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Getting Started

Install the CLI​

First, you'll need to install the Defang CLI. The CLI is the primary way to interact with Defang. It allows you to create, deploy, and manage your services. You can find the different installation methods here.

Generate a project​

$ defang generate nodejs-http

You should see the following prompt:

? What folder would you like to create the project in?

Type in the name of the folder you'd like to use for your new project and press ENTER.

I'll type "welcome-to-defang". Now, you'll see the following output:

? What folder would you like to create the project in? welcome-to-defang
 * Fetching sample from the Defang repository...
 * Writing files to disk...
   - .github/
   - .github/workflows/
   - .github/workflows/deploy.yaml
   - README.md
   - app/
   - app/Dockerfile
   - app/main.js
   - compose.yaml
 * Code generated successfully in folder welcome-to-defang

Check the files in your favorite editor.
To deploy the service, do `cd welcome-to-defang` and

  defang compose up

Now, navigate to the folder you just created:

$ cd welcome-to-defang

You can open the folder in your favorite editor and see the files that were generated for you:

  • The app folder contains the code for your service.
  • The Dockerfile is used to build the container image for your service.
  • The compose.yaml file is used to define the services you want to deploy.

Deploy to the playground​

Go back to your shell and type the following:

$ defang up

If you have not used defang before, you'll be prompted to log in.

 ! Please log in to continue.
Please visit http://127.0.0.1:49154 and log in. (Right click the URL or press ENTER to open browser)
info

To learn more about how authentication works in defang, check out the authenticating page.

When you do this, you should see something similar to the output below:

 * Uploading build context for app
 * Deploying service app
 * Monitor your services' status in the defang portal
   - https://portal.defang.dev/service/app
 * Tailing logs for deployment ID o59k89vk3qc8 ; press Ctrl+C to detach:
 * Press V to toggle verbose mode
2024-09-19T10:50:53.572443-07:00 cd Update started for stack jordanstephens-prod1
2024-09-19T10:51:05.536299-07:00 cd Update succeeded in 11.99769745s ; provisioning...
2024-09-19T10:51:39.419693-07:00 app Server running at http://0.0.0.0:3000/
 * Service app is in state DEPLOYMENT_COMPLETED and will be available at:
   - https://jordanstephens-app--3000.prod1.defang.dev
 * Done.

Now we can go to https://portal.defang.dev/service/app to see our service listed in the defang portal.

screenshot of the defang portal

Next Steps​

Congratulations! You've successfully deployed your first service with Defang. Now, where do you go from here?

Defang supports various ways of creating and deploying services to the cloud. The following tutorials dive into each one in more detail:

  1. Update the code and redeploy
  2. Monitor your services
  3. Deploy an outline using AI
  4. Build and deploy your code
  5. Deploy existing containers
  6. Deploy using Pulumi

Choose the direction that seems the most interesting. If you have any questions, join the Defang Discord and we'll be happy to help you out.