User Data

User data lets you pass a script or configuration to a node at creation time, which is then executed automatically during the first boot via Cloud-Init (Linux) or Cloudbase-Init (Windows). This is the recommended way to automate initial server setup — installing packages, creating users, setting the timezone, or running arbitrary commands — without needing to maintain a fully custom image. User data is supplied once at node creation and does not persist across reinstalls unless provided again.

Supported formats

Currently, we support the following formats:

• cloud-config on Linux
• cloud-config on Windows
• bash (Linux only)
• PowerShell (Windows only)

Please also take a look at the cloud-config examples.

Bash / PowerShell Note

If you decide to use bash or PowerShell to configure your server, please ensure that you provide the correct shebang on the first line. For bash this is #!/bin/bash and for Powershell this is #ps1 or #ps1_sysnative.

Example Linux cloud-config

This example runs an update and upgrade, changes the timezone on the server and installs git.

#cloud-config
package_update: true
package_upgrade: true

timezone: US/Eastern

packages:
  - git

Example Windows cloud-config

This example changes the timezone on the server.

#cloud-config

set_timezone: US/Eastern