Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on Railway

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, also known as Noble Numbat, is a stable long-term support Linux distribution based on Debian. This Railway template provides a lightweight Ubuntu environment with persistent storage and SSH access, making it useful for diagnostics, testing, development tasks, scripts, and isolated Linux workflows.

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About

This template deploys the official Ubuntu 26.04 Docker image on Railway. Railway handles infrastructure, networking, deployment, and runtime management, so you can quickly launch an Ubuntu-based environment without manually provisioning a VPS.

After deployment, you can connect to the running Ubuntu container using Railway SSH, inspect the system, install packages, test scripts, run commands, and store persistent files in the mounted Railway Volume.

Common Use Cases

Running diagnostics, debugging commands, and inspecting Linux environments
Testing scripts, packages, binaries, or Ubuntu-specific workflows
Creating a lightweight development sandbox with persistent storage
Running simple background tasks, tools, or Linux-based workflows
Using Ubuntu as a cloud-hosted shell environment for experiments

Included Components

Official Ubuntu Docker image: ubuntu:26.04
Railway-managed deployment environment
Railway SSH access
Railway Volume for persistent storage

How to Use This Template (After Success Deploy)

1. Install Railway CLI

To connect to your deployed Ubuntu container, make sure the Railway CLI is installed on your local machine or VPS.

Follow the official Railway CLI installation guide:

https://docs.railway.com/cli

For example, if you use npm:

npm install -g @railway/cli

Verify the installation:

railway --version

2. Log In to Railway

railway login

If you are using a headless server or VPS, use browserless login:

railway login --browserless

3. Connect to the Ubuntu Container via SSH

After the template is successfully deployed, you can copy the exact SSH command from the Railway dashboard.

Steps:

Open your project in the Railway dashboard.
Right-click the deployed Ubuntu service.
Select Copy SSH Command.
Paste and run the copied command in your terminal.

The command will look similar to this:

railway ssh --project= --environment= --service=

Once connected, you are inside the running Ubuntu 26.04 container.

4. Verify the Ubuntu Environment

Inside the SSH session, you can verify the operating system:

cat /etc/os-release

You should see Ubuntu 26.04 information.

You can also inspect disk usage and mounted volumes:

df -h

5. Use Persistent Storage

This template includes persistent storage through a Railway Volume. Use the mounted volume path for files that should survive restarts and redeployments.

A common mount path is:

/data

Check the volume:

ls -la /data

Create a test file:

echo "hello from railway ubuntu" &gt; /data/test.txt
cat /data/test.txt

Files stored in the persistent volume are retained across service restarts and redeployments.

6. Install Packages and Run Commands

Because this is an Ubuntu environment, you can use apt to install packages during your session or as part of your workflow.

Example:

apt update
apt install -y curl nano htop

Then run any command you need:

curl --version
htop

Notes

Use the Railway dashboard to manage deployment, variables, volumes, and service settings.
Use Railway CLI when you need SSH access, logs, diagnostics, or project-level commands.
Store important files, generated artifacts, logs, and project data inside the mounted volume, such as /data.
Avoid relying on the container root filesystem for important persistent files.

Useful Links

Official Ubuntu Docker image: https://hub.docker.com/_/ubuntu
Railway CLI: https://docs.railway.com/cli
Railway SSH guide: https://docs.railway.com/guides/ssh
Railway Volumes: https://docs.railway.com/reference/volumes

Why Deploy Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway hosts your infrastructure so you do not have to manage low-level configuration manually, while still allowing you to scale and operate your services from a simple dashboard.

By deploying Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on Railway, you get a quick cloud-hosted Linux environment that can support diagnostics, testing, development workflows, scripts, and other infrastructure tasks alongside your full-stack applications, databases, AI agents, and services.