doctl-compute-droplet

Create a droplet

$ doctl compute [[d|droplet]] [[c|create]] --region [region] --image [os_image] --size [vps_type] [droplet_name]

$ doctl compute [[d|droplet]] [[d|delete]] [droplet_id|droplet_name]

$ doctl compute [[d|droplet]] [[ls|list]]

doctl compute droplet <subcommand> [flags]

--format string
    output format: table, json, or yaml (default table)

--no-header
    hide headers in table output

--verbose
    enable verbose logging and output

The doctl compute droplet command is a core subcommand of the DigitalOcean CLI tool (doctl), designed for managing Droplets—DigitalOcean's scalable virtual machines in the cloud. It provides essential operations such as creating new Droplets from images or snapshots, listing existing ones with filters, retrieving details of a specific Droplet, deleting Droplets, and controlling power states (power on/off, reboot, shutdown, start, stop).

Additional capabilities include resizing Droplets (disk/CPU/memory), taking/restoring snapshots and backups, listing available kernels, neighborhoods (regions), and transferring Droplets between accounts. Output can be formatted as tables, JSON, or YAML for scripting and automation.

Authentication requires a DigitalOcean API token, set via doctl auth init or --access-token flag. This command is invaluable for DevOps workflows, infrastructure as code (IaC), and CI/CD pipelines on DigitalOcean, offering a powerful alternative to the web console for efficient resource management.

Requires DigitalOcean API token; global flags like --access-token apply. Subcommands have additional specific flags (e.g., list --tag). Install via package managers like apt/snap.

create, delete, get, kernels, list, neighborhoods, power-off, power-on, reboot, resize, snapshot, snapshot-delete

Run doctl auth init first or use --access-token TOKEN for API access.

Introduced with doctl v1.0 in 2016 by DigitalOcean; evolved with API v2 features like snapshots (2017), kernels (2018), and resize improvements. Actively maintained for cloud automation.

doctl(1)