a-vm/). For other messages on this form, see
[Troubleshooting TIR Snapshots](/tir/tir-snapshots/troubleshooting/tir-snapshots/).