Installing Livinity on Google Cloud
Installing Livinity on Google Cloud
Installing Livinity on Google Cloud
Want Livinity running in the cloud on your own server, reachable from anywhere? This guide walks you through it on Google Cloud, one click at a time. No prior cloud experience needed — just follow along.
By the end you'll have your own LivOS server (the self-hosted edition of Livinity) running on a Google Cloud machine, linked to your Livinity account.
Screenshots: Each numbered slot below is a placeholder. Drop your image into the
media/folder using the filename shown, and it will appear here automatically.
Before you start
You'll need two things:
- A Livinity account — sign up free at livinity.io.
- A Google Cloud account — you'll create one in Step 4 if you don't have it.
A quick word on cost. New Google Cloud users get $300 in free credit to use over 90 days, and you won't be billed unless you choose to upgrade — more than enough to try this out for free. After that, the server we'll set up costs roughly $50 per month if you leave it running 24/7 (or about $13/month for the smaller option). You can stop or delete it anytime — more on that at the end.
A bird's-eye view
Here's the whole journey, so you know what's coming:
- Open Google Cloud and start a new server (a "VM instance").
- Choose Ubuntu Linux and a size with enough memory.
- Create it, then connect using your browser.
- Paste in one install command.
- Open your new address and finish setup.
There's no firewall to configure — the installer connects your server out through a secure tunnel, so you'll reach your dashboard at your own livinity.io address. Let's go.
1. Open your dashboard
Sign in at livinity.io, click your name in the top-right corner, then click Dashboard.
2. Go to the Install page
On your dashboard, click Install in the top menu.
3. Copy your install command
On the "Set up your first LivOS" page, click Copy to grab your one-line command. It already has your private install key built in.
Heads up: your key is shown only once. If you lose it, click Regenerate key to make a new one — the old one stops working.
Your command looks like this:
curl -fsSL https://livinity.io/install.sh | sudo bash -s YOUR-INSTALL-KEY
4. Sign in to Google Cloud
Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with your Google account. If you're new, follow the prompts to start the free trial and claim your $300 credit. (Google asks for a card to confirm you're a real person, but won't charge it unless you manually upgrade.)
📸 Screenshot 01 — The Google Cloud console Show the main Google Cloud Console after signing in.
5. Create a project
Google Cloud groups your work into projects. At the top of the page, click the
project dropdown and create a new project (name it something like
livinity), then select it.
📸 Screenshot 02 — Creating a project Show the project picker / "New Project" dialog.
6. Open Compute Engine
In the search bar at the top, type Compute Engine and click the result. The first time, click Enable to turn on Compute Engine (this can take a minute).
📸 Screenshot 03 — Enabling Compute Engine Show the Compute Engine page with the "Enable" button (first-time setup).
7. Create your server
Once Compute Engine is ready, click Create instance.
📸 Screenshot 04 — The "Create instance" button Show the VM instances page with the "Create instance" button.
This opens the setup page. We'll go through it section by section.
8. Name it and pick a location
Give it a name like livinity-server. Then choose a region close to you
(for example, "us-central1 (Iowa)" or "europe-west1 (Belgium)"). This is where
your server will physically live.
📸 Screenshot 05 — Name and region Show the Name field filled in and a region selected.
9. Choose a size (machine type)
In the Machine configuration section, choose the E2 series, then pick a machine type:
- Recommended:
e2-standard-2— 8 GB of memory, runs Livinity comfortably (about $50/month). - Budget option:
e2-small— 2 GB of memory, the bare minimum (about $13/month). Fine for trying things out, slower for real use.
📸 Screenshot 06 — Choosing the machine type Show the machine type set to e2-standard-2.
10. Choose Ubuntu and set the disk size
Find the OS and storage (boot disk) section and click Change. Then:
- Set the operating system to Ubuntu.
- Choose Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
- Set the disk size to at least 30 GB.
Click Select to confirm.
📸 Screenshot 07 — Picking the Ubuntu boot disk Show the boot disk panel with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 30 GB selected.
11. Create it
Scroll down and click the blue Create button. After a moment, your new server appears in the list. Wait until it shows a green check next to its name.
📸 Screenshot 08 — Your server is running Show the VM instances list with your server running (green check).
12. Connect to your server
In the instances list, find your server and click the SSH button on its row. A terminal window opens right in your browser — no extra software needed.
📸 Screenshot 09 — The SSH button Show the VM row with the "SSH" button highlighted.
📸 Screenshot 10 — The browser terminal Show the browser SSH terminal window open and connected.
13. Install Livinity
Paste the command you copied in Step 3 into the terminal window and press Enter.
📸 Screenshot 11 — Running the install command Show the install command pasted into the terminal and running.
The installer sets up everything Livinity needs and connects your server to your account through a secure tunnel. This takes a few minutes.
14. Open your dashboard
When the installer finishes, it shows your personal address — it will be your
own https://<your-username>.livinity.io. Open that in a browser.
📸 Screenshot 12 — The installer's finish message Show the end of the install with your livinity.io address.
You'll be welcomed by the LivOS setup wizard. Create your admin account, follow the prompts, and you're done — your own Livinity, running in the cloud!
📸 Screenshot 13 — The LivOS setup wizard Show the LivOS onboarding/setup screen in the browser.
Because your server connects out through a secure tunnel, you reach it at your livinity.io address — no firewall settings to configure.
Managing cost (important!)
Your server keeps running — and billing — until you stop it. A few habits keep surprises off your bill:
- Set a budget alert. In the console, go to Billing → Budgets & alerts and create a small monthly budget so Google emails you before you overspend.
📸 Screenshot 14 — Setting a budget alert Show the "Budgets & alerts" create-budget screen.
- Stop vs. delete. In the VM instances list, use the three-dot menu on your
server:
- Stop pauses it (you keep your data, and pay only a little for storage). Start it again anytime.
- Delete removes it permanently (data gone, billing stops).
📸 Screenshot 15 — Stop or delete Show the VM's menu with the Stop and Delete options.
Troubleshooting
| What's happening | What to try |
|---|---|
| The dashboard won't load at your address yet | Make sure the server is running and the install has finished setting up the tunnel (give it a couple of minutes), then refresh. Make sure you're using your username.livinity.io address. |
| The SSH button won't connect | Wait a minute after creating the server, then try again. If it still fails, refresh the page. |
| "Permission denied" when installing | Your command must include sudo (the copied command already does). |
| Your server didn't appear in your Livinity dashboard | Double-check you used your personal install command with your install key, copied from the dashboard's install page. |
| Worried about cost | Stop or delete the server when you're not using it, and set a budget alert (see above). |
Still stuck? Reach out to support and we'll help you get it running.
Prefer not to manage a server at all?
You don't have to run your own server. If this feels like more than you need, you can use Livinity in the cloud at livinity.io — no setup required, and you can always move to your own server later.