Getting Started

Getting started with DeployClear is designed to be frictionless. Once you have created an account, you will instantly be guided through setting up your first Organization and Team.

1. Create Your First Team

DeployClear uses a hierarchical structure to manage resources securely:

1. Organization: The top-level billing and integration boundary.
2. Team: The isolated workspace where your Blocks, Secrets, and Deployments actually live.

When you log in for the first time, you will see the Onboarding Page. Simply enter a name for your first team (e.g., Platform Engineering or Production). This creates an isolated state for your resources.

2. Navigating the Dashboard

Once your team is created, you will arrive at the Overview page. The sidebar to your left is your primary navigation construct:

• Menu: Contains all operational routes (Blocks, Requests, Jobs, etc.).
• Organization: Contains global settings across all your teams (Access, Integrations, Billing).
• Settings & Sign Out: Located at the bottom of the sidebar for account-level preferences.

3. Defining a Block

All Terraform in DeployClear originates from a Block. A Block is simply your standard .tf configuration files, bundled together with a manifest.yaml that defines what variables the block expects.

1. Navigate to Blocks using the left sidebar.
2. Click New Block.
3. You can either write Terraform code directly into the editor for an Internal Block, or configure a connection to a GitHub Repository.

4. Setting up State

Before you can deploy anything, DeployClear needs to know where to store your Terraform state files.

1. Navigate to Administration > Terraform State.
2. DeployClear supports the standard HTTP backend. Enter your state server URL, Lock URL, Unlock URL, and any required authentication credentials.

State Backend Recommendations

Most teams utilize AWS S3 with DynamoDB or Postgres for their HTTP State backends. DeployClear is entirely agnostic to the HTTP state provider you choose.

5. Adding Secrets

In order to authenticate with your cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Cloudflare, etc.), you'll need to securely inject credentials into the runner environment.

1. Navigate to Secrets.
2. Click Add Secret.
3. Example: Add AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY to allow the runner to authenticate with AWS.

All secrets are encrypted at rest using AES-256 and are only decrypted statelessly inside the ephemeral runner container at execution time.

6. Requesting a Deployment

With your Block, State, and Secrets configured, you are ready to deploy.

1. Navigate to a Block and click Deploy.
2. A new Request is generated. The DeployClear runner will automatically spin up and run a terraform plan.
3. Once the plan succeeds, it enters the Pending Approval state.
4. A DevOps or Admin user can review the exact plan output and click Approve to execute the apply, or Reject to stop the deployment.

Next: Understanding Teams & RBAC →