Guides - Capture an Image

Note

Pricing change: Starting on September 1, 2021, Custom Images has transitioned to a paid service with a cost of $0.10/GB per month for each Custom Image stored on an account. Recovery Images, generated automatically after a Compute Instance is deleted, will continue to be provided at no cost. See Images > Pricing for additional details.

Limits and Considerations

Overall

• Image size limit: The maximum size for each Custom Image is 6 GB.
• Account storage limit: The maximum combined size for all Custom Images on an account is 150 GB.
• Account quantity limit: There can be up to 25 Custom Images per account.

To request an increase to any of these limits, contact Linode Support with additional details and requirements.

Specific to Capturing an Image from a Linode

• Disk must be formatted using ext3/ext4 filesystems. Images cannot be created if you are using raw disks or disks that have been formatted using custom filesystems. CoreOS disk images are in RAW format. Images made from CoreOS disks can’t be used to deploy new Linodes.

• Power off Linode to avoid database corruption. If your Linode is running any active databases, it’s recommended to power off the Linode down prior to creating the image. Creating an image that includes a running database can cause corruption or data loss in the imaged copy of the database.

• Only the selected disk is saved to the Image. The Image is comprised only of the disk selected during the creation process. The Image does not store other aspects of the Linode, such as Configuration Profiles, Block Storage Volumes, IP Addresses, and other Linode-based settings.

Capturing an Image through the Cloud Manager

1. Log in to the Cloud Manager and open the Capture Image form by navigating to the Images page, clicking the Create Image button, and staying on the Capture Image tab.

2. Select your Linode and Disk from their respective dropdown lists and type in an optional Label and Description for the Image. If no Label is entered, the label for the disk will be used. When selecting a Linode and Disk, keep in mind any limitations that may prevent the Image from creating successfully.

3. Click the Create button to start creating the Image. It will take some time to fully complete. You can check the status of this process by navigating to the main Images page, finding the new image in the Custom Images table, and looking at the Status column. If the Image has been captured and processed, the status should be set to Ready. The Size of the Image is based on the disk’s usage, not the size of the disk itself.