--- name: runpodctl description: >- Runpod CLI for managing GPU/CPU workloads from the terminal — pods, serverless endpoints, templates, network volumes, Hub deploys, models, SSH, and file transfer (send/receive). Use for terminal/CI/scripting, Hub browse/deploy, SSH setup, `doctor`, or when the Runpod MCP tools are not connected. For structured tool calls in an MCP-enabled session, prefer runpod-mcp. allowed-tools: Bash(runpodctl:*) compatibility: Linux, macOS metadata: author: runpod version: "1.1.0" # x-release-please-version license: Apache-2.0 --- # Runpodctl Manage GPU pods, serverless endpoints, templates, volumes, and models. ## Install `curl -sSL https://cli.runpod.net | bash` (any platform) or `brew install runpod/runpodctl/runpodctl`. Manual binaries, Windows/Linux steps, and the version caveat (`--model-reference` + multi-volume need **v2.4.0+**): **[reference/install.md](reference/install.md)**. > Old runpodctl builds silently lack newer flags/behaviors (e.g. `--model-reference` doesn't > exist before v2.4.0) and produce confusing downstream errors — and the Homebrew tap can lag > well behind. So, before any work: > > - **Update to the latest build** — check `runpodctl version`, then run `runpodctl update` > (or reinstall from the [latest release](https://github.com/runpod/runpodctl/releases)). > - **Pin to one recent version for the whole task.** > - **Never switch between an old and a new binary mid-task** (that flip-flop is a known failure). > - **Verify once** — `runpodctl version` shows the current build before you continue. ## Quick start ```bash runpodctl update # FIRST: get on the latest build — old versions cause confusing errors runpodctl version # confirm the current version before doing any work export RUNPOD_API_KEY=your_key # Non-interactive auth (agents) — runpodctl reads this runpodctl doctor # Interactive first-time setup (API key + SSH) — for humans runpodctl --help # See current top-level commands runpodctl pod create --help # Inspect exact current flags before creating runpodctl gpu list # See available GPU types runpodctl datacenter list # GPU availability per data center (use to co-locate GPU + volume) runpodctl hub search vllm # Find a hub repo runpodctl serverless create --hub-id --name "my-vllm" # Deploy from hub runpodctl template search pytorch # Find a template runpodctl pod create --template-id runpod-torch-v21 --gpu-id "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090" # Create from template runpodctl pod list # List your pods ``` > Auth: an agent should `export RUNPOD_API_KEY=...` (non-interactive). `runpodctl > doctor` is interactive (prompts) and also sets up SSH keys — good for a human's > first run, not for scripted use. API key: https://console.runpod.io/user/settings ## Live Help Is Authoritative Live `runpodctl --help` output is authoritative for exact flags, aliases, and command syntax. Use this skill for workflows, decision rules, safety notes, and common examples. ```bash runpodctl --help runpodctl --help runpodctl --help ``` Before using unfamiliar commands, inspect live help first. Do not rely on this skill as an exhaustive flag reference. ## Decision Rules - Use Hub when the user wants a known deployable app or worker such as vLLM, ComfyUI, Whisper, or a Runpod-maintained repo. - **Picking a worker:** prefer a **first-party or well-adopted, recently-released** worker on a **broad, high-availability GPU pool**. Observable signals via `runpodctl hub list`: `--owner runpod-workers` (first-party), `--order-by releasedAt`/`updatedAt` (recency), `--order-by deploys`/`stars` (adoption). Don't pin a scarce large-GPU tier a small model doesn't need. - **"Active worker" = minimum workers, not maximum.** If a user asks for an "active worker," they mean `--workers-min 1` (keep one worker always warm → no cold start), **not** `--workers-max 1` (that only caps the ceiling). A warm min-1 worker is ideal for development/iteration. - ⚠️ **A min-1 worker bills continuously, even while idle** (it defeats scale-to-zero). When you set `--workers-min 1` for dev, you **must** set it back to `--workers-min 0` (or delete the endpoint) when done — otherwise it quietly runs up cost. - `serverless update` has **no `--gpu-id` flag**. To change an existing endpoint's GPU pool, call `PATCH https://rest.runpod.io/v1/endpoints/` with `{"gpuTypeIds":[...]}` directly. - **CPU serverless endpoints:** always create them with `runpodctl serverless create --compute-type CPU` (or the MCP server). **Never** use the public control REST `POST https://rest.runpod.io/v1/endpoints` with `"computeType":"CPU"` — it silently provisions a **GPU** endpoint instead (verified evidence in the Serverless command section below). - Use templates when the user already has a template ID, wants reusable image/config defaults, or needs lower-level control than Hub. - Use direct pod creation with `--image` when the user has a specific Docker image and does not need a saved template. - Use serverless for request/response inference APIs and scalable workers; use pods for interactive work, notebooks, training, debugging, or long-lived sessions. - Use CPU pods for preprocessing, file movement, lightweight scripts, and non-CUDA work. Use GPU pods when CUDA, model inference, training, or GPU memory is required. - Do not pass GPU flags when creating CPU pods. Check `runpodctl pod create --help` for the current valid flag set. - Standing up a **service on a pod** (Ollama, ComfyUI, a dev server)? Declare its `--ports` and `--env` **at creation** (they can't be added to a running pod without a reset), then follow the pod development loop in the `runpod-usage` skill (`reference/pod-workflows.md`) — SSH-exec the install, bind to `0.0.0.0`, and poll the proxy URL until it answers. - For SSH, use `runpodctl pod get ` or `runpodctl ssh info ` to retrieve connection details. runpodctl has **no interactive-shell command** — `ssh info` returns the connection command + key but does not connect. Run commands over SSH yourself with `ssh user@host "command"`. - Network volumes are location-sensitive. Check datacenter availability before attaching volumes, and use `send` / `receive` or S3-compatible storage for migrations. - Clean up paid resources after tests: delete serverless endpoints, pods, and temporary volumes created for validation. - **Cost guard on creation:** use `--terminate-after` (deletes the pod); `--stop-after` only *stops* it, so disk/volume keep billing. - **Attached volume:** to delete a network volume, remove the pod using it first. ### Serverless facts (context, not rules) - **Scale-to-zero billing:** serverless endpoints scale to zero with `--workers-min 0` (the default) — no GPU billing while idle, only per request-second; this is the right cost posture for a request/response API. - **Broken-image tell:** if deployed workers go `ready` but jobs sit `IN_QUEUE` with `inProgress: 0`, the image is broken/mis-dispatching — the fix is to switch to a different worker rather than wait it out. - **Diagnosing it:** there's no first-class serverless worker-log command, so diagnosis relies on `/health` worker counts. ## Commands Essentials below. **Full flag menu → [reference/command-reference.md](reference/command-reference.md)** (pods lifecycle, hub/template filters, registry auth, billing, SSH key management); live `runpodctl --help` is authoritative for exact flags. ### Pods ```bash runpodctl pod list # running pods (+ --all / --status / --since / --created-after) runpodctl pod get # details incl. SSH info runpodctl pod create --template-id --gpu-id "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090" # from template runpodctl pod create --image --gpu-id "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090" # from image runpodctl pod create --compute-type cpu --image ubuntu:22.04 # CPU pod (lowercase `cpu`; serverless uses `CPU`) runpodctl pod {start|stop|restart|reset|update|delete} # lifecycle (delete aliases: rm/remove) ``` ### Hub Browse/search the Runpod Hub (curated deployable repos). ```bash runpodctl hub search vllm # find a repo (+ hub list [--type/--category/--order-by/--owner]) runpodctl hub get # repo details ``` ### Serverless (alias: sls) ```bash runpodctl serverless list | get | delete runpodctl serverless create --name "x" --template-id # from template runpodctl serverless create --name "x" --hub-id # from hub (+ --env KEY=VAL to override defaults) runpodctl serverless create --hub-id --gpu-id "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090" \ --model-reference https://huggingface.co//:main # attach & host-cache a HF model (GPU only) runpodctl serverless update --workers-max 5 ``` **Create from hub:** `--hub-id` resolves the hub listing, extracts the build image and config (GPU IDs, container disk, env vars), creates an inline template, and deploys. Accepts both SERVERLESS and POD listing types. GPU IDs and env var defaults from the hub config are included automatically; override with `--gpu-id` and `--env`. **CPU serverless endpoints** (the always/never rule is in Decision Rules above): create with `runpodctl serverless create --compute-type CPU` (optionally `--instance-id`, e.g. `cpu3g-4-16`) or the MCP server. Verified evidence for why the public REST must not be used: 2026-07-14, `POST https://rest.runpod.io/v1/endpoints` with `"computeType":"CPU"` silently returned a GPU endpoint (`gpuCount:1`, `cpuFlavorIds:null`), while `runpodctl --compute-type CPU` correctly returned `computeType:"CPU"` with `instanceIds:["cpu3g-4-16"]`. The MCP server drives Runpod's internal **REST v2** and handles this correctly; the public control REST is v1-only (`rest.runpod.io/v2` just redirects to docs). The separate **runtime/invoke** API `https://api.runpod.ai/v2//…` (health/run/runsync/openai) is a different v2 and works fine — the v1-vs-v2 caveat here is only about the **control/management** REST. **Model cache (`--model-reference`):** Attach a Hugging Face model to the endpoint by full URL with a ref, e.g. `https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct:main`. Runpod caches it host-side in the standard HF cache dir (`/runpod-volume/huggingface-cache/hub/`), so the worker loads it directly — no bake, no volume. Repeatable; works with `--template-id`/`--hub-id`, GPU only, **runpodctl v2.4.0+**. Full mechanics + how it compares to baking / network volume / the Model Repository: **[reference/model-caching.md](reference/model-caching.md)**. Worked end-to-end: golden path [20 — model-caching endpoint](../runpod/golden-paths/20-model-caching-endpoint.md). **Multi-region / high-availability (`--network-volume-ids`):** attach **multiple** network volumes (one per data center) so workers spread across DCs instead of being pinned to one — `runpodctl serverless create --template-id --network-volume-ids , --data-center-ids , …`. **Requires runpodctl ≥ v2.4.0** (older versions don't support multi-volume attach). Check `runpodctl version`; the Homebrew tap can lag, so prefer the [GitHub releases](https://github.com/runpod/runpodctl/releases) binary. Data does **not** sync between volumes automatically — see golden path [10 — multi-region HA serverless](../runpod/golden-paths/10-multi-region-ha-serverless.md). For exact serverless flags, run `runpodctl serverless --help`. ### Templates (alias: tpl) ```bash runpodctl template search # find (+ template list [--type official/community/user, --all, --limit]) runpodctl template get # details (README, env, ports) runpodctl template create --name "x" --image "img" [--serverless] runpodctl template delete ``` ### Network Volumes (alias: nv) ```bash runpodctl network-volume list # List all volumes runpodctl network-volume get # Get volume details runpodctl network-volume create --name "x" --size 100 --data-center-id "US-GA-1" # Create volume runpodctl network-volume update --name "new" # Update volume runpodctl network-volume delete # Delete volume ``` For exact network volume flags, run `runpodctl network-volume --help`. > **No storage-tier flag.** `create` provisions the data center's **default** tier — there's > no `--type`. To get a **High-Performance** volume, use the console (a ⚡ data center's toggle) > or a raw **v2 REST** call (`POST https://v2-rest.runpod.io/v2/network-volumes` with > `"type":"HIGH_PERFORMANCE"`). The MCP `create-network-volume` tool can't set it either. Tier > is immutable after creation. Launch details: golden path [21](../runpod/golden-paths/21-storage-tiers.md). ### Models (Model Repository) `runpodctl model` manages the **Runpod Model Repository** — managed, versioned storage for your **own** model artifacts (upload once, distributed to workers; not pinned to a data center like a network volume). What it is, why/how, migrating off a baked-in model, and Model-Repo-vs-volume: **[reference/model-caching.md](reference/model-caching.md)**. ```bash runpodctl model list # List your models runpodctl model list --all # List all models (not just yours) runpodctl model list --name "llama" # Filter by name runpodctl model list --provider "meta" # Filter by provider runpodctl model add --name "my-model" --model-path ./model # Upload a local model dir (multipart) runpodctl model remove --name "my-model" --owner # Remove a model ``` `model add` supports upload sessions, versioning, metadata, and private-source credentials — see live `runpodctl model add --help`. ### Info & SSH ```bash runpodctl user # account info + balance (alias: me) runpodctl gpu list # available GPUs (+ --include-unavailable) runpodctl datacenter list # datacenters (alias: dc) runpodctl ssh info # SSH connection details (command + key; NOT an interactive session) ``` `ssh info` gives connection details, not a session — if interactive SSH isn't available, run `ssh user@host "command"`. **Registry auth, `billing` history, and SSH key management** (`ssh add-key`/`remove-key`) are in [reference/command-reference.md](reference/command-reference.md). ### File Transfer ```bash runpodctl send # prints a one-time code, then blocks until the receiver connects runpodctl receive # positional code (no --code flag) ``` Encrypted/incremental/compressed — don't pre-tar. **Key gotchas:** capture the **first line of `send` stdout** (the code) as it streams (background + tee), each `send` mints a **fresh** code, both sides must exit `0`. Full agent flow (pod push via `ssh` + `receive`): [reference/command-reference.md](reference/command-reference.md#file-transfer). ### Utilities ```bash runpodctl doctor # Diagnose and fix CLI issues runpodctl update # Update CLI runpodctl version # Show version runpodctl completion # Auto-detect shell and install completion ``` ## URLs ### Pod URLs Access exposed ports on your pod: ``` https://-.proxy.runpod.net ``` Example: `https://abc123xyz-8888.proxy.runpod.net` ### Serverless URLs ``` https://api.runpod.ai/v2//run # Async request https://api.runpod.ai/v2//runsync # Sync request https://api.runpod.ai/v2//health # Health check https://api.runpod.ai/v2//status/ # Job status ``` ## Source & docs - CLI source: https://github.com/runpod/runpodctl - Releases (binaries): https://github.com/runpod/runpodctl/releases - Docs: https://docs.runpod.io/runpodctl/overview