# Control servers from automations

> Automations can act on your cloud servers — so a rule can power a server on, reboot it, or turn on backups without you lifting a finger.

Source: https://infranest.io/docs/control-servers
Last updated: 2026-09-19

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This article is for anyone who wants InfraNest to manage their cloud servers automatically — for example, powering a server back on, rebooting it, or turning on backups without doing it by hand.

## Overview

- Automations can act on your servers so rules can respond to events without manual steps.
- A rule can power on, reboot, or shut down a server, and turn backups or delete protection on or off.
- Every action is reversible — there's no rebuild, restore or delete, so a rule can never wipe a server.

> [!NOTE]
> Server actions are part of a paid plan. On a free plan they appear in the builder but are greyed out until you upgrade.

## What a rule can do to a server

- **Power on server**
- **Reboot server** (a graceful restart)
- **Shut down server** (graceful — power it back on whenever you like)
- Enable or disable backups (the provider's automatic backups)
- **Enable delete protection** / **Disable delete protection**

## Add a server action

1. Open **Automations**, then **New automation** (or edit an existing rule).
2. Pick a **Trigger** — what should set this off (for example a **Monitor alert**, or **Server added**).
3. Under **Do this**, choose a server action — they're grouped under **Servers**.
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4. Choose which server to act on:
   - Leave it set to **Use the one from the trigger** when the trigger already involves a server (like **Server added**) — the action uses that server automatically.
   - Otherwise, use **Choose a server…** to search and pick a specific server.
5. Click **Save automation**.

## Start from a template

The **Template library** has two ready-made recipes:

- **New server → enable backups & protection** — every server you add is automatically backed up and protected.
- **Monitor down → reboot the server** — self-healing: if a monitor fails, reboot the server and tell the team.

Click **Use**, adjust anything you like (for the reboot recipe, pick which server under **Choose a server…**), then click **Save automation**.

> [!TIP]
> For a "reboot when down" rule, keep the built-in **Cooldown** so a flapping monitor can't reboot the server over and over. Add conditions under **Add condition** (like a tag) to keep the rule pointed at the right servers.

## Troubleshooting

- If a server action looks greyed out, check whether your plan includes server actions — you may need to upgrade.
- Every server action is written to your **Audit Log** and shows up in the automation's **Run history**, so you can always see what ran and when.
- If a rule keeps misfiring, check **Conditions** and **Only if…** filters to narrow down which servers or events it should react to.