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Get started on Triton Cloud

In this tutorial you create a Triton Cloud account at app.tritoncloud.io, then use the web portal to add an SSH key, create a network, and create an instance. You end at the instance's console in your browser, then delete the instance.

Everything happens in the portal. You install nothing. Allow about 15 minutes.

Before you start​

You need two things:

  • An email address you can read mail at.
  • An SSH public key, for example ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub. To make one, run ssh-keygen -t ed25519.

Step 1: Create your account​

Open app.tritoncloud.io/signup. The page is headed Create your account.

  1. Enter your address in Email.
  2. If the form shows a terms of service checkbox, read the terms and check it.
  3. Choose Create account. The form runs a short proof-of-work check in your browser before it sends the request.

The page changes to Check your email. Open the verification email and follow its link. The link opens Confirm your email. Choose Verify email and continue, enter a password at Choose a password, and choose Create account.

The portal signs you in and opens Home. Your account comes with one project, named default. Instances, networks, and SSH keys belong to a project.

If a banner at the top of the page says your trial ends on a date, your account is a trial. You can finish this tutorial without a payment method. Choose Add payment method in that banner when you want to keep instances past the trial.

Step 2: Add your SSH key​

Home shows a Get started list. Its first row, Create a project, is already checked.

  1. In the sidebar, choose Keys.
  2. Choose Add SSH key.
  3. Enter a Name, for example laptop.
  4. Paste the contents of your public key file into Public key.
  5. Choose Add key.

The key appears under Your keys, with its fingerprint.

Step 3: Create a network​

An instance connects to a subnet, and a subnet lives inside a VPC. Create one of each.

  1. In the sidebar, choose Networks. The page says No networks yet.
  2. Choose New VPC.
  3. Enter a Name, for example dev. Leave the IPv4 block on its default size.
  4. Choose Create VPC.
  5. With the new VPC selected, choose Add subnet.
  6. Enter a Name, for example app. Leave Internet access and SSH access on.
  7. Choose Add subnet.

The subnet appears in the VPC with its address block. Back on Home, the first three rows of Get started are checked.

Step 4: Create the instance​

  1. On Home, choose Create in the Create an instance row. The page is headed Create Instance.
  2. Under Image, choose an operating system.
  3. Under Size, keep the selected size.
  4. Under SSH keys, confirm that laptop is selected.
  5. Under Network, confirm that your app subnet is selected.
  6. Under Name, enter web-1. The name becomes the instance's hostname.
  7. Choose Create Instance.

The portal opens the instance's page. The state next to its name goes from pending to running.

Your instance is running.

Step 5: Open the console​

On the instance's page, choose Console. A terminal opens in the browser, attached to the instance's serial console. Press Enter if the screen is blank.

The console works without SSH and without a public address, so it is also how you get in when networking is not working.

Step 6: Clean up​

  1. On the instance's page, choose Delete.
  2. The browser asks you to confirm: Delete web-1? The instance and the disks attached to it are destroyed. This cannot be undone. Choose OK.

The portal returns to Instances, and web-1 is removed. The VPC, subnet, and SSH key stay, ready for your next instance.

Next steps​

  • Run your first instance does the same job from the tritonctl command line.
  • Run your first sandbox creates a sandbox, a small Linux virtual machine for agents and untrusted code. Sandboxes are created from tritonctl or the SDKs, not from the portal.
  • Networking explains VPCs, subnets, floating IPs, and how an instance becomes reachable from the internet.