Provisioning

Shed supports in-repo provisioning scripts that run automatically when containers start. These scripts are version-controlled with your code.

Quick Start

Create .shed/provision.yaml in your repository root:

hooks:
  install: scripts/provision/install.sh
  startup: scripts/provision/startup.sh

env:
  MY_VAR: "my_value"

Configuration

Provision File Location

Place .shed/provision.yaml in your repository root. Shed detects and executes it automatically.

Fields

Field	Type	Description
hooks.install	string	Script that runs once on shed create
hooks.startup	string	Script that runs on every start
env	map	Custom environment variables

Hooks

Install Hook

Runs once when the shed is created. Use for one-time setup:

• Installing packages
• Creating databases
• Initial configuration

Startup Hook

Runs every time the shed starts. Use for:

• Starting services
• Verifying dependencies
• Runtime configuration

Example: PostgreSQL Setup

.shed/provision.yaml:

hooks:
  install: scripts/provision/install.sh
  startup: scripts/provision/startup.sh

env:
  DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://localhost/myapp"

scripts/provision/install.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# Install PostgreSQL
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y postgresql-16

# Create database
sudo -u postgres createdb myapp || true

echo "PostgreSQL installed"

scripts/provision/startup.sh:

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

# Start PostgreSQL if not running
if ! pg_isready -q 2>/dev/null; then
    echo "Starting PostgreSQL..."
    sudo pg_ctlcluster 16 main start

    for i in {1..10}; do
        pg_isready -q && break
        sleep 1
    done
fi

echo "PostgreSQL is ready"

Environment Variables

Shed sets these variables automatically:

Variable	Description
SHED_CONTAINER	Always true in shed containers
SHED_NAME	Container name (e.g., myproject)
SHED_WORKSPACE	Workspace path (/workspace)

Add custom variables in provision.yaml:

env:
  DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://localhost/myapp"
  NODE_ENV: "development"

Lifecycle

On shed create: The container starts, the repository is cloned, then the install hook runs followed by the startup hook.

On shed start: Only the startup hook runs.

Skipping Provisioning

shed create myproject --repo github.com/user/repo --no-provision

Debugging

If provisioning fails, check the logs in the container:

shed console myproject
cat /var/log/shed/install.log
cat /var/log/shed/startup.log

Common issues:

• Script not executable: Shed automatically runs chmod +x before executing
• Missing dependencies: Install script should handle all dependencies
• Non-zero exit: Hook failures are logged as warnings but container creation continues

Environment Detection

Check if running in a shed container using [ "$SHED_CONTAINER" = "true" ].