> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.acecloud.ai/knowledge-base/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.acecloud.ai/knowledge-base/cli/quick-start.md).

# Quick Start

Get up and running in 3 steps.

## Step 1: Install

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AceCloudAI/ace-cli-releases/main/install.sh | bash
```

## Step 2: Configure

The recommended setup is the interactive `ace configure` wizard — it walks you through region, project, auth method, and credentials in one prompt sequence (modeled on `aws configure`):

```bash
ace configure
```

For long-lived automation, create an API key in the portal (**Settings > API Keys**, or `ace api-key create` once logged in) and pick *api-key* when the wizard asks. API keys last 90 days and don't need the 24-hour JWT refresh dance.

Alternatively, log in with a developer token directly:

```bash
ace auth login-token --token <your-developer-token>
```

The CLI verifies the credential before saving, then auto-configures your project and region.

## Step 3: Start Using

```bash
# See all your resources
ace get-all

# List instances
ace instance list

# List available flavors (instance sizes)
ace flavor list

# Check quotas
ace quota all
```

## Your First VM

```bash
# 1. Create a VPC with subnet
ace vpc create --name my-vpc --subnet-name my-subnet --subnet-cidr 10.0.0.0/24

# 2. Create a security group with SSH access
ace security-group create --name my-sg
ace sg rule-add --sg <sg-id> --protocol ssh

# 3. Create an SSH key pair
ace key-pair create --name my-key
# Save the private key output!

# 4. Launch the instance
ace instance create --name my-vm \
  --flavor C4i.medium \
  --image Ubuntu-24.04-LTS \
  --network <vpc-id> \
  --security-group <sg-id> \
  --key my-key

# 5. Check status
ace instance get <instance-id>

# 6. Get console access
ace instance console <instance-id>
```

## Your First K8s Cluster

```bash
# Check available versions
ace k8s cluster versions

# Create a cluster
ace k8s cluster create --name my-cluster \
  --version v1.32.6 \
  --flavor C4i.large \
  --worker-name pool1

# Get kubeconfig
ace k8s cluster kubeconfig my-cluster > ~/.kube/config

# Verify
kubectl get nodes
```

## Your First Container Deployment

```bash
# Deploy nginx with external access
ace deployment create --name my-app \
  --image nginx:latest \
  --cpu 0.5 --memory 512Mi \
  --external-access \
  --port http:HTTP:80:80

# Check status
ace deployment get my-app

# Scale up
ace deployment update my-app --replicas 3
```