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

# Create a batch job

> Create a batch job from the console or with vesslctl.

## Overview

A job runs a command in a container and exits when the command finishes. Use it for training, inference, and batch processing workloads.

There are three ways to create a job:

* **Console** — fill in the **Create Job** form and submit. Best for your first few jobs.
* **CLI** — run `vesslctl job create`. Best for automation, scripting, and reproducible runs.
* **Convert a workspace** — clone a workspace's image, resource spec, and volumes into a job. See [Convert a workspace to a Job](/member/workspace/convert-to-job).

## Prerequisites

* **Available credit balance**: Job creation is blocked when the balance is zero or negative. Add a payment method and top up from [Billing](/admin/billing/credits).
* **(CLI only) Authenticated `vesslctl`**: Run `vesslctl auth login` to complete the browser OAuth flow. See the [CLI Quickstart](/cli/quickstart#prerequisites) for the full setup.
* **(Optional) Persistent volume for outputs**: Create an [Object storage or Cluster storage volume](/member/volume/create) ahead of time if you need to keep model checkpoints or other artifacts.

## Create from the console

Open **Jobs** in the sidebar and click **Create Job**, then fill in the form. Most fields match the workspace creation flow — a job adds a command to run and drops the interactive pieces (SSH, ports).

<div>
  <Frame>
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/dora/6odhrZOFCpJA7mWd/images/jobs-create-form.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=6odhrZOFCpJA7mWd&q=85&s=bc3e5907711c1c15d26cdb3baf9ed386" alt="Create a new Job form showing job name, command, working directory, environment variables with organization secrets, hardware configuration (GPU product, region, and count), persistent volume, container image, and a pricing summary with a Create button" width="1600" height="1547" data-path="images/jobs-create-form.png" />
  </Frame>

  <small>Example: the Create a new Job form</small>
</div>

| Field                      | Description                                                                                                                     |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Job name**               | A name for the job. A random name is generated by default.                                                                      |
| **Command**                | The command that runs when the job starts, for example `python train.py --epochs 10`.                                           |
| **Working directory**      | (Optional) Where the command runs. Defaults to the image's working directory.                                                   |
| **Environment Variables**  | Add key-value variables, and link [organization secrets](/admin/secrets/overview) instead of pasting credentials in plain text. |
| **Hardware Configuration** | Choose the GPU product (A100, H100, or CPU only), region, and GPU count. Each count shows its hourly price and availability.    |
| **Persistent volume**      | Attach an Object storage or Cluster storage volume with a mount path to keep data across runs.                                  |
| **Container image**        | A **Managed** image (PyTorch, CUDA, Python) or your own **Custom** image.                                                       |

Review the **Pricing summary** on the right and click **Create** to submit. You're taken to the job's detail page, where you can watch status, logs, and metrics.

## Create from the CLI

Provide a cluster, resource spec, container image, command to run, and any volumes or environment variables you need.

```bash theme={null}
vesslctl job create \
  --name my-training-job \
  --resource-spec <spec-slug> \
  --image quay.io/vessl-ai/torch:2.9.1-cuda13.0.1-py3.13-slim \
  --cmd "python train.py --epochs 10" \
  --env WANDB_API_KEY=<your-key> \
  --object-volume <volume-slug>:/output \
  --tag training-run-2026-04
```

<Tip>
  Run `vesslctl cluster list` and `vesslctl resource-spec list` to discover available clusters and GPU specs. See [`vesslctl job create`](/cli/commands/job#create) for the full flag reference.
</Tip>

## Persist job output

Jobs run in ephemeral containers — anything written outside a mounted volume disappears when the job ends. Attach at least one Object storage or Cluster storage volume so your outputs survive.

* **Object storage** (`--object-volume`): Shared across clusters, ideal for final artifacts like trained models and evaluation metrics. Mount at a dedicated path such as `/output`.
* **Cluster storage** (`--cluster-volume`): Fast in-cluster storage, ideal for intermediate checkpoints during long training. Mount at `/workspace` or similar.

```bash theme={null}
vesslctl job create \
  --name my-training-job \
  --resource-spec <spec-slug> \
  --image quay.io/vessl-ai/torch:2.9.1-cuda13.0.1-py3.13-slim \
  --object-volume <output-volume-slug>:/output \
  --cmd "python train.py --output /output"
```

<Warning>
  Temporary storage is cleared when a job ends, even after `succeeded`. If your training script writes to `/tmp` or the current directory without a mounted volume, the results are lost.
</Warning>

## Reuse a job configuration

Export an existing job's configuration as JSON and resubmit it later:

```bash theme={null}
vesslctl job export my-job-abc123 > job-config.json
vesslctl job create --file job-config.json
```

## Submit a job from inside a workspace

Workspaces ship with `vesslctl` pre-authenticated with a workload token, so you can iterate on a script in JupyterLab and submit the same code as a batch job from the same shell. See [`vesslctl workspace`](/cli/commands/workspace#create) for details.

## See also

* [Convert a workspace to a Job](/member/workspace/convert-to-job)
* [List batch jobs](/member/job/list)
* [View job details](/member/job/details)
* [Create a volume](/member/volume/create)