create-vps

name	create-vps
description	Use when creating a fresh Hetzner Cloud VPS with an SSH alias, local project folder, provisioning script, destroy script, and optional handoff into setup-control-room.

Create VPS

Use this skill to provision a fresh Hetzner Cloud VPS from a local machine.

This skill creates a server, SSH key, local SSH alias, and project folder. It can optionally chain into setup-control-room after the server is reachable.

Triggers

Standalone:

• "create a vps"
• "new vps"
• "provision a server"
• "create a hetzner vps"
• "set up a new hetzner box"
• /create-vps

Chained into setup-control-room:

• "create an agent vps"
• "create a fully loaded vps"
• "create a vps and bootstrap it"
• "new agent box"
• /create-agent-vps

Inputs

Required:

• PROJECT_NAME: collected from the user.

Derived from PROJECT_NAME:

SERVER_NAME
SSH_ALIAS
SSH_KEY_FILE
SSH_KEY_NAME

Defaults:

SERVER_TYPE=cx23
SERVER_LOCATION=hel1
SERVER_IMAGE=ubuntu-24.04

Server type and location should be selected from live hcloud output after the user adds the token to .env.

Prerequisites

Check first:

1. hcloud CLI is installed.
2. User has a Hetzner Cloud account.

If hcloud is missing, stop and give install instructions.

Security Rule

Never accept the Hetzner token in chat.

If the user pastes it, tell them to revoke it and create a new one.

The token must be pasted directly into the local .env file by the user.

Flow

1. Ask for project name.
2. Create local project folder.
3. Write .env, .gitignore, scripts/provision.sh, and scripts/destroy.sh.
4. Tell the user how to create a Hetzner API token.
5. Tell the user to paste it after HCLOUD_TOKEN= in .env.
6. After confirmation, source .env and query:

hcloud server-type list
hcloud location list

7. Ask for server type and location using live options.
8. Write selected values into .env.
9. Run scripts/provision.sh.
10. Verify:

ssh <alias> 'echo connected as $(whoami) on $(hostname); uname -a'

11. If the original trigger asked for an agent VPS, invoke setup-control-room with SSH_ALIAS.
12. Otherwise ask whether the user wants to bootstrap the Agent Control Room.

Outputs

• Working ssh <alias> connection.
• Local project folder with idempotent scripts.
• Hetzner server visible in hcloud server list.
• SSH keypair.
• SSH config entry.
• Optional handoff into setup-control-room.

Idempotency

provision.sh should be safe to rerun:

• Skip key generation if key exists.
• Skip SSH key upload if key exists in Hetzner.
• Skip server creation if server exists.
• Update .env with current IP.
• Update SSH config block in place.

Files

create-vps/
  SKILL.md
  assets/
    env.template
    gitignore.template
    provision.sh
    destroy.sh
  references/
    env-guide.md
    server-types.md
    troubleshooting.md
    daily-use.md