Many developers face this issue: when using @reboot in crontab to auto-start a Play Framework server in a Vagrant environment, the script fails because the /vagrant/ shared folder isn't mounted yet. The timing of the boot sequence makes traditional methods unreliable.

The most reliable solution is to use Vagrant's built-in provisioning system. Add this to your Vagrantfile:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.provision "shell", inline: <<-SHELL
    cd /vagrant
    nohup ./start-play-server.sh &
  SHELL
end

For more control, create a systemd service (Ubuntu 16.04+) or upstart job:

# For systemd (/etc/systemd/system/play.service)
[Unit]
Description=Play Framework Server
After=vagrant.mount

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/vagrant
ExecStart=/vagrant/start-play-server.sh
Restart=always
User=vagrant

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Create a wrapper script that waits for the shared folder:

#!/bin/bash
while [ ! -d /vagrant ]; do
  sleep 1
done
cd /vagrant
./start-play-server.sh

• Check vagrant up --debug logs
• Verify folder permissions: ls -ld /vagrant
• Test with simple echo commands first

Many developers face this issue when trying to auto-start servers in Vagrant: cron's @reboot executes before the /vagrant shared folder is mounted. This timing mismatch prevents your startup scripts from accessing critical application files.

The most elegant solution is to leverage Vagrant's built-in provisioning triggers. Add this to your Vagrantfile:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.provision "shell", run: "always", inline: <<-SHELL
    cd /vagrant
    nohup ./start-play-server.sh > /var/log/play-server.log 2>&1 &
  SHELL
end

For more robust process management, create a systemd service:

[Unit]
Description=Play Framework Server
After=vagrant.mount

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/vagrant
ExecStart=/vagrant/start-play-server.sh
Restart=always
User=vagrant

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then enable it in your provisioning script:

sudo systemctl enable play-server.service

For older systems without systemd, modify /etc/rc.local:

#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local

sleep 10  # Wait for shared folder mount
cd /vagrant
./start-play-server.sh &

exit 0

• Check mount status with mount | grep vagrant
• Verify systemd dependencies with systemctl list-dependencies play-server.service
• Monitor logs using journalctl -u play-server.service -f