Install an OS via autoinstallation using Terraform

Last update: September 07 2026Open in Markdown

carefully

Automatic OS installation will delete data on all disks.
We recommend that you save your data or create a backup before installing the OS.

You can only install an OS via Terraform using automatic installation. Automatic OS installation is only available for pre-configured servers without upgrades. On a pre-configured server with an upgrade, you can manually install an OS from a custom image.

You can install an OS on the server that differs from the current one, or reinstall the current OS.

Install a new OS

1. Open the CLI.

2. Make sure you are in the directory with the configuration file.

3. Specify the required OS in the data source selectel_dedicated_os_v1:

   data "selectel_dedicated_os_v1" "server_os" {
       project_id         = selectel_vpc_project_v2.project_1.id
       filter {
           name             = "<os_image_name>"
           version_name     = "<version_name>"
           configuration_id = data.selectel_dedicated_configuration_v1.server_config.configurations[0].id
           location_id      = data.selectel_dedicated_location_v1.server_location.locations[0].id
       }
   }

   Specify:

   • <os_image_name> — the OS family name, for example Ubuntu;
   • <version_name> — OS version, for example 22.04. You can check the OS version in the Standard OS images table or using the List OS configurations method via the Dedicated Servers API.

4. Check that the configuration file is free of errors:

   terraform validate

5. Format the configuration file:

   terraform fmt

6. Check the changes:

   terraform plan

7. Apply the changes:

   terraform apply

8. Confirm the creation — enter yes and press Enter. The changes will be displayed in the control panel.

9. Wait for the OS installation to finish.

Reinstall the OS

1. Open the CLI.

2. Make sure you are in the directory with the configuration file.

3. In the configuration file, add the selectel_dedicated_server_v1 parameter force_update_additional_params with the value true:

   resource "selectel_dedicated_server_v1" "server_1" {
       project_id                     = selectel_vpc_project_v2.project_1.id
       configuration_id               = data.selectel_configuration_v1.server_config.configurations[0].id
       location_id                    = data.selectel_location_v1.server_location.locations[0].id
       price_plan_name                = "1 day"
       public_subnet_id               = data.selectel_public_subnet_v1.subnets.subnets[0].id
       os_id                          = data.selectel_os_v1.server_os.os[0].id
       os_host_name                   = "Turing"
       os_password                    = "Passw0rd!"
       force_update_additional_params = true
   }

4. Change the value of any additional parameter for os_id: os_password, user_data, ssh_key, ssh_key_name, partitions_config, os_host_name:

   resource "selectel_dedicated_server_v1" "server_1" {
       project_id                     = selectel_vpc_project_v2.project_1.id
       configuration_id               = data.selectel_configuration_v1.server_config.configurations[0].id
       location_id                    = data.selectel_location_v1.server_location.locations[0].id
       price_plan_name                = "1 day"
       public_subnet_id               = data.selectel_public_subnet_v1.subnets.subnets[0].id
       os_id                          = data.selectel_os_v1.server_os.os[0].id
       force_update_additional_params = true
       os_host_name                   = "new_Turing"            
       os_password                    = "new_Passw0rd!"
   }

   Here, os_host_name, os_password are additional OS parameters. View the detailed description of the resource selectel_dedicated_server_v1.

5. Check that the configuration file is free of errors:

   terraform validate

6. Format the configuration file:

   terraform fmt

7. Check the changes:

   terraform plan

8. Apply the changes:

   terraform apply

9. Confirm the creation — enter yes and press Enter. The changes will be displayed in the control panel.

10. Wait for the OS installation to finish.

11. In the configuration file, remove the force_update_additional_params parameter that you added in step 3 from the selectel_dedicated_server_v1 resource.

12. Check that the configuration file is free of errors:

    terraform validate

13. Format the configuration file:

    terraform fmt

14. Check the changes:

    terraform plan

15. Apply the changes:

    terraform apply