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This guide walks you through the essential steps to start managing your infrastructure with ShiftLabs.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, you’ll need:
  • A ShiftLabs account (sign up at shiftlabs.dev)
  • A Linux server to install the Mesh Agent (if connecting on-premise infrastructure)
  • Admin access to your infrastructure services (Kubernetes, Vault, etc.)

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Step 1: Create Your Organization

When you first sign up, you’ll create an organization (tenant) for your team.
1

Sign Up

Go to shiftlabs.dev and create your account.
2

Create Organization

Enter your organization name. This becomes your workspace for all resources and team members.
3

Verify Email

Check your inbox and click the verification link.

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Step 2: Connect Your Infrastructure

ShiftLabs connects to your infrastructure through either a Mesh Agent or direct integrations.
Use a Mesh Agent to connect on-premise or private cloud infrastructure.
1

Create Agent

Go to Mesh Networking → Mesh Agent and click Create Agent.
2

Configure

Enter a name (e.g., prod-datacenter) and the subnets you want to expose (e.g., 10.150.50.0/24).
3

Install

Run the provided installation script on your Linux server:
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up \
  --login-server=https://headscale.shiftlabs.dev \
  --authkey=YOUR_AUTH_KEY \
  --advertise-routes=10.150.50.0/24
4

Approve Routes

Go back to ShiftLabs, open your agent, click the Routes tab, and enable the pending routes.
The Mesh Agent creates an encrypted WireGuard tunnel—no inbound ports required.

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Step 3: Set Up a Project

Projects organize your resources and control who can access them.
1

Create Project

Go to Access Management → Projects and click Create Project.
2

Enter Details

  • Project Key: Unique identifier (e.g., production, staging)
  • Display Name: Friendly name (e.g., Production Environment)
3

Save

Click Create Project.
Create separate projects for different environments (production, staging, development) or teams.

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Step 4: Invite Your Team

Add team members and control their access through roles.
1

Invite User

Go to Access Management → Users and click Invite User.
2

Enter Details

Enter their email address and optionally select an initial role.
3

Send Invitation

Click Send Invitation. They’ll receive an email with a join link.
4

Add to Project

Once they accept, go to Projects → your project → Members tab and add them with appropriate roles.

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Step 5: Start Managing

You’re ready to manage your infrastructure. Here are common next steps:

View Kubernetes Clusters

See your connected clusters, nodes, and workloads

Manage Secrets

Create and organize secrets in Vault

Set Up CI/CD

Create build pipelines and deployments

Configure Roles

Create custom roles for fine-grained access control

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What’s Next

Platform Overview

Explore all platform capabilities

Why ShiftLabs

Learn about the benefits

Access Management

Deep dive into users and permissions

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Need Help?

  1. Verify outbound internet access on port 443 and UDP 41641
  2. Check if the installation script completed without errors
  3. Run tailscale status to see connection state
  4. See Mesh Agent troubleshooting
  1. Verify the Mesh Agent is Active (green status)
  2. Check that routes are approved (not “Pending”)
  3. Confirm the subnet includes your infrastructure IPs
  1. Verify they accepted the invitation
  2. Check they’re added to the correct project
  3. Verify their roles include necessary permissions
  4. See Users troubleshooting
  1. Verify the URL is correct and accessible
  2. Check credentials are valid
  3. Ensure network connectivity from ShiftLabs to the service
  4. See Integrations troubleshooting