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    E-MapReduce:Create a cluster template

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    E-MapReduce:Create a cluster template

    Last Updated:Feb 28, 2026

    Cluster templates store reusable cluster configurations for E-MapReduce (EMR). Instead of configuring a cluster from scratch each time, you save a template once and reference it across multiple data development workflows.

    Overview

    Cluster templates are designed for automated, on-demand cluster provisioning within data development workflows. When you assign a template to a workflow, EMR manages the full cluster lifecycle:

    1. The workflow starts.

    2. EMR creates a temporary cluster based on the template configuration.

    3. EMR delivers the jobs in the workflow to the cluster.

    4. After the workflow completes, EMR automatically releases the cluster.

    The temporary cluster exists only for the duration of workflow execution.

    Limits

    You can use cluster templates to create Hadoop clusters and Dataflow clusters.

    Prerequisites

    Note

    If you have never used the data development feature in EMR before 21:00 on February 21, 2022 (UTC+08:00), the cluster template feature is unavailable to you.

    Create a cluster template

    Step 1: Open the cluster template list

    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud EMR console by using your Alibaba Cloud account.

    2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where your cluster resides and select a resource group based on your business requirements.

    3. Click the Data Platform tab.

    4. In the Projects section of the page that appears, click Cluster Template in the upper-right corner.

    The cluster template list page appears, displaying all existing templates.

    Step 2: Configure and save the template

    1. On the cluster template list page, click Create Cluster Template in the upper-right corner.

    2. On the Create Cluster Template page, configure the required parameters. The configuration process is similar to creating a cluster. For detailed parameter descriptions, see Create a cluster.

      Note

      In the Hardware Settings step, you can specify multiple instance types for a node group. This prevents cluster creation failures caused by insufficient inventory of a single instance type, which helps ensure your workflow jobs run on schedule.

      Multiple instance types

    3. Read the Terms of Service, select the check box to confirm that you have read the Terms of Service, and then click Save.

    After saving, the new cluster template appears in the cluster template list.

    Manage cluster templates

    You can edit or delete existing cluster templates from the cluster template list page.

    ActionSteps
    EditFind the target cluster template and click Edit in the Actions column. Modify the configuration as needed and save your changes.
    DeleteFind the target cluster template and click Delete in the Actions column.
    Important

    Editing a cluster template takes effect immediately on all workflows that reference the template. When you delete a cluster template, EMR does not check whether any workflow currently references it. After the template is deleted, all workflows that use this template will fail.