Google Cloud Platform for Developers

Startup scripts

Startup scripts are executed every time an instance is started, both when it is first created and on every subsequent restart. Startup scripts can be provided directly from the metadata server as a literal value, using the startup-script key, or from a Cloud Storage bucket, using the startup-script-url key.

Note that adding or modifying a startup script for a running instance will not cause that script to execute. In this case, the script must be executed manually or the instance must be restarted. Also note that when using a startup script stored in Cloud Storage, the instance must have sufficient permissions to read from that bucket.

A common use case for startup scripts is to download and install a configuration management ...