Quickstart

Get from zero to a live service in under 5 minutes.

---

Prerequisites

• curl installed (any version)
• A domain name (optional — only needed for Step 4)

---

Step 1 — Get Your API Token

1. Go to computeportal.io/listing/cpctl-cli and subscribe ($0.50/month)
2. After checkout, your cp_live_... token is emailed to you immediately
3. You can also view or re-issue it any time at computeportal.io/user/orders

---

Step 2 — Install the CLI

curl -fsSL https://install.computeportal.io | sh

This installs cpctl to /usr/local/bin. Verify:

cpctl version

---

Step 3 — Log In and Deploy

# Log in with your token
cpctl login --token cp_live_your_token_here

Then deploy — pick whichever fits your workflow:

From a Docker image:

cpctl deploy --image nginx:latest --name my-app

From a GitHub repo (CP builds the image for you):

cpctl deploy --repo https://github.com/your-org/your-app --name my-app

Your repo must contain a Dockerfile at the root. CP clones it, builds the image internally, and deploys — no Docker Hub account needed.

Your service is live at https://my-app.cpctl.app.

---

Step 4 — Attach a Custom Domain (optional)

cpctl domain add my-app dashboard.example.com

Before running this, add a CNAME record at your DNS provider:

Field	Value
Name	dashboard
Type	CNAME
Target	cpctl.app
Proxy	DNS only (disable Cloudflare orange-cloud)

Verify DNS is live first:

dig CNAME dashboard.example.com +short
# should print: cpctl.app.

---

Step 5 (Optional) — Connect an AI Assistant via MCP

If you use Claude Desktop, Cursor, or another MCP-compatible assistant, add to your config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "computeportal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.computeportal.io/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CP_API_TOKEN": "cp_live_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart your assistant, then try:

"List all my CP services"
"Attach staging.example.com to my ml-inference service"
"Show me the last 50 log lines from my-app"

See the full MCP Server Reference for all available tools.

---

Troubleshooting

Token not working

cpctl whoami  # should show your email

If you see not logged in, re-run cpctl login --token <token>. You can view or re-issue your token at computeportal.io/user/orders.

CNAME not configured (domain add fails)

Your DNS record isn't visible yet. Options:

1. Wait 1–5 minutes and retry
2. Verify with dig CNAME dashboard.example.com +short
3. Bypass the check: cpctl domain add my-app dashboard.example.com --skip-dns

Service not found

cpctl list  # shows all your services

---

Quick Reference

cpctl login --token <token>                       # authenticate
cpctl list                                        # list services
cpctl deploy --image <img> --name <n>             # deploy from image
cpctl deploy --repo https://github.com/org/repo   # deploy from repo
cpctl logs <service>                              # tail logs
cpctl stop <service>                              # stop
cpctl start <service>                             # start
cpctl delete <service>                            # delete
cpctl domain add <svc> <hostname>             # add custom domain
cpctl domain list <service>                       # list domains
cpctl whoami                                      # show current user

Next Steps

• CLI Reference — all 60+ cpctl commands
• API Reference — full REST API docs
• MCP Server — AI assistant integration
• Custom Domain Guide — how domain routing works