Quick Start

This guide gets you from zero to first deploy with the current Enclavely CLI flow.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Node.js 18+ installed (nodejs.org)
• Docker installed and running (docker.com)
• An Enclavely account with access to a workspace
• An Enclavely API key (Dashboard -> Settings -> API Keys)

Quick start

1. Install the CLI

Install the Enclavely CLI globally via npm:

npm install -g enclavely

Verify the installation:

enclavely --version

2. Authenticate

Log in to your Enclavely instance using your API key:

enclavely auth login

You will be prompted for your API key and instance URL. Credentials are stored locally in ~/.config/enclavely/config.json.

3. Initialize your project

Navigate to your service directory and initialize an Enclavely project:

enclavely init

This creates an enclavely.yaml configuration file in your working directory. The interactive wizard walks you through setting your service name, runtime options, and deploy parameters.

4. Validate your config

Validate enclavely.yaml and compute deterministic config metadata:

enclavely build

Use this as a preflight check before deployment.

5. Deploy

Deploy your service to an environment:

enclavely deploy \
  --project my-service \
  --env development \
  --wait

--wait keeps the command attached until the release reaches a terminal status.

What happens during a deploy?

When you run enclavely deploy, Enclavely:

1. Creates an immutable release for your project + environment
2. Queues deployment execution
3. Applies service contract + readiness checks
4. Marks the release healthy or failed
5. Updates routing when healthy

Next steps

• Installation — detailed CLI setup and project creation
• Configuration — full enclavely.yaml reference
• Projects & Environments — structure your workspace cleanly
• Test API Smoke — validate deploy/routing quickly with the bundled test service