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Quickstart Guide

Welcome! In this tutorial, you’ll install CPS1 locally and learn how to create a new Template containing a Workspace and a Resource, and finally launch an Environment!

1. Prerequisites

Ensure the following tools are installed on your system:

2. Running the installer

For proof-of-concept scenarios, we provide an installation script that installs CPS1 locally, without requiring a Kubernetes cluster.

Run the command bellow in your system: 

curl https://helm.cps1.tech/cps1-installer.sh | bash

After the installation finishes, you can access CPS1 at http://cps1.localhost:3001.

For a production grade installation, follow the Production Installation guide.

3. Logging into your CPS1 instance

When a fresh installation is done, there are no users created.

Once you access CPS1 for the first time, it will prompted you to create an Admin user account.

Provide a username and password and you are ready to create your first Template!

4. Creating a Template in CPS1

Every Template starts with its Name and some other basic information, like Description and a Icon.

Follow these steps to create a new Template:

  1. Navigate to the Templates page
    In the left sidebar, under the Environments section, click on Templates.
  2. View your existing Templates
    The page displays all Templates currently available in your CPS1 instance, as shown below:
    Template list
  3. Create a new Template
    Click the New Template button at the top-right of the page.
  4. Fill out the Template form
    Provide the following information:
    • Name: A descriptive name for your Template. Let's use cps1-tutorial.
    • Description (optional): Add a short description to help others understand the Template’s purpose.
    • Icon (optional): Add an icon URL or SVG data to visually identify the Template. New template form
  5. Save the Template
    Click on Create and you will be taken to the next step for adding a Resource and Workspace.

5. Adding a Resource to the Template

Resources are external dependencies, such as databases, caches, and message brokers.

Follow these steps to add a PostgreSQL database Resource to the cps1-tutorial Template:

  1. Add a new Resource Click on New Resource. New template form
  2. Select the PostgreSQL Resource
    On the Resource list, select PostgreSQL.
  3. Fill out the ID field The Resource ID must be simple and short. Let's use database.
  4. Create the Resource
    Scroll down to the bottom and click Create. Leave all other fields at their default values. How to create a new Resource

6. Adding a Workspace to the Template

Developers connect their preferred IDE to a Workspace to write, run, debug, and test code. Also, it is often necessary to expose network ports, so developers can access a running application.

It is defined by three main attributes:

  • Code Repository: Provides the source code to be cloned and executed in the Workspace.
  • Packages: Install the necessary tools and runtimes into the final Template container image.
  • Network Ports: Enable internal and external communication for the Service.

Follow these steps to add a Workspace to the cps1-tutorial Template:

  1. Add a new Workspace Click on New Workspace. New template form
  2. Fill out the ID field The Workspace ID must be simple and short. Let's use node-app.
  3. Define a Base Image During the Workspace build process, CPS1 layers your custom configurations on top of this image, enabling consistent and reproducible environments. CPS1 provides a base image that is compatible with many built-in packages. You can leave this as is.
  4. Code Repository (optional): Git URL to a repository. You can leave it empty. Note: CPS1 requires access to the repository for cloning it. Refer to Git Repository Integration for further instructions.
  5. Packages (optional): Select the tools and languages to install. Select Node.js with version v24.
  6. Network Ports (optional): Specify ports to make accessible from outside the Workspace. Enter 3000.
  7. Define Environment Variables Add variable names and their values, they will be set on the Workspace. Also, CPS1 native orchestrator is able to output data from a Resource into a Workspace. The demonstration below shows how to perform this mapping. How to create a new Workspace
  8. Click Create to start the build process.
  9. Workspace Image build process CPS1 will build a container image to use as a starting point for new Workspace. You can follow the build process on the Build Logs tab. Template build
  10. When the build finishes, move on to create an Environmet.

7. Launch a new Environment

In CPS1, an Environment is created based on a given Template, with many additional capabilities compared to running locally on a developer’s laptop.

An Environment operates entirely on your Kubernetes cluster where CPS1 is deployed. CPS1 manages everything transparently, removing the need for manual Kubernetes management.

Follow these steps to create a new Environment:

  1. Navigate to the Environments page
    Go to the Environments page in the left sidebar, under the Environments section.
  2. Create a new Environment
    Click the New Environment button at the top-right of the page.
  3. Choose a Template
    Select the cps1-tutorial template on the right side of the page and then click the Launch button at the bottom-right. Launch Workspace
  4. Environment provisioning
    You will be redirected to the Environment detail page, which displays the provisioning progress. Environment provisioning

After a few moments, your Environment will be ready to use.

The Workspace is accessible using the integrated Web IDE directly from a web browser or using an SSH connection.

Ports in the Workspace configured to expose network traffic will be accessible via a URL automatically generated by CPS1.

To access the Workspace, navigate to the left of the page, where you can find the workspace control operations:

  • Open Web IDE: Opens the Web IDE in a new tab in your browser.
  • Access with SSH: Copies an SSH command to the clipboard to access the Workspace.

Navigate to the top-right of the page, where you can find the Environment control operations:

  • Pause Environment: Pauses all Workspaces and Resources, stopping all processes. Data is persisted, so this is a safe operation.
  • Destroy Environment: Terminates all processes and deletes all data.

Environment detail page

Workspace lifecycle

Make sure all your code is committed and pushed to the git repository before destroying a Workspace.

You can disconnect and reconnect to an active Workspace without affecting its running processes.

Additionally, you can stop and restart a Workspace without losing any changes you have made.

If you encounter any issues or have feedback, please open an issue in our repository: https://github.com/cps-1/cps1