# How to Create Droplets from Custom Images

Custom images are Linux and Unix-like images you import to DigitalOcean. You can create Droplets based custom images, which lets you migrate and scale your workloads without spending time recreating your environment from scratch.

## Create Droplets from Custom Images using Automation

After you [upload a custom image](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/custom-images/how-to/upload/index.html.md) to your account, you can create new Droplets from custom images using the Droplet creation `doctl` command or API endpoint and setting the `image` field to the image’s ID.

## How to Create a New Droplet From a Backup Using the DigitalOcean CLI

1. [Install `doctl`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/how-to/install/index.html.md), the official DigitalOcean CLI.
2. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with `doctl`.
3. Use the token to grant `doctl` access to your DigitalOcean account.

   ```shell
   doctl auth init
   ```
4. Finally, run `doctl compute droplet create`. Basic usage looks like this, but you can [read the usage docs](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/droplet/create/index.html.md) for more details:

   ```shell
   doctl compute droplet create <droplet-name>... [flags]
   ```

   The following example creates a Droplet named `example-droplet` with a two vCPUs, two GiB of RAM, and 20 GBs of disk space. The Droplet is created in the `nyc1` region and is based on the `ubuntu-20-04-x64` image. Additionally, the command uses the `--user-data` flag to run a Bash script the first time the Droplet boots up:

doctl compute droplet create example-droplet –size s-2vcpu-2gb –image ubuntu-20-04-x64 –region nyc1 –user-data $’#!/bin/bash\\n touch /root/example.txt; sudo apt update;sudo snap install doctl'

Please note: In Windows Powershell, the example command would be the following instead:

````
```shell
doctl compute droplet create example-droplet --size s-2vcpu-2gb --image ubuntu-20-04-x64 --region nyc1  --user-data "#!/bin/bash`n touch /root/example.txt; sudo apt update;sudo snap install doctl"
```
````

## How to Create a New Droplet From a Backup Using the DigitalOcean API

1. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with the API.
2. Send a POST request to [`https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/droplets`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/digitalocean//index.html.md#operation/droplets_create).

### cURL

Using cURL:

```shell
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  -d '{"name":"example.com","region":"nyc3","size":"s-1vcpu-1gb","image":"ubuntu-20-04-x64","ssh_keys":[289794,"3b:16:e4:bf:8b:00:8b:b8:59:8c:a9:d3:f0:19:fa:45"],"backups":true,"ipv6":true,"monitoring":true,"tags":["env:prod","web"],"user_data":"#cloud-config\nruncmd:\n  - touch /test.txt\n","vpc_uuid":"760e09ef-dc84-11e8-981e-3cfdfeaae000"}' \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/droplets"
```

### Go

Using [Godo](https://github.com/digitalocean/godo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Go:

```go
import (
    "context"
    "os"

    "github.com/digitalocean/godo"
)

func main() {
    token := os.Getenv("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN")

    client := godo.NewFromToken(token)
    ctx := context.TODO()

    createRequest := &godo.DropletCreateRequest{
        Name:   "example.com",
        Region: "nyc3",
        Size:   "s-1vcpu-1gb",
        Image: godo.DropletCreateImage{
            Slug: "ubuntu-20-04-x64",
        },
        SSHKeys: []godo.DropletCreateSSHKey{
            godo.DropletCreateSSHKey{ID: 289794},
            godo.DropletCreateSSHKey{Fingerprint: "3b:16:e4:bf:8b:00:8b:b8:59:8c:a9:d3:f0:19:fa:45"}
        },
        Backups: true,
        IPv6: true,
        Monitoring: true,
        Tags: []string{"env:prod","web"},
        UserData: "#cloud-config\nruncmd:\n  - touch /test.txt\n",
        VPCUUID: "760e09ef-dc84-11e8-981e-3cfdfeaae000",
    }
```

### Ruby

Using [DropletKit](https://github.com/digitalocean/droplet_kit), the official DigitalOcean API client for Ruby:

```ruby
require 'droplet_kit'
token = ENV['DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN']
client = DropletKit::Client.new(access_token: token)

droplet = DropletKit::Droplet.new(
  name: 'example.com',
  region: 'nyc3',
  size: 's-1vcpu-1gb',
  image: 'ubuntu-20-04-x64',
  ssh_keys: [289794,"3b:16:e4:bf:8b:00:8b:b8:59:8c:a9:d3:f0:19:fa:45"],
  backups: true,
  ipv6: true,
  monitoring: true,
  tags: ["env:prod","web"],
  user_data: "#cloud-config\nruncmd:\n  - touch /test.txt\n",
  vpc_uuid: "760e09ef-dc84-11e8-981e-3cfdfeaae000",
)
client.droplets.create(droplet)
```

### Python

Using [PyDo](https://github.com/digitalocean/pydo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Python:

```python
import os
from pydo import Client

client = Client(token=os.environ.get("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN"))

req = {
  "name": "example.com",
  "region": "nyc3",
  "size": "s-1vcpu-1gb",
  "image": "ubuntu-20-04-x64",
  "ssh_keys": [
    289794,
    "3b:16:e4:bf:8b:00:8b:b8:59:8c:a9:d3:f0:19:fa:45"
  ],
  "backups": True,
  "ipv6": True,
  "monitoring": True,
  "tags": [
    "env:prod",
    "web"
  ],
  "user_data": "#cloud-config\nruncmd:\n  - touch /test.txt\n",
  "vpc_uuid": "760e09ef-dc84-11e8-981e-3cfdfeaae000"
}

resp = client.droplets.create(body=req)
```

## Create Droplets from Custom Images using the Control Panel

After you [upload a custom image](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/custom-images/how-to/upload/index.html.md) to your account, you can create Droplets from that image in two ways:

- During [Droplet creation](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/how-to/create/index.html.md), on the [Droplet create screen](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/droplets/new), in the **Choose an image** section, select the **Custom images** tab and choose the custom image you want to use.

![Choose an image section with an option to add additional images.](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/custom-images/choose-an-image.2f53781b9a6d4eac595683bd5fecd39cdd76e3306c9d7ce0cd97775697163830.png)

- From the **Backups &amp; Snapshots** page, on the **Custom Images** tab, open the **More** menu of the custom image you want to create a Droplet from. Then, click **Start a Droplet**. This takes you to the Droplet create screen with your custom image pre-selected.

![Custom Images page listing uploaded images with image details, and a More dropdown menu for starting a Droplet or deleting the image.](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/custom-images/overview.c7f454638be3817115f1c638d877b59ed3cd004f20fa6401d8193ad4a0b3ffa6.png)

Regardless of which method you choose, finish selecting your options on the Droplet create page, and then click **Create Droplet**. You can only create Droplets in the same region as your custom image, but you can [add custom images to other regions](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/custom-images/how-to/add-regions/index.html.md).

After your Droplet is created, you can connect to it with SSH.

**Note**: If you get a prompt to enter a root password and you don’t have one, verify that the version of cloud-init on your image and is at least 0.7.7. You can also try adding your SSH key to the image before you upload it.