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

# Check the operational status of a Virtual Machine

> Check the operational status of a Virtual Machine, including status, vm_state, and task_state values for instances in a project.

## Status values

The `status` field uses uppercase string constants. The `vm_state` field provides stable state context and is returned by the single-instance detail endpoint and the `data "gcore_cloud_instance"` Terraform data source.

`task_state` is non-null only during a background operation. Operations like `REBOOT` and `REBUILD` transition `status` out of `ACTIVE` to a dedicated value. Other operations — live migration, snapshot creation — keep `status: ACTIVE` while `task_state` carries the operation name. Check both fields when the VM has not fully settled.

| `status` | `vm_state` | Portal label | Meaning |
| - | - | - | - |
| `ACTIVE` | `active` | Power on | The VM is running. |
| `SHUTOFF` | `stopped` | Power off | The VM is powered off. |
| `BUILD` | `building` | Building | The VM is being allocated. |
| `ERROR` | `error` | Error | Resource allocation failed. |
| `PAUSED` | `paused` | — | The VM is paused in memory. |
| `REBOOT` | `active` | — | Soft reboot in progress. |
| `HARD_REBOOT` | `active` | — | Hard reboot in progress. |
| `REBUILD` | `active` | — | VM is being rebuilt from an image. |
| `RESIZE` | `resized` | — | VM flavor is being changed. |
| `MIGRATING` | `active` | — | VM is being live-migrated to another host. |
| `SUSPENDED` | `suspended` | — | VM is suspended. |