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Consider using the new Metadata Service

Akamai's Metadata service is now available in select data centers and should be considered for new projects as an alternative to StackScripts. Use Metadata to automate system configuration by adding directives or scripts when deploying Compute Instances. This user data can then be consumed by cloud-init, an industry standard system initialization tool, or accessed directly using the Metadata API. For instructions on using the Metadata service and for a list of supported regions and distributions, reference our documentation.

StackScripts provide users with the ability to automate the deployment of custom systems. They work by running a custom script when deploying a new Compute Instance. These custom scripts store tasks that you may need to repeat often on new Compute Instances, such as:

• Automating common system administration tasks, such as installing and configuring software, configuring system settings, adding limited user accounts, and more.
• Running externally hosted deployment scripts.
• Quickly creating Compute Instances for yourself or clients with the exact starter configuration you need.

All StackScripts are stored in the Cloud Manager and can be accessed whenever you deploy a Compute Instance. A StackScript authored by you is an Account StackScript. A Community StackScript is a StackScript created by a community member that has made their StackScript publicly available.

Features

Quick and easy customization

Select a StackScript, fill out any required fields, and click to deploy. StackScripts run the first time a Compute Instance boots, allowing you to automatically customize the default Linux distribution.

A library of stackscripts

Customize your Compute Instance with one of the many StackScripts in our library or discover a community-sourced script. They include everything from installing a Linode-optimized LAMP stack to configuring an IPsec VPN server.

Create your own

Writing new StackScripts is simple. If you can’t find the right StackScript for your needs, author your own.

Pricing and availability

StackScripts are available at no charge across all core compute regions, but are not available in distributed compute regions.

Technical specifications

• Deployable on new Compute Instances
• Use any supported Linux distribution (see Choose a Linux Distribution)
• Supports the bash scripting language and any other scripting language supported by your chosen Linux distribution(s) (such as Python)
• Supports custom user-defined fields (UDFs)
• StackScripts can be made public to share with the community
• Manage StackScripts through an intuitive web-based control panel (Cloud Manager), the Linode CLI, or programmatically through the Linode API

Developer resources

• Linode API provides the ability to programmatically manage the full range of Akamai cloud computing products and services.
  • StackScripts Endpoint Collection
• Linode CLI is a wrapper around the Linode API that lets you manage your account and resources from the command line.