Register a server

Register your server with Alpacon to manage it from your browser.

What is a user server?

A user server refers to a server operated by an individual user or a group of users. Alpacon supports registration and management of both:

• Cloud-based servers (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure)
• On-premise servers operated directly by the user

Even in hybrid environments where different types of servers coexist, Alpacon offers a consistent UI/UX to manage all servers seamlessly in one place.

Key benefits:

• Unified management interface for all server types
• Consistent experience regardless of server location
• No distinction needed between cloud and on-premise
• Centralized control and monitoring

Registration process

Server registration follows 3 steps:

1. Registration method—Choose a registration method
2. Server information—Enter server details (varies by method)
3. Installation guide—Run the generated installation script or command

Registration methods

Registration by script

Register a server by running a generated installation script directly on the target server.

Step 1: Select registration method

1. Click Servers in the left sidebar
2. Click Register Server button in the top right
3. Select Registration by script

Step 2: Enter server information

• Server name (required)—Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores only (max 20 characters)
• Platform (required)—Select the server OS (Debian-based, Red Hat-based, macOS, or Windows)
• Access control—Define which groups can access this server:
  • All groups—All workspace members (Alpacon users group)
  • Admins only—Workspace administrators only
  • Specific groups—Select one or more groups

Step 3: Install agent

An installation script is automatically generated and displayed on screen.

1. Copy the generated installation script
2. Connect to your target server’s terminal
3. Paste and run the script
4. Wait for installation to complete (takes about 1-2 minutes)
5. Return to the server list and verify the status shows Connected

Script example:

curl -sSL https://install.alpacon.io/agent | sudo bash -s -- --token YOUR_TOKEN

Registration with token

Register a server using a pre-issued server registration token and a CLI command. This method is ideal for automating server registration across multiple servers.

Step 1: Select registration method

1. Click Servers in the left sidebar
2. Click Register Server button in the top right
3. Select Registration with token

Step 2: Enter server information

• Platform (required)—Select the server OS
• Server name—Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores only (max 20 characters). Used as a name prefix for the server being created. If not specified, the server’s hostname is used.
• Registration token—Select an existing token from the dropdown, or click Create new token to create one on the spot

Step 3: Install agent

A token-based CLI installation command is generated and displayed on screen.

1. Copy the generated command
2. Run it on the target server
3. Wait for installation to complete
4. Verify the status shows Connected in the server list

AWS Cloud-Init (coming soon)

Register servers automatically using AWS Cloud-Init user data during EC2 instance provisioning.

Terraform (coming soon)

Use the Terraform provider to provision and register servers simultaneously as part of your Infrastructure as Code workflow.

Ansible (coming soon)

Use an Ansible playbook to automate server registration across your fleet.

Supported platforms

For the full Linux distribution matrix, see the installation guide.

Feature scope per platform

Linux and macOS expose Alpacon’s full feature set, including user and group management and Unix-style permission changes (chmod / chown). Windows servers support terminal sessions (Websh) and file transfer (WebFTP); user/group management and Unix permission controls are not applicable on Windows, and the corresponding UI is disabled for Windows servers.

Requirements

Server:

• A supported operating system and architecture (see supported platforms)
• Administrative access for installation (root/sudo on Linux and macOS, elevated PowerShell on Windows)
• Internet connection

Network:

• Outbound HTTPS connections allowed (port 443)
• Access to Alpacon API servers

Troubleshooting

Connection status shows “Disconnected”—check agent status, restart, and inspect logs using the commands for your platform.

Linux (systemd)

sudo systemctl status alpamon
sudo systemctl restart alpamon
sudo journalctl -u alpamon -n 50

macOS (launchd)

sudo launchctl print system/com.alpacax.alpamon
sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.alpacax.alpamon
tail -n 50 /var/log/alpamon/alpamon.log

Windows (Service Control Manager)

From an elevated PowerShell:

sc.exe query alpamon
Restart-Service alpamon
Get-Content "$env:ProgramData\alpamon\log\alpamon.log" -Tail 50

Note: On Windows, it is safe to re-run alpamon register. It installs the agent under %ProgramFiles%\alpamon\ if needed, refreshes the service configuration, and starts the service.

Installation fails:

• Verify administrative privileges (sudo on Linux/macOS, elevated PowerShell on Windows)
• Check internet connection
• Confirm platform is supported

Security considerations

Agent communication:

• All communication is TLS encrypted
• Only outbound connections from server to Alpacon required
• No inbound ports need to be opened

Authentication:

• Each server uses a unique token for authentication
• Token is only used during installation and stored securely

Next steps

After registering your server:

• Connect to servers
• Control server access
• Monitor server status