SEC.01

The playbook

The run starts read-only: the recon probes decide what happens next. The steps that follow are adapted to the distribution and state found — a real machine is rarely clean.

  1. 01recondistro, version, kernel and architecture (x86_64, or aarch64 → sbsa in NVIDIA URLs)
  2. 02reconis an NVIDIA GPU present? none → stop, nothing to install
  3. 03recondriver already installed and working? which version / max CUDA?
  4. 04reconnouveau or nvidia module loaded?
  5. 05reconSecure Boot enabled? (an unsigned module will not load)
  6. 06reconheaders for the running kernel installed (needed to build the module)?
  7. 07reconDocker present? (then the Container Toolkit is useful)
  8. 08actInstall the kernel headersverify
  9. 09actAdd the official NVIDIA CUDA repositoryverify
  10. 10actInstall the NVIDIA driverdestructiveverify
  11. 11actInstall the CUDA toolkitverify
  12. 12actInstall the NVIDIA Container Toolkit (only if Docker is present)verify
  13. 13actVerify the GPUverify

SEC.02

What it verifies

Each step ships its own check. The run only moves on when the check passes, so what the recipe reports as done is what is actually on the server.

  1. 01Install the kernel headersVerified bytest -d "/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build" && echo ok
  2. 02Add the official NVIDIA CUDA repositoryVerified byapt-cache policy cuda-toolkit 2>/dev/null | head -3; dnf -q list cuda-toolkit 2>/dev/null | tail -1; true
  3. 03Install the NVIDIA driverVerified bynvidia-smi -L 2>&1 || modinfo -F version nvidia
  4. 04Install the CUDA toolkitVerified by/usr/local/cuda/bin/nvcc --version | tail -2
  5. 05Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit (only if Docker is present)Verified bydocker info --format '{{json .Runtimes}}' | grep -c nvidia
  6. 06Verify the GPUVerified bynvidia-smi -L | grep -c GPU

SEC.03

Guardrails

Non-negotiable instructions the run must respect, whatever it finds on the server.

No NVIDIA GPU detected → stop, install nothing. Driver already working → do not replace it without an explicit request. The driver often needs a restart: report it, never restart the machine yourself. Secure Boot enabled → warn (MOK enrollment required). Do not mix distro and NVIDIA drivers.

SEC.04

How a recipe runs in Servor

Servor is zero-knowledge: the platform cannot execute anything on its own. When you launch this recipe, a run reads the reconnaissance, plans the steps and asks for your approval. Each approved command is signed by your browser — with a key the server never sees — then relayed verbatim to the agent, which verifies the signature locally before executing.

recipe — fail2ban_setup150+ in catalogue
security4 steps · low risk · idempotentrun
reconsshd present? ufw active? existing jails?✓
actinstall fail2ban · write default jails✓
actenable service · restart sshd (safe)✓
verifytest ban 60s · jails active · sshd alive✓

search by intent — type “firewall”, get ufw

  • 01Read-only reconnaissance before any change
  • 02Every command signed by your browser, approved by you
  • 03Each step verified before the run moves on, every run kept in the history

SEC.05

Deploy on Servor button

Maintain NVIDIA drivers + CUDA or a project that needs it? Put this button in your README or on your site: one click and your users install it on their own server.

Deploy on ServorDark background
Deploy on ServorLight background
[![Deploy on Servor](https://servor.app/badges/deploy-on-servor.svg)](https://servor.app/deploy/install-nvidia-cuda)

SEC.06

Verified recipe

Run this recipe on your server

Connect a server, launch the recipe, and approve each step as Servor executes and verifies it. Free plan, no card required.