Connect an existing server

Before you connect

You need:

• A server running Ubuntu. The installer uses Docker’s Ubuntu packages, so other distributions aren’t supported.
• SSH access to the server as root.
• Outbound HTTPS access from the server to api.serversinc.io and get.serversinc.io.
• A list of what already uses Docker, ports 80 and 443, or host paths you plan to mount into applications. If the server already runs Traefik without the Docker provider, the script reconfigures it. Check your existing routes after you connect.

Connecting isn’t a migration. Processes that already run keep running. Check the server’s Docker and network setup before you let Serversinc run new workloads beside them.

What the command does

The dashboard gives you a one-time command like this:

curl -sSL https://get.serversinc.io/install.sh | bash -s -- --token <token> --core https://api.serversinc.io

You can read the script before you run it. It:

1. Installs jq if it’s missing.
2. Shows the server details it collected and asks you to confirm them.
3. Registers the server with Serversinc using the token.
4. Adds the Serversinc SSH key to root’s authorized_keys.
5. Installs Docker if it’s missing.
6. Starts Traefik if there’s no Traefik container. If a Traefik container exists but doesn’t use the Docker provider, the script reconfigures it.
7. Writes the agent config and starts the agent container, named agent.

The agent has root access

The agent runs as root with access to the Docker socket. Anyone in your organisation can run commands on this server through it. Read The agent for what it can do and how Serversinc talks to it.

Connect the server

1. Open Servers and select Connect server.

2. SSH into the server as root in a separate terminal.

3. Copy the command and run it on the server.

   Note

   The token in the command expires after 15 minutes. If it expires, select Connect server again to get a new command.

4. Type y when the script asks you to confirm the server details.

5. Wait for Setup complete!, then select I have run this script in the dashboard.

6. Keep the waiting screen open. When the agent sends its first report, Serversinc opens the new server page.

The agent updates itself after this. You don’t need to install or upgrade it by hand.

If the script stops

The script stops at the first step that fails. Read the last lines of its output.

If it prints Error: failed to receive SSH key from Core, the server did not register. Check that the server can reach api.serversinc.io, then select Connect server again to get a new command. The token may have expired.

Check the connection

On the server page, check that:

• The status is Active.
• The address and resources are correct.
• The Metrics tab is receiving data.
• Containers that already ran on the server appear under Containers.

The inventory can take a few reports to fill in.

You can rename the server at any time under Server → Settings.

When a server stops reporting

Check each step between the server and Serversinc:

1. Check that the server is running and you can reach it over SSH.
2. Check that the server can reach api.serversinc.io over HTTPS.
3. Check that Docker and the agent are running: docker ps --filter name=agent.
4. Read the agent’s logs: docker logs agent.
5. Compare the last reported state, metrics, and command history in the dashboard.

Don’t reconnect a server only because its status is stale. Find why it stopped reporting first, so you don’t create a duplicate server or disturb running workloads.