> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.platform9.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.platform9.com/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-upload-via-ui.md).
# Upload an Image Using the UI
## Overview
You can upload a virtual machine image to the Image Library Service directly from the space.vars.product\_name UI without installing the `pcdctl` CLI. The UI upload is suited for interactive, one-off imports; for scripted or bulk uploads use the `pcdctl` CLI method described in [Overview](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-library---images.md).
In this guide, you will upload an image through the UI and verify that it reaches `active` status.
## Prerequisites
* You have a role that can create images in the target tenant. Read-only users cannot upload images.
* For **Upload Image File**, accept the Image Library Service certificate. If the upload button is greyed out or a certificate warning appears, see [Image Library Service Certificate Configuration](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-library-certificate-configuration.md) before continuing. This is not required for **Upload Image via URL**.
* The image file is in a [supported format](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-library---images.md#supported-image-formats) (`raw`, `qcow2`, or `iso`).
* The Image Library Service host has sufficient free disk space to hold the image. Check available space on the Image Library host before uploading large images.
* For **Upload Image via URL**, the Image Library Service host must reach the image download URL. Otherwise, the import fails and the image remains in `queued` status.
## Upload an Image
1. Sign in to the space.vars.product\_name UI and navigate to **Images**.
2. Select **Add Image**. The **Add Image** dialog opens.
3. In the **Image Selection** section, choose **Upload Image File** and select the image file on your local machine, or choose **Upload Image via URL** and enter the **Image Download URL**.
4. In the **Image Settings** section, complete the following fields:
| Field | Description |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | A descriptive name for the image. |
| **Operating System** | Select the operating system of the image. |
| **Disk Format** | Select the disk format that matches your file: `qcow2`, `raw`, or `iso`. |
| **Visibility** | Select **Private** (the default) to restrict the image to the current tenant, **Shared** to share it with specific tenants, or **Public** (administrators only) to make it available to all tenants in the domain. When you select **Shared**, a **Tenant Access** list appears; select the tenants to share with. See [Share Images Across Tenants](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/share-images-across-tenants.md). |
| **Disable Delete (Protected)** | Toggle on to prevent accidental deletion of the image. |
5. Select **Add Image** to start the upload.
6. The image row appears in the **Images** table with a status of `queued` while the file transfers, then transitions to `saving`, and finally to `active` when the upload completes successfully.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Large images**
Large image files (several gigabytes) can take several minutes to upload depending on your network bandwidth to the Image Library host. The UI does not display a progress percentage for the file transfer. If the status stays at `queued` for more than a few minutes, see [Troubleshoot Image Upload Issues](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/troubleshooting-and-log-files/image-service-troubleshooting-guide.md#troubleshoot-image-upload-and-queued-status).
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Multiple storage backends**
If more than one storage backend is configured, the image is uploaded to the default backend and then copied automatically to all configured backends. The **Images** list shows a **Stores** column with the per-store copy status. To copy existing images to all backends, or to learn more about multiple storage backends, see [Image Library with Multiple Storage Backends](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-library-multiple-storage-backends.md).
{% endhint %}
## Common Upload Errors
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Resolution |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The **Add Image** button is not active or the dialog cannot be opened | Image Library Service certificate is not trusted in your browser | Follow [Image Library Service Certificate Configuration](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-library-certificate-configuration.md). |
| Upload starts but the image stays in `queued` indefinitely | Disk full on the Image Library host, service not running, or a network interruption | See [Troubleshoot Image Upload Issues](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/troubleshooting-and-log-files/image-service-troubleshooting-guide.md#troubleshoot-image-upload-and-queued-status). |
| Upload fails immediately with an HTTP error | Incorrect disk format or container format selected, or the image file is corrupted | Verify the format with `qemu-img info ` on a local machine and retry with the correct format. |
| `403 Forbidden` error | Your user account does not have permission to create images in the current tenant | Ask your administrator to grant the required role in the target tenant. |
## Next Steps
After the image reaches `active` status, you can use it to create virtual machines. For advanced image configuration, such as setting image properties that control VM behavior, see [Image Properties](/private-cloud-director/images-and-image-library/image-properties.md).
---
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