Get Started

You can deploy your first service on lowcloud Platform in a few minutes. You don't need a cloud account or a credit card to follow this guide.

Prerequisites

• A lowcloud account. Sign up here.

That's it. No API tokens, nothing to provision.

Step 1: Create a project

In the lowcloud Dashboard, click Create new project.

1. Choose a project name (e.g. my-first-app).
2. Under Select Hosting, pick lowcloud Managed.
3. Click Create Project.

You land on the project page with an empty Services list. The project's environment is provisioned in the background. There is nothing else for you to set up.

Step 2: Deploy the example app

The empty project page has a Deploy example button at the top. Click it.

lowcloud starts the example app, a small web service that prints the hostname and request info. After a few seconds it hands you a public URL like a1b2c3d4.app.lowcloud.co with valid TLS already in place.

Open the URL in your browser. You should see the example app running. You've just deployed your first service.

Step 3 (optional): Deploy your own code

When you want to deploy something of your own, click + Create Service → Web Service and pick a source:

• Git Provider: install the lowcloud GitHub App, then choose a repository and branch. Build with Railpack, which detects your language and builds without a Dockerfile, or with a Dockerfile you provide.
• Public Git Repository: same as Git Provider, but for any public Git URL. No GitHub install needed.
• Existing Image: run a pre-built image from any registry (e.g. ghcr.io/your-org/your-app:1.2.3). For private registries, enter the credentials.

Add the environment variables your service needs, pick a Container Size (the form shows the monthly price), and click Deploy Web Service. Build and deploy logs stream live in the service's Deployments tab.

For all available fields, see Web Services.

Step 4 (optional): Add a database

Most apps need a database. lowcloud Platform has templated databases you can deploy next to your service in seconds.

1. On the project page, click + Create Service → Database.
2. Pick PostgreSQL or MariaDB.
3. Give the service a name (e.g. app-db). Other services in the project will reach the database under this name.
4. Replace the placeholder passwords in the environment variables with strong ones.
5. Click Deploy Database.

The database is only reachable on the internal network. From a web service in the same project, you connect using app-db as the hostname:

DATABASE_URL=postgres://myuser:<password>@app-db:5432/myapp

See Databases for the full details.

Step 5: Add a custom domain (optional)

On the web service page, open the Domains tab.

1. Click Add custom domain and enter the domain (e.g. app.example.com).
2. Follow the DNS instructions in the UI to point the record at lowcloud.
3. Once DNS resolves, a TLS certificate is issued via Let's Encrypt.

The auto-generated *.app.lowcloud.co URL keeps working next to any custom domain you add.

Billing

• Sign-up is free. No credit card.
• Your first running container is free forever.
• From the second container onward, lowcloud asks for a payment method. You pay by the hour at the container size tier you pick. The payment form opens inside the app when you deploy.

Summary

You now have:

1. A lowcloud project on the managed platform, with no cloud account behind it.
2. A public web service with TLS, deployed in seconds.
3. Optionally, your own code from GitHub running next to a database.

From here, see Web Services for build options, environment variables, and custom domains, or Databases to connect a database to your app.