The Tool Desk
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Run cloud-init status on the server. It reports whether cloud-init is still running, has finished, is disabled, or ended in an error. If another script must wait for initialization, use cloud-init status --wait; it blocks until cloud-init completes instead of requiring a hand-written polling loop.
For troubleshooting or machine parsing, add --long or --format=json. You can also test /var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finished, a documented persistent marker, but that file only tells you that the marker was created. It does not expose errors, exit status, datasource details, or stage timings.
How do I know cloud-init is done?
Log in to the target server and run:
cloud-init statusThe command gives cloud-init’s high-level state. A normal completed run is reported as done. Other states indicate that initialization is still in progress, cloud-init is disabled, or the run ended in an error. This is the quickest interactive check when you only need an answer for one machine.
Do not infer readiness merely from the operating system accepting SSH connections. Cloud-init can continue installing packages, writing configuration, or running user-data scripts after the network is reachable. If your next action depends on those changes, synchronize with cloud-init itself.
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What “finished” means in cloud-init
Cloud-init processes a server through five boot stages:
- Detect: determine the platform and available datasource.
- Local: perform work that must happen before networking is configured.
- Network: run network-dependent initialization.
- Config: apply configuration modules.
- Final: run late-boot modules and user-defined work.
The Final stage is implemented by cloud-final.service and runs as late in boot as possible. User-data scripts, package installation, and configuration-management plugins commonly run there. Therefore, an external provisioning process that needs the effects of user data should wait for completion of the Final stage rather than treating an earlier network or configuration milestone as sufficient.
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How can I wait until cloud-init finishes?
For a script running outside cloud-init, use the blocking form:
cloud-init status --waitCanonical’s boot documentation recommends this subcommand for external scripts. It waits for cloud-init to finish without forcing you to create a custom polling loop or a chain of systemd dependency units. The command returns when cloud-init reaches a terminal state, allowing the calling process to decide whether the server is ready.
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Use it immediately before the operation that depends on initialization. For example:
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#!/bin/sh
set -u
if cloud-init status --wait; then
echo "cloud-init completed successfully"
exec /usr/local/bin/start-application
else
rc=$?
echo "cloud-init did not complete cleanly (exit code $rc)" >&2
exit "$rc"
fiThe command’s documented exit codes are useful as an automation gate:
- 0: cloud-init ran without error.
- 1: cloud-init crashed.
- 2: cloud-init finished with recoverable errors.
Whether an exit code of 2 is acceptable depends on your workload. A script that only needs the network might continue, while a deployment that requires every package and configuration step should stop and inspect the reported errors before proceeding. Treat the code as a decision point, not as proof that every requested action succeeded.
What command checks cloud-init status in detail?
Use --long for a human-readable diagnosis
Run:
cloud-init status --longThe extended form includes the high-level state plus fields intended for diagnosis and automation output. It reports the extended status, boot status code, datasource information, error arrays, and stage timing data. This is the most useful first command when a plain status result is unexpected.
Record the output before restarting services or cleaning instance state. It captures what cloud-init believed happened during that boot and can show whether the problem was associated with the datasource, a particular stage, or a recoverable error.
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Use JSON when another program must parse the result
For structured output, run:
cloud-init status --format=jsonThe JSON representation exposes the overall status and extended status, the boot status code, datasource details, error lists, and per-stage timestamps. Stage records include start and finished values for stages such as init, init-local, modules-config, and modules-final.
Those timestamps let an automation system distinguish “not started” from “completed” and identify where time was spent. Parse the fields by name rather than matching the human-readable text. A minimal shell example using jq is:
cloud-init status --format=json > /run/cloud-init-status.json
status=$(jq -r '.status' /run/cloud-init-status.json)
extended=$(jq -r '.extended_status' /run/cloud-init-status.json)
error_count=$(jq '.errors | length' /run/cloud-init-status.json)
final_finished=$(jq -r '.stage.modules-final.finished // empty' /run/cloud-init-status.json)
printf 'status=%s extended=%s errors=%s final_finished=%sn'
"$status" "$extended" "$error_count" "$final_finished"Field names are part of the CLI’s documented JSON output. Keep your parser tolerant of absent or empty stage values so it can distinguish a stage that has not yet run from one that completed without a timestamp in a particular release.
Is there a boot-finished file I can test?
Yes. Test the documented marker with:
test -f /var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finishedThe file is persistent under the current instance directory and is created by cloud-init’s final_message cloud-config module. Cloud-init documents it as indicating when “boot” is finished.
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A file test is useful in shell scripts, image-building tools, and environments where invoking the cloud-init CLI is inconvenient. It is not a replacement for status inspection:
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- The marker test answers only whether that path exists.
- It does not provide the exit code that distinguishes a clean run, a crash, and recoverable errors.
- It does not show datasource information, error arrays, or stage timestamps.
- A caller that uses only the file must arrange its own polling or an external watcher if the file is not present yet.
If you use the marker in a polling loop, include a timeout and log the last detailed status. An unbounded loop can leave a deployment waiting forever when cloud-init is disabled, crashes, or cannot reach its datasource.
Which completion check should automation use?
| Check | Synchronization | Observability | Automation safety | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cloud-init status |
Immediate snapshot; it does not wait. | High-level state only. | Simple human or shell gate; inspect the returned code. | Quick interactive checks. |
cloud-init status --wait |
Blocks until cloud-init reaches a terminal state. | Returns the documented success, crash, or recoverable-error code. | Safest default for an external script that must wait. | Provisioning workflows and service-start wrappers. |
cloud-init status --long |
Immediate snapshot; it does not wait. | Extended status, boot code, datasource, errors, and timing data. | Good for diagnosis and log collection. | Investigating a server that is late or incomplete. |
cloud-init status --format=json |
Immediate structured snapshot; it does not wait. | Machine-readable fields and per-stage start/finished timestamps. | Best for parsers and orchestration systems. | Telemetry, gates, and incident automation. |
/var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finished |
No built-in wait; the caller must poll or watch. | Presence of one persistent marker only. | Useful as a lightweight fallback, but weak for error handling. | Shell tests and image-building tools. |
Practical procedures
Check one server interactively
- Connect to the server with your normal administrative account.
- Run
cloud-init status. - If the result is not done, run
cloud-init status --long. - Read the reported errors, datasource, and stage information before deciding whether to wait, retry, or investigate.
When the status is done and the expected user-data effects are present, the initialization run has completed. If those effects are missing, continue with the stage and log checks below rather than assuming the status command is wrong.
Gate a deployment script
- Run
cloud-init status --waitas the first synchronization step. - Capture its exit code instead of discarding it.
- Continue only for the exit codes your workload explicitly accepts.
- On a crash or unacceptable recoverable error, collect
cloud-init status --longand JSON output and stop the dependent deployment.
This ordering prevents a deployment from racing package installation, account creation, filesystem setup, or user-data commands that are still in Final.
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Feed status into an orchestration system
- Invoke
cloud-init status --format=jsonon the target. - Parse
status,extended_status,errors, and the relevant stage’sfinishedtimestamp. - Record the boot status code and datasource details with the host’s provisioning logs.
- Apply a timeout in the orchestrator even if a separate step uses
--wait.
Use the JSON fields for decisions and retain the complete document for diagnostics. Human-readable output is convenient for an operator but is more fragile for a parser.
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The status is still running
Do not start workloads that require Final-stage changes. Run cloud-init status --long to see which stage has not finished and whether the datasource or error list explains the delay. If you are in an external script, prefer cloud-init status --wait rather than implementing increasingly short polling intervals.
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The status is error
Capture both long and JSON output. Check the error array, boot status code, datasource detail, and the stage whose finished value is absent or later than expected. Then inspect the cloud-init logs and the relevant systemd stage service for that distribution. Package names, unit layouts, and log locations vary by operating-system image, so use the service and log paths provided by that image rather than assuming one universal location.
The status is disabled
A disabled result is a terminal state, not a temporary wait condition. Determine whether the image intentionally disables cloud-init. If your provisioning design requires user-data processing, correct the image or enablement policy before starting dependent services; waiting cannot make a disabled agent run.
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First verify that the missing action was actually configured in the supplied user data and belongs to a stage that ran. User-defined scripts and package installation commonly execute in Final, so inspect the Final-stage timing and cloud-final.service status. Then review cloud-init logs for module errors and confirm that the selected datasource delivered the intended user data.
The boot-finished file is missing
Use the CLI instead of treating the missing marker as a complete diagnosis. A missing file can mean that Final has not run, that cloud-init terminated before the final_message module created it, or that the image uses a different instance-state context. The detailed status and stage service identify which case applies.
Readiness checklist before declaring the server ready
- Run
cloud-init status --waitfor any external process that must synchronize with initialization. - Require an exit result your application considers successful; do not silently accept recoverable errors.
- Confirm that Final-stage work, including required user-data scripts or package installation, has completed.
- Use
--longwhen an operator needs datasource, error, or timing details. - Use JSON when a program must parse status or stage timestamps.
- Use
/var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finishedonly as a lightweight marker, with a bounded polling strategy if you wait on it. - When anything is missing, inspect the distribution’s cloud-init logs and the corresponding systemd stage service before retrying.
Bottom line
cloud-init status answers the basic question, and cloud-init status --wait is the documented synchronization command for scripts outside cloud-init. Use the long or JSON forms when you need errors and stage timing, and reserve /var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finished for simple marker checks. For provisioning decisions, wait for the Final stage represented by cloud-final.service, then evaluate the command’s exit result rather than relying on network availability or SSH access alone.
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