Help setting up an instance

Request for assistance with setting up a new instance, a repetitive task that could be automated with a tool.

This tool assists with setting up new instances by auto-detecting the operating system and network configuration from the input payload, then applying an optimized instance template tailored to those settings. It streamlines what is typically a repetitive provisioning task by bundling OS detection, network analysis, and template selection into a single workflow.

Use Cases

• Auto-detecting OS from a platform hint: When a payload is submitted without an explicit os_type, the tool uses regex matching against a platform_hint field to identify the operating system (e.g., matching "windows", "darwin"/"macos"/"osx", or defaulting to Linux). This is useful for teams ingesting varied instance requests where the caller knows the platform informally but not the precise OS string.

• Applying optimized templates for VPC-based Linux or Windows deployments: The apply_optimized_template function returns specific template names such as linux-vpc-optimized or windows-vpc-optimized when the OS is Linux or Windows combined with a vpc network type. This supports standardizing deployment configurations for cloud workloads running inside VPC networks.

• Falling back to a generic template for non-VPC or unmatched environments: When the network type is not vpc or the OS does not match the specialized branches, the tool selects a generic-optimized template. This is useful for ad-hoc or hybrid environments that do not fit the specialized VPC patterns.

• Capturing multi-cloud provisioning metadata: The provision_multi_cloud function records the cloud provider, IAM role, list of injected secret keys, and a provisioning timestamp, allowing the resulting record to serve as an auditable summary of what was configured for an instance.

How It Works

The tool centers on an InstanceConfig dataclass that collects the operating system type, network configuration, cloud provider, IAM role, secrets, git repository, and template name for a given instance. The auto_detect_os_and_network function fills in missing os_type and network_config fields by applying regex patterns to the platform_hint and supplying a default network entry, ensuring that downstream logic always has well-formed inputs. The apply_optimized_template function then maps the resolved OS and network combination to a named template, and provision_multi_cloud finalizes the process by assembling a result dictionary that captures the provider, IAM role, injected secret names, and the current timestamp.

Usage on Apify

Run it directly from the Apify Console ("Start"/"Try for free"), or call it via the API:

POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/help-setting-up-an-instance/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>
Content-Type: application/json
{}

Pricing

Pay-per-event, billed automatically by Apify -- no separate account or payment step:

• Actor start: $0.00005 per GB of memory (minimum one event per run)
• Result: $0.005 per item returned -- this is the primary, usage-based charge

Also independently available at $0.0100 USDC (Base) per call via the x402 payment protocol (POST /tools/help-setting-up-an-instance) for callers outside the Apify platform.

Example output

Real output captured from this tool's own build-time smoke test (input above):

{
  "wizard": {
    "detected_os": "linux",
    "network_config": {
      "type": "default",
      "ip": "0.0.0.0"
    },
    "applied_template": "generic-optimized"
  },
  "provisioning": {
    "status": "provisioned",
    "provider": "aws",
    "iam_role": "",
    "secrets_injected": [],
    "timestamp": "2026-08-06T08:00:12.017264",
    "json": "{\"status\": \"provisioned\", \"provider\": \"aws\", \"iam_role\": \"\", \"secrets_injected\": [], \"timestamp\": \"2026-08-06T08:00:12.017264\"}"
  },
  "git_deployment": {
    "repo": ".",
    "template": "generic-optimized",
    "diff": {
      "added": {
        "version": "1.0",
        "settings": {
          "cpu": "2vCPU",
          "memory": "4GB"
        }
      },
      "removed": {},
      "changed": {}
    },
    "deployment_status": "applied",
    "timestamp": "2026-08-06T08:00:12.017356"
  },
  "status": "success",
  "timestamp": "2026-08-06T08:00:12.017361"
}