lium up

Create a new pod.

lium up [NODE_ID] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

• NODE_ID — Node UUID, HUID, or index from the last lium ls. Optional: when you omit it, the filter flags below narrow the list and the best node is picked automatically, with no menu — the only prompt is the confirmation before renting, which --yes skips.

Options

Selection & naming

Flag	Effect
--name, -n NAME	Custom pod name (auto-generated if not specified)
--template_id, -t ID	Specify template ID directly (skips template prompt)
--gpu TYPE	Filter nodes by GPU type (e.g. H200, A6000)
--count, -c NUM	Filter by number of GPUs per pod
--country CODE	Filter nodes by ISO country code (US, FR, …)
--ports, -p NUM	Only consider nodes with at least NUM available ports, and request NUM ports on the pod
--yes, -y	Skip confirmation prompt
--no-ssh	Create the pod and return, instead of opening an SSH session

By default a successful lium up ends by opening an interactive SSH session to the new pod (in --image mode it streams the container logs instead). Pass --no-ssh when you want the command to return — in a script, or when you plan to connect later with lium ssh.

Auto-termination

Flag	Effect
--ttl DURATION	Auto-terminate after duration (e.g. 6h, 45m, 2d)
--until WHEN	Auto-terminate at local time (today 23:00, tomorrow 01:00, 2026-05-08 15:30)

Use lium schedules to view and cancel an existing schedule.

Container

Flag	Effect
--image IMAGE	Docker image to run (e.g. pytorch/pytorch:2.0, nvidia/cuda:12.0)
--dockerfile PATH	Build the pod image from a local Dockerfile (custom build). Mutually exclusive with --image and --template_id.
--internal-ports LIST	Internal ports to expose (comma-separated, e.g. 22,8000,8080)
-e, --env KEY=VAL	Environment variable; can be repeated
--entrypoint CMD	Override container entrypoint
--cmd CMD	Override container command
--jupyter	Install Jupyter Notebook (auto-selects an available port)
--ssh-name NAME	Name for a freshly registered SSH key (default: cli-<user>@<hostname>)

Custom Dockerfile builds (--dockerfile): the image is built on the node from your Dockerfile — no build context is uploaded, so the Dockerfile must be self-contained. Network access is disabled during the build (--network=none) and ADD <url> / ADD ${var} directives are rejected. Keep the file under 64 KiB. The pod is SSH-accessible once the build finishes, just like a template-based pod. The --env, --entrypoint, --cmd, and --internal-ports flags don't apply here — define those in the Dockerfile itself.

Volumes

Flag	Effect
--volume, -v SPEC	Volume spec — see below
--volume-encryption / --no-volume-encryption	Encrypt the local volume where the node supports it. Enabled by default.

Volume spec forms:

• id:<HUID> — attach an existing volume by HUID
• new:name=<NAME>[,desc=<DESC>] — create and attach a new volume

Restore from a backup

Flag	Effect
--restore-backup BACKUP_ID	Completed backup to restore after the pod starts
--restore-to PATH	New or empty directory below the pod's local volume mount

The two restore flags must be used together. The pod becomes running and accessible before restoration finishes. Do not modify the restore directory until lium bk restore-logs reports completion.

Examples

# Basic
lium up                                       # Auto-picks the best node, asks to confirm
lium up cosmic-hawk-f2                        # Specific node by HUID
lium up 1                                     # Node #1 from last ls
lium up --name dev-pod                        # Custom name

# Filtering nodes
lium up --gpu H200
lium up --gpu A6000 -c 2
lium up --gpu H200 --country FR
lium up --ports 5

# Auto-terminate
lium up --gpu H200 --ttl 6h                   # Stop after 6h
lium up --gpu H200 --until "tomorrow 09:00"   # Stop tomorrow morning

# Container customization
lium up 1 --image pytorch/pytorch:2.0
lium up 1 --image my-image -e API_KEY=xyz -e DEBUG=1
lium up 1 --internal-ports 22,8000,8080
lium up 1 --jupyter                           # Spin up with Jupyter

# Custom Dockerfile build (image built remotely from your Dockerfile)
lium up --gpu A6000 --dockerfile ./Dockerfile
lium up 1 --dockerfile ./Dockerfile --name my-build

# Volumes
lium up 1 --volume id:brave-fox-3a
lium up 1 --volume new:name=my-data,desc="Training data"

# Create a pod and restore a backup after it starts
lium up 1 --restore-backup 8fbb30f6 --restore-to /root/restored

# Direct template + skip prompt
lium up 1 --template_id abc123
lium up --gpu H200 --yes

See also

• lium ls — find a node first
• lium templates — pick a template
• lium volumes — pre-create a volume
• lium schedules — manage --ttl / --until schedules