Deploy a server in the cloud

Run your SpanDock Server on a cloud VM, so it's always on for the whole team. Clients reach it over the encrypted tunnel, so no inbound port and no public address are needed: the VM only connects out.

Pick one way:

Way	Best for	Download
One paste (cloud-init)	Any provider's console: DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Akamai, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure…	cloud-init.yaml
One command	A Linux machine you already have	install-server.sh
Terraform on AWS	EC2, as code	spandock-terraform-aws.zip
Terraform on Google Cloud	Compute Engine, as code	spandock-terraform-gcp.zip
Ansible	Fleets of hosts you manage	spandock-ansible.zip

The kits are also on GitHub, under the Apache 2.0 license: SpanDock/spandock-deploy.

Every way installs the same thing:

a spandock service account;
the release, checked against its published checksums;
a systemd service that restarts on failure.

The server keeps itself up to date when Install updates automatically is on in its settings.

What to choose

System: Ubuntu 24.04 or later, or Debian 13. SpanDock needs glibc 2.38 or later. x86-64 or ARM64.
Size: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 30 GB of disk suit up to about 50 developers. For a larger team or longer history, use the hardware calculator.
Network: outbound HTTPS. Nothing has to reach the machine; open SSH only if you want it.

Provider	A good start (2 vCPU, 4 GB)	ARM option
AWS	t3.medium	t4g.medium
Google Cloud	e2-medium	t2a-standard-1 or larger
Azure	B2s	B2pls v2
DigitalOcean	Basic 2 vCPU / 4 GB	—
Hetzner	CPX21	CAX11
Vultr, Akamai	2 vCPU / 4 GB shared CPU	—

One paste: cloud-init

Create a VM with Ubuntu 24.04 and paste cloud-init.yaml into the user data field:

Provider	Where to paste
DigitalOcean	Create Droplet → Advanced options → Add initialization scripts
Hetzner	Add server → Cloud config
Akamai (Linode)	Create Linode → Add User Data
Vultr	Deploy → Additional features → Cloud-Init User-Data
AWS EC2	Launch instance → Advanced details → User data
Google Cloud	Create instance → Advanced → Management → Metadata: key `user-data`, the file as value
Azure	Create a virtual machine → Advanced → Custom data

Then activate the server.

One command

On a Linux machine you already have:

curl -fsSL https://spandock.com/deploy/install-server.sh | sudo bash

It prints the activation link when it's done. Run it again at any time to repair or upgrade the install; your data and settings stay.

Options, as environment variables after sudo:

SPANDOCK_VERSION=v0.14.0: pin a release.
SPANDOCK_JOIN_CODE=…: join a hub as a satellite.

For example: curl -fsSL … | sudo SPANDOCK_VERSION=v0.14.0 bash.

Terraform on AWS

Download spandock-terraform-aws.zip. It creates one EC2 instance with:

Ubuntu 24.04;
an encrypted gp3 disk;
IMDSv2 required;
a security group with no inbound rule.

cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars   # region, instance type, disk
terraform init && terraform apply

The activation output is a command that reads the instance's console and prints the activation link. Settings in variables.tf:

your own subnet;
an SSH key and an allowed address;
Graviton (architecture = "arm64");
a pinned version;
a satellite join code.

Terraform on Google Cloud

Download spandock-terraform-gcp.zip, or open it in Cloud Shell to run it from your browser, already signed in to your project. It creates one Compute Engine VM with Ubuntu 24.04, as a Shielded VM, and no firewall rule.

cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars   # project, region, machine type, disk
gcloud auth application-default login
terraform init && terraform apply

The activation output reads the serial port and prints the activation link. On a network with Cloud NAT, set external_ip = false.

Ansible

Download spandock-ansible.zip for machines you already manage:

cp inventory.example.ini inventory.ini   # your hosts
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini site.yml

The role checks the platform, installs the release, and installs and starts the service. For each new hub it prints the activation link. Running it again upgrades to spandock_version and keeps all data.

Activate the server

A new SpanDock Server is approved once, by you, on spandock.com. A few minutes after boot it prints a link. Open it on any device, sign in, check the code matches what the server shows, and approve. The license is then stored on the server, and restarts don't ask again.

Where to read the link:

Where	How
Over SSH	`journalctl -u spandock -f`
AWS	EC2 → the instance → Actions → Monitor and troubleshoot → Get system log, or the Terraform `activation` command
Google Cloud	The instance → Serial port 1 (console), or the Terraform `activation` command
Azure	The VM → Help → Boot diagnostics → Serial log
Others	The provider's web or recovery console

The code expires after a few minutes; the server then prints a new one by itself.

Add satellites

Satellites share the load and let clients fail over. They need Premium or Enterprise.

On the hub, open Settings → Scaling → Add server and copy the join code. It works once, for 30 minutes.
Create the new VM with the code:
- cloud-init: put it in the SPANDOCK_JOIN_CODE='' part of the file;
- one command: curl … | sudo SPANDOCK_JOIN_CODE='…' bash;
- Terraform: join_code = "…";
- Ansible: -e spandock_join_code=….

A satellite follows the hub's license, so it doesn't need its own activation. See Satellites and failover.

Where things live

What	Where
The program	`/var/lib/spandock/bin/spandock` (owned by the service, so it can update itself)
Data and settings	`/var/lib/spandock/.config/`
Service settings	`/etc/spandock/server.env`
Logs	`journalctl -u spandock`
Health	`curl http://127.0.0.1:4318/healthz` on the machine

Back up /var/lib/spandock (or snapshot the disk) to keep the history and settings.