--- title: Using cloud-init with Multipass description: This article originally appeared on Joshua Powers’ blog cloud-init + Multipass Multipass is a quick and easy way to launch virtual machine instances running Ubuntu. Cloud-init is the standard for customizing cloud instances and now Multipass can also make use of cloud-init to customize an instance during launch. Below is an example of lau […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/using-cloud-init-with-multipass?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Joshua Powers](https://canonical.com/blog/author/powersj "More about Joshua Powers") 2 April 2018 # Using cloud-init with Multipass [cloud-init](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/cloud-init) [Multipass](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/multipass) [Server](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/server) [Virtual Machines](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/virtual-machines) [VM](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/vm) --- Share the article *This article originally appeared on [Joshua Powers’ blog](https://powersj.github.io/post/cloud-init-multipass/)* # cloud-init + Multipass [Multipass](https://multipass.run/) is a quick and easy way to launch virtual machine instances running Ubuntu. [Cloud-init](https://cloud-init.io/) is the standard for customizing cloud instances and now Multipass can also make use of cloud-init to customize an instance during launch. Below is an example of launching a new VM with cloud-init user-data: ``` multipass launch -n my-test-vm --cloud-init cloud-config.yaml ``` ### user-data Format Currently Multipass only supports YAML cloud-config files. Passing a script, a MIME archive, or any of the other [user-data formats](http://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/format.html) cloud-init supports will result in an error from the YAML syntax validator. Check out the cloud-init docs for [examples of YAML cloud-config](http://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/examples.html). ### YAML Syntax Validation Multipass will validate the YAML syntax of the cloud-config file before attempting to start the VM! A nice addition to help save time when experimenting with launching instances with various cloud-configs. ### vendor-data Multipass uses cloud-init to pass in vendor-data to setup the VM for access by the user. If the user overrides any of the required keys (e.g. packages, ssh\_authorized\_keys, users, etc.) in his or her user-data then Multipass will merge its own data so that the end-user will not lose access to the system. If interested, a user can examine the executed user-data and vendor-data by looking at the files in `/var/lib/cloud/instances/`. ## Got Questions? As always, you can chat with the cloud-init developers in #cloud-init on Freenode or email the [cloud-init mailing list](https://launchpad.net/~cloud-init). The Multipass team is also on Freenode at #multipass and to view the code and report bugs check them out on [GitHub](https://github.com/CanonicalLtd/multipass). [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. 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