Vm Instance is running, but not showing in list

Mick_Brennan

I have a VM Instance that is running, it is sending logs to my logging server.
I can't see this VM in either the console or via the cli.
It would have been started through an Instance Group, but isn't listed in that group either.

Is there an option to show all instances in all states?

Mick

diannemcm

Hi @Mick_Brennan,

Welcome to Google Cloud Community!

Have you tried gcloud compute instances list command that list any instance for your project, this is to help isolate the issue if it's a Console-specific problem.

→ Below List commands Taken from Medium Article:

gcloud compute instances list

gcloud compute instances list --format=json # display the output in JSON format
gcloud compute instances list --format="table(name,zone,status,machineType)" # display specific fields
gcloud compute instances list --filter="name:my-instance-*" # filter instances based on a pattern
gcloud compute instances list --filter="status:RUNNING" # filter instances based on status
gcloud compute instances list --format="table(name,zone,status,machineType,internalIp,externalIp)" # display specific fields
gcloud compute instances list --filter="zone:us-central1-a" # filter instances based on zone

→ If the instance appears but not in the Console, there may be a UI caching issue.

For Orphaned Instances - If the VM was part of an instance group but removed, it might still exist in the project but not be managed. Use the aggregated list command to find it.

List all managed instance groups - Since the VM was started through an instance group but isn’t listed:
```
gcloud compute instance-groups managed list --project=[PROJECT_ID]
```

Check the instances in a specific instance group:

gcloud compute instance-groups managed list-instances [INSTANCE_GROUP_NAME] --zone=[ZONE] --project=[PROJECT_ID]

To view and manage your active resources, visit the Asset Inventory section under IAM:
You may also confirm your IAM permissions include compute.instances.list or Compute Viewer for the project. See Compute Engine IAM roles and permissions
If the instance was recently restored or migrated, it might not immediately appear in the default view.
Use Cloud Logging to check for administrative activity on the instance
You may also try accessing the GCP Cloud Console UI through an incognito window if you would see any instance, as this will help us rule out potential causes of this issue, such as a browser extension modifying the appearance of the Cloud Console page.

If the issue persists, kindly reach out to Google Cloud Support for further assistance.

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