|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "Template Aliases" |
| 3 | +sidebarTitle: "Aliases" |
| 4 | +description: "Understanding and managing template aliases" |
| 5 | +--- |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Template aliases are unique identifiers used to reference and create sandboxes from your templates. They serve as human-readable names that make it easy to identify and use your templates across your applications. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +## What is a Template Alias? |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +An alias is a string identifier that you assign to a template when building it. Once a template is built with an alias, you can use that alias to create sandboxes from the template. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +<CodeGroup> |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +```typescript JavaScript & TypeScript |
| 16 | +// Build a template with an alias |
| 17 | +await Template.build(template, { |
| 18 | + alias: 'my-python-env', |
| 19 | + cpuCount: 2, |
| 20 | + memoryMB: 2048, |
| 21 | +}) |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +// Create a sandbox using the alias |
| 24 | +const sandbox = await Sandbox.create('my-python-env') |
| 25 | +``` |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +```python Python |
| 28 | +# Build a template with an alias |
| 29 | +Template.build( |
| 30 | + template, |
| 31 | + alias='my-python-env', |
| 32 | + cpu_count=2, |
| 33 | + memory_mb=2048, |
| 34 | +) |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +# Create a sandbox using the alias |
| 37 | +sandbox = Sandbox(template='my-python-env') |
| 38 | +``` |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +</CodeGroup> |
| 41 | + |
| 42 | +## Uniqueness Requirement |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +<Warning> |
| 45 | +Template aliases must be **globally unique across the entire E2B platform**, not just within your team or account. This means if another user has already claimed an alias, you cannot use it for your template. |
| 46 | +</Warning> |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +When choosing an alias, consider using: |
| 49 | +- Your company or project name as a prefix (e.g., `acme-api-server`) |
| 50 | +- Version numbers or environment indicators (e.g., `myapp-v2`, `myapp-staging`) |
| 51 | +- Descriptive names that indicate the template's purpose (e.g., `data-analysis-python`) |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +## Common Use Cases |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +### Development and Production Environments |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +Use different aliases for different environments: |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +<CodeGroup> |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +```typescript JavaScript & TypeScript |
| 62 | +// Development template |
| 63 | +await Template.build(template, { |
| 64 | + alias: 'myapp-dev', |
| 65 | + cpuCount: 1, |
| 66 | + memoryMB: 1024, |
| 67 | +}) |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +// Production template |
| 70 | +await Template.build(template, { |
| 71 | + alias: 'myapp-prod', |
| 72 | + cpuCount: 4, |
| 73 | + memoryMB: 4096, |
| 74 | +}) |
| 75 | +``` |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +```python Python |
| 78 | +# Development template |
| 79 | +Template.build( |
| 80 | + template, |
| 81 | + alias='myapp-dev', |
| 82 | + cpu_count=1, |
| 83 | + memory_mb=1024, |
| 84 | +) |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +# Production template |
| 87 | +Template.build( |
| 88 | + template, |
| 89 | + alias='myapp-prod', |
| 90 | + cpu_count=4, |
| 91 | + memory_mb=4096, |
| 92 | +) |
| 93 | +``` |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +</CodeGroup> |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +### Multiple Template Variants |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +Create different variants of the same template with different configurations: |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +<CodeGroup> |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +```typescript JavaScript & TypeScript |
| 104 | +// Small instance |
| 105 | +await Template.build(template, { |
| 106 | + alias: 'myapp-small', |
| 107 | + cpuCount: 1, |
| 108 | + memoryMB: 512, |
| 109 | +}) |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +// Large instance |
| 112 | +await Template.build(template, { |
| 113 | + alias: 'myapp-large', |
| 114 | + cpuCount: 8, |
| 115 | + memoryMB: 16384, |
| 116 | +}) |
| 117 | +``` |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +```python Python |
| 120 | +# Small instance |
| 121 | +Template.build( |
| 122 | + template, |
| 123 | + alias='myapp-small', |
| 124 | + cpu_count=1, |
| 125 | + memory_mb=512, |
| 126 | +) |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | +# Large instance |
| 129 | +Template.build( |
| 130 | + template, |
| 131 | + alias='myapp-large', |
| 132 | + cpu_count=8, |
| 133 | + memory_mb=16384, |
| 134 | +) |
| 135 | +``` |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +</CodeGroup> |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +<Tip> |
| 140 | +When building variants with the same template definition but different CPU/RAM configurations, E2B's caching system will reuse common layers, making subsequent builds much faster. |
| 141 | +</Tip> |
| 142 | + |
| 143 | +## Checking Alias Availability |
| 144 | + |
| 145 | +You can check if an alias is already in use with the `aliasExists` method. |
| 146 | + |
| 147 | +<CodeGroup> |
| 148 | + |
| 149 | +```typescript JavaScript & TypeScript |
| 150 | +import { Template } from 'e2b' |
| 151 | + |
| 152 | +const exists = await Template.aliasExists('my-template') |
| 153 | +console.log(`Alias ${exists ? 'is taken' : 'is available'}`) |
| 154 | +``` |
| 155 | + |
| 156 | +```python Python |
| 157 | +from e2b import Template |
| 158 | + |
| 159 | +exists = Template.alias_exists('my-template') |
| 160 | +print(f"Alias {'is taken' if exists else 'is available'}") |
| 161 | +``` |
| 162 | + |
| 163 | +```python Python (Async) |
| 164 | +from e2b import AsyncTemplate |
| 165 | + |
| 166 | +exists = await AsyncTemplate.alias_exists('my-template') |
| 167 | +print(f"Alias {'is taken' if exists else 'is available'}") |
| 168 | +``` |
| 169 | + |
| 170 | +</CodeGroup> |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | +## Best Practices |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +1. **Use descriptive names**: Choose aliases that clearly indicate the template's purpose or configuration |
| 175 | +2. **Include versioning**: Consider adding version numbers to your aliases for better version management (e.g., `myapp-v1`, `myapp-v2`) |
| 176 | +3. **Use consistent naming**: Establish a naming convention for your team and stick to it |
| 177 | +4. **Document your aliases**: Keep a record of which aliases are used for which purposes in your team |
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