Machines

new

Create a VM.

machine0 new <vm> [flags]

Flag	Description	Default
`-s, --size`	VM size — see pricing or run `machine0 sizes`	`small`
`-r, --region`	`us-east`, `us-west`, `uk`, `eu`, `asia`	`eu`
`-i, --image`	Image slug	`ubuntu-24-04-loaded`
`-k, --key`	SSH key name	Default key
`--attach`	Attach a disk: `disk:<name> path:</abs/path>`, repeatable
`--profile`	Inject a profile’s variables and credentials into the VM at creation
`--env <KEY=VALUE>`	Set an environment variable on the VM, repeatable. Overrides a `--profile`’s variables on name collision. Set at creation only — immutable afterwards (recreate the VM to change)
`--metrics <true\|false>`	Collect guest metrics (CPU, load, memory, disk I/O, network, GPU), graphed in the web dashboard — see Metrics. Requires a machine0-managed SSH key	off
`--on-idle <suspend\|destroy\|none>`	Suspend or destroy the VM automatically after sustained inactivity — see Idle detection. Turns on `--metrics` and requires a machine0-managed SSH key. `destroy` asks for confirmation on a terminal (skip with `-y`)	`none`
`--idle-timeout-minutes <n>`	Minutes of sustained inactivity before `--on-idle` fires (10–2880). Requires `--on-idle` `suspend`/`destroy`	`30`
`-y, --yes`	Skip the `--on-idle destroy` confirmation prompt

machine0 new my-vm
machine0 new my-vm --size large --region us-east
machine0 new my-gpu --size gpu-h100-1
machine0 new my-vm --attach disk:data path:/data
machine0 new my-vm --profile work
machine0 new my-vm --env NODE_ENV=production --env PORT=8080
machine0 new my-vm --profile work --env API_URL=https://staging.example.com  # override a profile var
machine0 new my-vm --metrics true
machine0 new my-vm --on-idle suspend --idle-timeout-minutes 60

order

Order a VM. If the size is available it’s created immediately (like new). If it’s out of stock — common for GPU sizes — a standing order is placed instead: the VM shows up in machine0 ls as ORDERED and is created automatically as soon as capacity appears (checked every minute). You get an email when it’s running.

machine0 order <vm> [flags]

Takes all of new’s flags, plus:

Flag	Description	Default
`--order-expiry`	How long the order stays open: a duration (`"2 days"`, `"2 weeks"`) or an ISO timestamp. Min 10 minutes, max 30 days	`"7 days"`

machine0 order my-gpu --size gpu-h100-1 --region us-east
machine0 order my-gpu --size gpu-h100-1 --region uk --order-expiry "2 days"
machine0 order my-gpu --size gpu-h100-8 --order-expiry 2026-11-01T00:00:00Z

An ORDERED machine bills nothing. Cancel the order with machine0 rm <vm>, or try to fill it immediately with machine0 start <vm>. If the size doesn’t become available before the expiry, the order flips to ERRORED (“order expired”) and you get an email — retry it with machine0 start, or remove it with machine0 rm.

ls

List all VMs.

machine0 ls
machine0 ls --json

get

Show VM details: specs, pricing, IP, SSH key, metrics on/off, the idle detection policy (On Idle row), timestamps. For an UNAVAILABLE, ERRORED, or ORDERED VM, a Status Info row explains what happened and how to recover; a standing order also shows an Order Expires row.

machine0 get <vm>

start

Start a stopped or suspended VM. Suspended VMs are recreated from their snapshot with the same name, size, region, and key. Requires sufficient wallet balance. Also retries a VM that is UNAVAILABLE (the provider was out of capacity) or ERRORED after a failed create or resume, and tries to fill an ORDERED standing order right away. If the size is still out of stock, the command fails immediately with a clear error instead of leaving the VM stuck. See Machines → Out-of-capacity.

machine0 start <vm>

stop

Stop a running VM.

machine0 stop <vm>

Stopped VMs still incur charges. Suspend or destroy to stop billing.

reboot

machine0 reboot <vm>

suspend

Snapshot the VM, delete the cloud instance, pay only image storage.

machine0 suspend <vm> [flags]

Flag	Description
`-y, --yes`	Skip confirmation

The VM moves to SUSPENDED. Start again with machine0 start. Destroying a suspended VM also deletes its snapshot.

rm

Destroy a VM.

machine0 rm [vm] [flags]

Flag	Description
`-a, --all`	Destroy all VMs
`-y, --yes`	Skip confirmation

ssh

SSH into a VM or run a remote command.

machine0 ssh [flags] <vm> [command...]

Flag	Description	Default
`--username`	SSH username	VM default (usually `ubuntu`)
`-t, --tty`	Force pseudo-terminal allocation (like `ssh -tt`)	off

machine0 ssh my-vm
machine0 ssh my-vm docker ps -a
machine0 ssh --username nix my-vm
machine0 ssh -t my-vm htop

Like ssh, flags go before the VM name — everything after it is the remote command, passed through verbatim (so remote flags like ls -t or bash -lc 'your-command' just work). If the VM is still starting, the CLI waits for SSH. If the VM has disk attachments that are still coming up, the CLI briefly waits for those too before opening the session. Commands run under the remote user’s default non-login shell; for login-shell initialization, use machine0 ssh my-vm bash -lc 'your-command'. Running a command doesn’t allocate a terminal by default — pass -t for interactive programs like htop, sudo prompts, or TUI apps. Forcing a terminal merges stderr into stdout and rewrites line endings, so don’t combine -t with output redirection.

update

Update a VM’s name, default SSH username, SSH client initial command, metrics collection, or idle detection.

machine0 update <vm> [flags]

Flag	Description
`-n, --name`	New name (updates `mac0.io` endpoint)
`--default-ssh-username`	Default SSH username
`--ssh-client-initial-command`	Legacy: stored on the VM but no longer executed by any client (pass `""` to clear)
`--metrics <true\|false>`	Turn metrics collection on or off — see Metrics. Enabling requires a machine0-managed SSH key
`--on-idle <suspend\|destroy\|none>`	Suspend or destroy the VM automatically after sustained inactivity — see Idle detection. Turns on `--metrics` and requires a machine0-managed SSH key
`--idle-timeout-minutes <n>`	Minutes of sustained inactivity before `--on-idle` fires (10–2880, default 30). Requires an active `--on-idle` policy
`-y, --yes`	Skip confirmation

machine0 update my-vm --ssh-client-initial-command "tmux attach || tmux new"
machine0 update my-vm --ssh-client-initial-command ""   # clear
machine0 update my-vm --metrics true    # start collecting metrics
machine0 update my-vm --metrics false   # stop
machine0 update my-vm --on-idle suspend                 # auto-suspend after 30 idle minutes
machine0 update my-vm --idle-timeout-minutes 120        # change the window
machine0 update my-vm --on-idle none                    # turn idle detection off

Turning metrics off while idle detection is active is an error — disable idle detection first (--on-idle none), then --metrics false. The SSH client initial command is legacy: it was executed by the retired machine0 mobile app’s terminal, and no maintained client runs it (the web terminal and machine0 ssh never did; still-signed-in installs of the retired app may until their sessions expire). The value is still stored and shows in machine0 get under the SSH key; images created from the VM copy it onto the snapshot, and VMs created from that snapshot inherit it. It is stored and displayed in plain text — don’t embed secrets in it; use profile variables for secrets.

provision

Provision a VM with a Nix flake or Ansible playbook.

machine0 provision <vm> <source> [flags]

Flag	Description	Default
`--username`	SSH username	auto
`--dry-run`	Print planned actions without executing

<source> can be a local directory, flake.nix path, remote flake ref, or .yml playbook. Append #profile to pick a specific NixOS configuration.

machine0 provision my-vm setup.yml
machine0 provision my-vm ./flake.nix#minimal
machine0 provision my-vm github:owner/repo#default

See Provisioning for details.

sizes

Show available VM sizes and pricing.

machine0 sizes [flags]

Flag	Description
`-a, --all`	Include out-of-stock sizes

Introduction

Examples

Platform

Reference

new

order

ls

get

start

stop

reboot

suspend

rm

ssh

update

provision

sizes

​new

​order

​ls

​get

​start

​stop

​reboot

​suspend

​rm

​ssh

​update

​provision

​sizes

new

order

ls

get

start

stop

reboot

suspend

rm

ssh

update

provision

sizes