vultr-usage

name	vultr-usage
description	Operate Vultr cloud infrastructure from the command line with the vultr CLI — instances, bare metal, block storage, DNS, load balancers, Kubernetes, firewalls, snapshots and every other Vultr API service. Use when the user asks to list, create, inspect, resize or delete Vultr resources, mentions their Vultr account, or is working with a VPS they host there.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires the `vultr` binary on PATH — run the vultr-install skill if it is missing. Needs VULTR_API_KEY in the environment or an --api-key value. Every command hits the live Vultr API; there is no dry-run mode.
allowed-tools	Bash(vultr:*) Bash(jq:*) Bash(command:*) Read Write

vultr-usage

Drive the Vultr API through the vultr CLI. It covers every operation govultr exposes, which is far more than any one session needs — so the workflow is always look it up, then run it.

1. Confirm the tool and the credentials

command -v vultr && vultr --version

Missing? Run the vultr-install skill, then come back.

vultr account get

This is the cheapest call that proves the key works. Error: no API key: set VULTR_API_KEY or pass --api-key means the environment is not configured — ask the user to export VULTR_API_KEY; do not put the key on the command line where it lands in shell history.

If requests fail intermittently with 401, the key is probably IP-restricted and resolving over IPv6. Add -4.

2. Find the operation

Do not guess command names. The reference is embedded in the binary:

vultr llm | grep -i 'vultr instance'
vultr llm | less                       # whole reference, ~800 lines

Names are kebab-case renderings of the govultr methods: Instance.List → vultr instance list, Database.ListConnectionPools → vultr database list-connection-pools.

3. Compose the call

Read the signature in the catalog before writing anything.

• <json:TypeName> takes a JSON body: inline, @file.json, or - for stdin. Unknown fields are rejected, so check the shape first:

  vultr instance create --schema
  

  --schema prints the accepted fields and exits without calling the API.

• *ListOptions in the signature means pagination comes from flags (--per-page, --cursor, and where supported --tag, --label, --region, --main-ip, --description) — not from a positional argument.

• Some list operations take a required filter string first. Pass '' for "all": vultr plan list '' --per-page 5.

• To enumerate everything, use --all rather than looping on --cursor.

4. Run it, and treat destructive commands as destructive

Output is JSON on stdout, so pipe it into jq directly:

vultr instance list --all | jq '.data[] | {id, label, main_ip}'

There is no confirmation prompt and no dry run. vultr instance delete <id> deletes immediately, and there is no undo for most resources. Before running any delete, destroy, detach or halt operation: state in prose exactly what will be affected, and get the user's agreement. When the target came from a list, quote the label and IP alongside the ID so they can recognise it.

5. Report

Give back the identifier that was created or changed, and the fields the user will need next (IP address, status, region). On failure, quote the Error: line verbatim — the CLI's messages are actionable as written.

Failure modes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
command not found: vultr	not installed	run the vultr-install skill
Error: no API key: ...	VULTR_API_KEY unset	ask the user to export it
intermittent 401	IP-restricted key over IPv6	add -4
Error: json: unknown field "..."	body field guessed	re-run with --schema and match it exactly
Error: too many arguments: ...	passed a positional where flags are expected	the signature has *ListOptions — use --per-page etc.
exit 0 with no output	the operation returns nothing	expected; confirm with the matching get or list