Overview
Servestead, the Server Homestead, is a local Go CLI for turning a raw Ubuntu VPS into a hardened, Git-backed place to run private application stacks.
The safest way to learn it is to start with a fresh, disposable Ubuntu VPS and use the guided setup flow.
Pick Your Starting Point
Section titled “Pick Your Starting Point”Existing VPS
You already have a public IPv4 address and SSH key access. This is the best first path for most beginners.
New cloud server
You want Servestead to create a Hetzner or DigitalOcean VPS before setup. Provisioning is billable.
What Guided Setup Does
Section titled “What Guided Setup Does”With one profile-aware run, Servestead can:
- Create or reuse a saved local profile.
- Collect the missing host, key, domain, email, and repository values before remote commands run.
- Bootstrap administrative SSH access.
- Harden the operating system and SSH.
- Install Docker and configure UFW networking.
- Deploy Pangolin, Traefik, Newt, and observability services.
- Save local run state and secrets with owner-only file permissions.
What It Does Not Do
Section titled “What It Does Not Do”- It does not create DNS records at your registrar.
- It does not make live cloud API calls during tests.
- It does not store runtime secrets in the Git-backed configuration repository.
- It does not disable external SSH until the requested setup stages do so.
Recommended First Run
Section titled “Recommended First Run”bin/servestead setup --ip 203.0.113.10Replace 203.0.113.10 with your server IPv4 address.
The interactive flow shows a task progress view and persists profile state so completed stages can be skipped on later full runs.