InfraCanvas Docs

Quickstart

Connect your first machine or cluster to InfraCanvas in under a minute.

Two starting points — pick whichever matches what you actually have. Same dashboard either way.

Already run Kubernetes? Connect a cluster

No agent to install anywhere.

  1. Sign up at cloud.infracanvas.app — the free plan includes 3 clusters, no credit card needed.
  2. Click Clusters in the sidebar, then + Connect cluster.
  3. Choose Upload kubeconfig and paste yours in, or choose Deploy relay pod to get a kubectl apply -f manifest instead (the right choice for private/VPC-only clusters, or if your kubeconfig authenticates via aws / gcloud / az — see the callout on the Clusters page for why that matters).

The cluster appears as online within seconds, and its topology streams in.

Full details, including which option to pick and why: Clusters.

Running plain VMs? Connect a machine

You'll have a live topology in three steps.

1. Create an account

Sign up at cloud.infracanvas.app. The free plan includes 3 VMs, no credit card needed.

2. Add a machine

In the dashboard, click + Add machine. You'll get a one-line install command with your API key baked in:

curl -fsSL https://cloud.infracanvas.app/api/v1/install | \
  INFRACANVAS_API_KEY=ic_xxx INFRACANVAS_API_URL=https://cloud.infracanvas.app bash

Run it on the machine you want to map. The installer:

  • downloads the agent binary,
  • installs a systemd service that starts on boot,
  • detects what it can see (host, Docker, Kubernetes) and sets the scope automatically,
  • runs as your user (not root) so it keeps your kubeconfig and Docker access.

Run the command with sudo only if you normally need sudo for Docker or systemd. The installer honors SUDO_USER, so the agent still runs as you, not root, and keeps your ~/.kube/config.

3. Watch the canvas

Back in the dashboard the machine appears as online within a few seconds, and its topology streams in. Open it to explore hosts, containers, and Kubernetes resources.

Next steps

On this page