To add metadata for key "example-key" for a virtual machine instance named "example-instance" in project "example-project", run:
gdcloud compute instances add-metadata example-instance --project example-project --metadata=example-key="example value"
To add metadata under key "important-data" to an instance named "example-instance" using file "example-file"
gdcloud compute instances add-metadata example-instance --project example-project \
--metadata-from-file=important-data=example-file.txt
OPTIONAL FLAGS
--metadata stringToString List of comma-separated key-value pair metadata to add to the virtual machine instance.
For example, --metadata=key1="val1",key2="val2". At least one of the flags --metadata or --metadata-from-file is required. (default [])
--metadata-from-file stringToString List of comma-separated KEY=LOCAL_FILE_PATH metadata to add to the virtual machine instance. The value of the key is read from the file provided.
For example, --metadata-from-file=key1=filepath1,key2=filepath2. At least one of the flags --metadata or --metadata-from-file is required. (default [])
GDCLOUD WIDE FLAGS
These flags are available to all commands: --configuration, --format, --help, --project, --quiet.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003egdcloud compute instances add-metadata\u003c/code\u003e command is used to add metadata to a virtual machine instance.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eMetadata can be added using key-value pairs with the \u003ccode\u003e--metadata\u003c/code\u003e flag, where the values are specified directly.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eMetadata can also be added by specifying a local file path with the \u003ccode\u003e--metadata-from-file\u003c/code\u003e flag, where the file contents become the metadata value.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAt least one of the \u003ccode\u003e--metadata\u003c/code\u003e or \u003ccode\u003e--metadata-from-file\u003c/code\u003e flags is required when using the command.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCommon flags available for this command include \u003ccode\u003e--configuration\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003e--format\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003e--help\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003e--project\u003c/code\u003e, and \u003ccode\u003e--quiet\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# gdcloud compute instances add-metadata\n\nNAME\n----\n\ngdcloud compute instances add-metadata - Add metadata for a virtual machine instance.\n\nSYNOPSIS\n--------\n\n gdcloud compute instances add-metadata INSTANCE_NAME [flags]\n\n### EXAMPLES\n\n To add metadata for key \"example-key\" for a virtual machine instance named \"example-instance\" in project \"example-project\", run:\n\n gdcloud compute instances add-metadata example-instance --project example-project --metadata=example-key=\"example value\"\n\n To add metadata under key \"important-data\" to an instance named \"example-instance\" using file \"example-file\"\n gdcloud compute instances add-metadata example-instance --project example-project \\\n --metadata-from-file=important-data=example-file.txt\n\n### OPTIONAL FLAGS\n\n --metadata stringToString List of comma-separated key-value pair metadata to add to the virtual machine instance.\n For example, --metadata=key1=\"val1\",key2=\"val2\". At least one of the flags --metadata or --metadata-from-file is required. (default [])\n --metadata-from-file stringToString List of comma-separated KEY=LOCAL_FILE_PATH metadata to add to the virtual machine instance. The value of the key is read from the file provided.\n For example, --metadata-from-file=key1=filepath1,key2=filepath2. At least one of the flags --metadata or --metadata-from-file is required. (default [])\n\n### GDCLOUD WIDE FLAGS\n\nThese flags are available to all commands: `--configuration`, `--format`, `--help`, `--project`, `--quiet`.\n\nFor more information, see the [gdcloud CLI reference overview](/distributed-cloud/hosted/docs/latest/gdch/resources/gdcloud-reference/gdcloud) page."]]
