kubernetes/kops · error

error creating Instance: %v

Error message

error creating Instance: %v

What it means

Wrapped error from Instance.RenderGCE when the synchronous Instances.Insert call fails for a new instance (a == nil). GCE rejected the create — typical causes are quota, invalid machine type/zone, missing dependencies (network/subnet/IP conflicts), or permissions.

Source

Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/gcetasks/instance.go:331

func (_ *Instance) RenderGCE(t *gce.GCEAPITarget, a, e, changes *Instance) error {
	cloud := t.Cloud
	project := cloud.Project()
	zone := *e.Zone

	ipAddressResolver := func(ip *Address) (*string, error) {
		return ip.IPAddress, nil
	}

	i, err := e.mapToGCE(project, ipAddressResolver)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	if a == nil {
		klog.V(2).Infof("Creating instance %q", i.Name)
		if _, err := cloud.Compute().Instances().Insert(project, zone, i); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("error creating Instance: %v", err)
		}
	} else {
		if changes.Metadata != nil {
			klog.V(2).Infof("Updating instance metadata on %q", i.Name)

			i.Metadata.Fingerprint = a.metadataFingerprint

			op, err := cloud.Compute().Instances().SetMetadata(project, zone, i.Name, i.Metadata)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error setting metadata on instance: %v", err)
			}

			if err := cloud.WaitForOp(op); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error setting metadata on instance: %v", err)
			}

			changes.Metadata = nil
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 4c8573c808)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped API error for the precise rejection reason
2. Verify machine type availability in the zone and that referenced network/IP/subnet resources exist
3. Resolve quota or permission issues in the project, then re-run apply

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/gcetasks/instance.go:331 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of kubernetes/kops@4c8573c808 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4eb51b3283ed969e. Report an issue: GitHub.