[Yandex Cloud documentation](../../../index.md) > [Yandex Compute Cloud](../../index.md) > [Step-by-step guides](../index.md) > Getting instance group info > Getting instance group info

# Getting information about an instance group

After creating an [instance group](../../concepts/instance-groups/index.md), you can get basic information about it.

You can only use the [CLI](../../../cli/index.md) or API to retrieve custom [metadata](../../concepts/vm-metadata.md) provided when creating or updating the instance group.

To get information about an instance group:

{% list tabs group=instructions %}

- Management console {#console}

  1. In the [management console](https://console.yandex.cloud), open the [folder](../../../resource-manager/concepts/resources-hierarchy.md#folder) the instance group is in.
  1. Navigate to **Compute Cloud**.
  1. In the left-hand panel, select ![image](../../../_assets/console-icons/layers-3-diagonal.svg) **Instance groups**.
  1. Click the name of your instance group.

- CLI {#cli}

  If you do not have the Yandex Cloud CLI yet, [install and initialize it](../../../cli/quickstart.md#install).

  The folder used by default is the one specified when [creating](../../../cli/operations/profile/profile-create.md) the CLI profile. To change the default folder, use the `yc config set folder-id <folder_ID>` command. You can also specify a different folder for any command using `--folder-name` or `--folder-id`. If you access a resource by its name, the search will be limited to the default folder. If you access a resource by its ID, the search will be global, i.e., through all folders based on access permissions.

  1. See the description of the CLI command for getting information about an instance group:

     ```bash
     yc compute instance-group get --help
     ```

  1. Get a list of instance groups in the default [folder](../../../resource-manager/concepts/resources-hierarchy.md#folder):

     ```bash
     yc compute instance-group list
     ```
     
     Result:
     
     ```text
     +----------------------+----------------------+--------+------+
     |          ID          |          NAME        | STATUS | SIZE |
     +----------------------+----------------------+--------+------+
     | cl15b3mrkk88******** | first-instance-group | ACTIVE |    3 |
     +----------------------+----------------------+--------+------+
     ```

  1. Select `ID` or `NAME` of the instance group in question, e.g., `first-instance-group`.
  1. Get information about the instance group:

     ```bash
     yc compute instance-group get --name first-instance-group
     ```

- Terraform

  With [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/), you can quickly create a cloud infrastructure in Yandex Cloud and manage it using configuration files. These files store the infrastructure description written in HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL). If you change the configuration files, Terraform automatically detects which part of your configuration is already deployed, and what should be added or removed.
  
  Terraform is distributed under the [Business Source License](https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform/blob/main/LICENSE). The [Yandex Cloud provider for Terraform](https://github.com/yandex-cloud/terraform-provider-yandex) is distributed under the [MPL-2.0](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/MPL/2.0/) license.
  
  For more information about the provider resources, see the guides on the [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/docs/providers/yandex/index.html) website or [its mirror](../../../terraform/index.md).

  If you do not have Terraform yet, [install it and configure the Yandex Cloud provider](../../../tutorials/infrastructure-management/terraform-quickstart.md#install-terraform).
  
  
  To manage infrastructure using Terraform under a service account or user accounts (a Yandex account, a federated account, or a local user), [authenticate](../../../terraform/authentication.md) using the appropriate method.

  To get information about an instance group using Terraform:
  1. In the Terraform configuration file, describe the resources you want to create:

     ```hcl
     data "yandex_compute_instance_group" "my_group" {
       instance_group_id = "<instance_group_ID>"
     }

     output "instancegroupvm_external_ip" {
       value = "${data.yandex_compute_instance_group.my_group.instances.*.network_interface.0.nat_ip_address}"
     }
     ```

     Where:
     * `data "yandex_compute_instance_group"`: Description of the data source to get information about the instance group from:
       * `instance_group_id`: Instance group ID.
     * `output "instancegroupvm_external_ip"`: List of all [public IP addresses](../../../vpc/concepts/address.md#public-addresses) of the group instances to return in the output:
       * `value`: Return value.

     For more information about the `yandex_compute_instance_group` data source properties, see [this provider guide](../../../terraform/data-sources/compute_instance_group.md).
  1. Create the resources:

     1. In the terminal, navigate to the configuration file directory.
     1. Make sure the configuration is correct using this command:
     
        ```bash
        terraform validate
        ```
     
        If the configuration is valid, you will get this message:
     
        ```bash
        Success! The configuration is valid.
        ```
     
     1. Run this command:
     
        ```bash
        terraform plan
        ```
     
        You will see a list of resources and their properties. No changes will be made at this step. Terraform will show any errors in the configuration.
     1. Apply the configuration changes:
     
        ```bash
        terraform apply
        ```
     
     1. Type `yes` and press **Enter** to confirm the changes.

     Terraform will create all required resources and display their output variables. To check the results, run this command:

     ```bash
     terraform output instancegroupvm_external_ip
     ```

     Result:

     ```text
     instancegroupvm_external_ip = tolist([
       "158.160.112.7",
       "158.160.2.119",
     ])
     ```

- API {#api}

  Use the [get](../../instancegroup/api-ref/InstanceGroup/get.md) REST API method for the [InstanceGroup](../../instancegroup/api-ref/InstanceGroup/index.md) resource or the [InstanceGroupService/Get](../../instancegroup/api-ref/grpc/InstanceGroup/get.md) gRPC API call.

  To request a list of available instance groups, use the [listInstances](../../instancegroup/api-ref/InstanceGroup/listInstances.md) REST API method or the [InstanceGroupService/ListInstances](../../instancegroup/api-ref/grpc/InstanceGroup/listInstances.md) gRPC API call.

{% endlist %}