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VPC subnets add IP address ranges to a VPC network as separate, named segments. During the public preview, you manage subnets using the DigitalOcean API.

Prerequisites

• Create a personal access token and save it for use with the API.
• The ID of the VPC network you want to manage. Retrieve it using the /v2/vpcs endpoint.

Create a Subnet

To create a subnet, send a POST request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets endpoint, replacing <vpc-id> with your VPC’s ID. The name field is required. The ip_range field must be an RFC 1918 CIDR with a prefix length between /16 and /28 that does not overlap with any other subnet on your team:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "name": "app-tier-subnet",
    "ip_range": "192.168.11.0/24"
}' \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets"

The response returns the new subnet, including its ID, URN, region, and type:

Output
{
  "vpc_subnet": {
    "id": "4de7ac8b-495b-4884-9a69-1050c6793cd6",
    "urn": "do:vpc_subnet:4de7ac8b-495b-4884-9a69-1050c6793cd6",
    "name": "app-tier-subnet",
    "region": "nyc3",
    "ip_range": "192.168.11.0/24",
    "default": false,
    "type": "REGULAR",
    "created_at": "2026-07-30T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

List Subnets

To list all subnets in a VPC, send a GET request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets endpoint:

curl -X GET \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets"

The response is paginated and includes each subnet’s ID, name, IP range, and type.

To retrieve a single subnet, send a GET request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id> endpoint with the subnet’s ID.

Rename a Subnet

To rename a subnet, send a PATCH request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id> endpoint with the new name. You cannot change a subnet’s IP range after creation:

curl -X PATCH \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "name": "web-tier-subnet"
}' \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id>"

How Resources Join a Subnet

A resource joins a subnet when you create it, so there is no separate step to assign an existing resource to a subnet. This is why the members endpoint is read-only.

To place a resource in a specific subnet, pass the subnet’s UUID when you create the resource and include the VPC’s ID:

• Droplets: set subnet_uuid (which requires vpc_uuid) in the create Droplet API request.
• DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS): set worker_subnet_uuid (which requires vpc_uuid) in the create cluster API request.
• Load Balancers and NAT gateways: set the subnet’s UUID in the create API request.

If you do not specify a subnet, the resource is placed in the VPC’s default subnet. You cannot move a resource to a different subnet after you create it.

During the public preview, you can choose a subnet when you create a Droplet, DOKS cluster, Load Balancer, or NAT gateway.

List Subnet Members

To list the resources attached to a subnet, send a GET request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id>/members endpoint. Use the optional resource_type query parameter to filter members by type: droplet, loadbalancer, or kubernetes:

curl -X GET \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id>/members?resource_type=droplet"

The response lists each member’s URN, name, and creation time.

Delete a Subnet

To delete a subnet, send a DELETE request to the /v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id> endpoint:

curl -X DELETE \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/vpcs/<vpc-id>/subnets/<subnet-id>"

A successful request returns a 204 status code with no response body.

Next Steps

To control how traffic from a subnet reaches its destination, see How to Manage Routes.