# OS builds

> An OS build is a named group of virtual machine templates or images that users order from, rather than picking a template by name

---

Site [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

---

One OS build can gather the equivalent template or image from several resource handlers, so an order form can offer a choice of operating system rather than a list of platform-specific template names. The build also controls which environments offer it. Cloud Management Platform (CMP) uses the build to decide what to deploy from, and users never see the underlying template names.

## Add an OS build

Managing OS builds needs the `osbuild.manage` permission.

1. Go to **Admin** > **OS Builds**.
1. Select **Add**.
1. Fill in the fields, then select **Add** again to create the build.

### Fields on an OS build

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | The name users see when they choose an operating system. |
| **Description** | Optional text describing the build. |
| **OS family** | The operating system family the build belongs to, such as Windows or a Linux distribution. CMP uses this to determine whether a build is Windows or Linux, which affects the parameters that apply. |

The list page also offers **Remove Unused OS Builds**, which clears out builds that nothing is using.

## Associate images or templates

A new build has nothing to deploy from until you attach at least one image or template. Open the build and select its second tab.

<div class="alert alert-info" role="alert">


That tab and its buttons are named after the term the technology uses. Depending on what is attached, it reads **Images**, **Templates**, **VM Configs**, or **VApp Templates**.
</div>


1. Select **Add** followed by the technology's term, such as **Add Template**.
1. Select the images or templates you want, then select **Associate Selected** followed by the same term.

Attach one per resource handler that should be able to deploy this operating system. The tab shows which handler each one comes from, and its actions include dissociating an image from the build without deleting it.

## Offer the build in environments

A build is only offered in the environments set on it. There are two ways to set them:

- Edit the OS build and set its **Environments**.
- On a resource handler's templates tab, select the pencil icon in the **OS Build Environments** column for the target template.

If a build has more than five environments, the list page shows the first five and a count of the rest.

## Where OS builds are used

A blueprint's server build item names the OS build it deploys. Administrators also see the **Servers** and **Blueprints** tabs on a build, which list the servers deployed from it and the blueprints that use it. To order it, open one of those blueprints and place the order.

<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">


**Change the default Windows password.** Deploying a Windows build requires a password, so CMP ships a value for the **New Password** parameter, restricted to the Windows OS family, to stop builds from failing when none is supplied. The value is `CloudBolt!`, it is the same on every installation, and it is what your Windows servers are built with until you change it. Set your own at **Admin** > **Parameters** > **New Password**, or supply a password on the order form.
</div>


## Related

- [Resource handlers](/docs/cmp/configure/infrastructure/resource-handlers/): Import the templates and images an OS build groups together.
- [Environments](/docs/cmp/configure/infrastructure/environments/): The environments a build is offered in.
- [Parameters](/docs/cmp/configure/order-forms-and-pricing/parameters/): The parameters that apply to a build, including the Windows password.