> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vast.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# VastAI.show_instances

Show all instances.

Returns a list of instance objects. Key status fields per instance:

**actual\_status**, current container state:

| Value       | Meaning                                                                  |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `null`      | Instance is being provisioned                                            |
| `loading`   | Docker image is downloading or container is starting up                  |
| `running`   | Container is actively executing. GPU charges apply.                      |
| `stopped`   | Container is halted. Disk charges continue; no GPU charges.              |
| `frozen`    | Container is paused with memory preserved. GPU charges apply.            |
| `exited`    | Container process exited unexpectedly                                    |
| `rebooting` | Container is restarting (transient)                                      |
| `unknown`   | No recent heartbeat from the host                                        |
| `offline`   | Host machine disconnected from Vast servers (computed, not stored in DB) |

**intended\_status**, user's desired target state: `running`, `stopped`, or `frozen`.

**cur\_state**, machine contract / hardware allocation state: `running`, `stopped`, or `unloaded` (released on destroy).

**status\_msg**, human-readable detail on the current status.

## Signature

```python theme={null}
VastAI.show_instances(quiet: bool = False) -> str
```

## Parameters

<ParamField path="quiet" type="bool" default="False">
  quiet
</ParamField>

## Returns

`str`, Result from the API call.

## Example

```python theme={null}
from vastai import VastAI

client = VastAI(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
result = client.show_instances()
print(result)
```