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Overview

The “Scripts” page stores setup scripts that run on a Linux server the first time it boots after being built. Use them to install packages, create users, write config files, or run your own commands, so a new server comes up ready to use. A saved script does nothing on its own. It runs only when you pick it while ordering a new server or reinstalling an existing one. Open the Ascienth console at https://console.advinservers.com and click “Scripts” under “Setup” in the left sidebar. Scripts are saved in the team you are working in. Each team has its own list, so switch to the right team before you add one.

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Script Types

When a Cloud-config document is combined with the image’s own settings:
  • Lists of work, such as packages, runcmd, bootcmd, write_files, users and ssh_authorized_keys, are added together. Your entries come after the image’s, and exact duplicates are skipped.
  • For any other setting that both define, your value wins.
A simple example:

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Limits and Checks

  • Name: up to 64 characters, unique in your account.
  • Script content: up to 1 MiB.
  • A Cloud-config document must be valid YAML and must be a list of settings such as packages: or runcmd:. Otherwise you see an error explaining the problem before the script is saved.
  • A cloud-config document saved as a Bash script is refused, because it would fail when run as a shell script. Choose the Cloud-config type for it instead.
Scripts often contain passwords or tokens. We store script content encrypted. Anyone in your team with the View setup scripts permission can still read it.

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Adding a Script

1

Open the form

On the “Scripts” page, click Add Script.
2

Name it and pick a type

Enter a Name and choose a Type: Cloud-config or Bash script. The editor starts with #cloud-config or #!/bin/bash for you.
3

Write the script

Write or paste your script into the editor.
4

Save

Click Create. The script can now be picked the next time you order or reinstall a server.
You can also add a script straight from the order or reinstall form with Create Script. The new script is selected for you.

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Running a Script on a Server

Saved scripts appear in the “Setup Script” section of two forms:
  • Ordering a server, on the “Order a Server” page.
  • Reinstalling a server, on the server’s “Reinstall” tab. See Server Reinstallation.
Click a script to select it, and click it again to clear it. You can pick one script per server. The script runs during the first boot of the newly built server, after the operating system is installed.
Scripts are not supported on Windows. The “Setup Script” section is hidden when you pick a Windows operating system, and an order or reinstall that includes a script for Windows is refused.
Scripts are also not available on every server. If a server’s “Reinstall” tab has no “Setup Script” section, that server cannot run scripts.

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Editing or Deleting a Script

Click the menu at the end of the script’s row:
  • Edit lets you change the name, type and content. Click Save when you are done.
  • Delete removes the script. To confirm, type the script’s name and click Delete.
Servers that were already built with a script are not affected by editing or deleting it. Anything the script already did on those servers stays as it is. If the team owner has more than one team, they can also choose Move to team to move a script to another of their teams.

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Team Permissions

The team owner can always manage scripts. Members need these permissions in their role: See Team Members and Roles.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Log in to the server and check its first-boot logs under /var/log/. Our services are unmanaged, so we cannot debug the script for you.
No. Scripts only run when a server is ordered or reinstalled. On a running server, run the commands yourself.

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Using the API

You can manage scripts with an API key that has the View setup scripts, Manage setup scripts or Delete setup scripts permission for its team. In the API, scripts are called user-scripts, and type is cloud-config or bash.
The list endpoint returns each script’s full content, so treat the response as sensitive. See the API introduction for how to create a key and for the full list of endpoints.