Install an OS via autoinstallation using Terraform

Last update: October 05 2026Open in Markdown

carefully

Automatic OS installation will delete data on all disks.
Before installing the OS, we recommend saving your data or creating a backup.

You can install the OS via Terraform using automatic installation only. Automatic OS installation is only available for prebuilt servers without upgrades. On a prebuilt server with upgrades, you can manually install the 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. In the selectel_dedicated_os_v1 data source, specify the required OS:

   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> — OS family name, for example, Ubuntu;
   • <version_name> — OS version, for example, 22.04. You can find 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 — type 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 to the selectel_dedicated_server_v1 resource the force_update_additional_params parameter 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 — additional OS parameters. See the detailed description of the selectel_dedicated_server_v1 resource.

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 — type 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, delete from the selectel_dedicated_server_v1 resource the force_update_additional_params parameter that you added in step 3.

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