SrvYard
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Create EC2 and Lightsail instances without opening the AWS console.

Connect an AWS account with an IAM access key, pick a region and a size, and SrvYard launches the instance, waits for its public address, logs in with a key it generated and installs what the server type needs. Two services are supported: Amazon EC2 and Amazon Lightsail, each as its own connection. AWS bills you directly.

Connect a provider 
# Settings, Server providers, Amazon EC2 (or Lightsail)
name        AWS (production)
access key  IAM user access key ID
secret      secret access key
verify      sts:GetCallerIdentity, no permission needed
stored      encrypted, never shown again
# keys are signed per request; no AWS SDK, no role

01What you need

ItemAmazon EC2Amazon Lightsail
Credential An IAM user access key ID and secret access key. The same kind of key, with Lightsail permissions.
Permissions ec2:RunInstances, DescribeInstances, TerminateInstances, DescribeRegions, DescribeImages, DescribeInstanceTypes, DescribeSecurityGroups, CreateSecurityGroup, AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress, DescribeVpcs, DescribeSubnets, CreateTags. For snapshots also CreateImage, DeregisterImage, DeleteSnapshot. Reboot uses RebootInstances. GetRegions, GetBundles, CreateInstances, GetInstance, DeleteInstance, PutInstancePublicPorts, TagResource. For snapshots also CreateInstanceSnapshot, GetInstanceSnapshot, GetInstanceSnapshots, DeleteInstanceSnapshot, CreateInstancesFromSnapshot. Reboot uses RebootInstance.
Regions The regions that need no opt-in, with names such as Europe (Frankfurt) or US East (N. Virginia). The regions Lightsail reports.
Network A default VPC in the region. If there is none the form says so and how to create it. Nothing to prepare.
Operating system Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04, the newest Canonical AMI (x86, 64-bit). The Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 blueprint.
Plan Hobby 1, Pro 10, Business unlimited servers. Archived servers do not count. Same.

02What SrvYard asks of AWS

and nothing else
The Connect Amazon EC2 panel in SrvYard: a name, the access key ID with the list of IAM permissions in the help text, and the secret access key
fig 1Amazon EC2. The help text lists every permission the key needs.
The Connect Amazon Lightsail panel in SrvYard: a name, the access key ID with the list of Lightsail permissions, and the secret access key
fig 2Amazon Lightsail: the same two fields, a shorter permission list.

SrvYard signs its own requests with your key (no AWS SDK, no assumed role) and uses it for the calls in the table: catalogue reads, launching, rebooting, imaging and terminating the instances it made, and one security group. It does not touch your other instances, S3, RDS, Route 53, IAM or billing.

Create a dedicated IAM user for SrvYard with just those permissions. Removing the connection in SrvYard does not revoke the key; delete the key in IAM when you stop using SrvYard.

EC2 firewall. SrvYard creates a security group named srvyard-servers in the default VPC, if it does not exist, with SSH (22), HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) open to the internet. Instances are tagged managed-by=srvyard and Name.

Lightsail firewall. Once the instance runs, SrvYard opens ports 22, 80 and 443 to the internet, and retries if Lightsail is not ready the first time.

Already have an instance? Use Connect an existing server: one command as root, no key.

03Create a server

the Add server form

  1. Name and provider

    A name up to 60 characters and your connected Amazon EC2 or Amazon Lightsail account.

  2. Server type

    App server if you are unsure: sites, queue workers and a database on one machine.

  3. Region and size

    EC2 offers a fixed list of general purpose types, those the region has: t3 and t3a micro to large, m6i and c6i large and xlarge, each with a 20 GB gp3 root volume. Lightsail lists its active Linux bundles with price. The EC2 form shows no price, because AWS publishes prices through a separate API that SrvYard does not call; check the AWS pricing page.

  4. Create

    SrvYard launches the instance, waits for it to run with a public address, provisions it over SSH and shows Ready when it is done.

04What works on AWS

read from the integration
CapabilityAmazon EC2Amazon Lightsail
Prices in the form None (AWS prices vary by region and terms). Monthly bundle price from Lightsail.
Provider backups, IPv6 toggle, private network choice Not offered in the SrvYard form. The instance uses the default VPC. Not offered in the SrvYard form.
Restart A graceful reboot through the EC2 API. No hard reset. A reboot through the Lightsail API.
Snapshots An AMI (with EBS snapshots) of the running instance, taken without a reboot, so crash consistent. It is billed as EBS snapshot storage. Deleting it deregisters the AMI and deletes its EBS snapshots. An instance snapshot. A new server from it is created in the same region.
Delete Terminates the instance, and the root volume goes with it, unless you switch Preserve on. Deletes the instance and its add-ons, unless you switch Preserve on.
Open in Links to the instance in the EC2 console. Links to the instance in the Lightsail console.

05Limits

so you can rule it out early
  • x86 only: no Graviton (Arm) instance types, no GPU types, no Windows.
  • EC2 needs a default VPC in the region. SrvYard does not create VPCs, subnets or load balancers.
  • SrvYard does not allocate an Elastic IP or a Lightsail static IP. Without one, AWS gives a stopped and started instance a new public address, and the server shows Disconnected until you fix it. Reboots keep the address.
  • No ECS, EKS, Fargate, Elastic Beanstalk or Docker. Sites run on the instance with Nginx and PHP or Node.

Opt-in regions (for example Hong Kong or Milan) are not listed for EC2.

The first request SrvYard makes at connect time is sts:GetCallerIdentity, which AWS answers for any valid key. A key that works there but lacks an EC2 permission is accepted, and the first create fails with AWS’s own message.

The article Add a server provider and its API token lists the fields, and Provider snapshots the restore steps.

06Provider questions

answers from the docs
Does SrvYard support both EC2 and Lightsail?

Yes, as two separate connections: Amazon EC2 and Amazon Lightsail, each with an IAM access key and its own permission list. See Add a server provider and its API token.

What does SrvYard create in my AWS account?

On EC2, the instance (a 20 GB gp3 root volume) and, if missing, a security group named srvyard-servers in the default VPC with SSH, HTTP and HTTPS open. On Lightsail, the instance, with ports 22, 80 and 443 opened. Instances are tagged as managed by SrvYard.

Why is there no price in the EC2 size list?

AWS publishes prices through a separate API that SrvYard does not call, so the form shows the instance type, CPU and memory only. Lightsail bundles show their monthly price.

Connect an AWS account and create the first server.

Free: 1 server, 3 sites, 100 deploys a month. Read the docs first if you prefer.