Quick Start Guide v1.0.0

Get your first SLYD instance up and running in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

A SLYD account (if you don't have one, sign up here)
Payment method added to your account
Basic understanding of compute resource concepts

Step 1: Sign in to your account

Navigate to https://www.slyd.com/Account/Login and sign in with your credentials. If you don't have an account yet, click "Sign Up" or navigate to https://www.slyd.com/Account/Login?signUp=true.

Fig 1. SLYD Platform Login Screen

Step 2: Navigate to the Compute Marketplace

Once logged in, select "Compute Marketplace" from the left navigation menu to browse available compute resources.

Navigation Path

Home > Consumer Dashboard > Compute Marketplace

Step 3: Choose a compute configuration

From the Compute Marketplace, you can browse various compute configurations based on your needs:

Fig 2. Compute Marketplace with GPU instance selection and comparison

Benson AI Assistance

Not sure which configuration to choose? Ask Benson AI for recommendations based on your use case. Simply click "Ask Benson" on the Compute Marketplace page and describe your workload needs.

Step 4: Deploy your instance

After selecting a compute configuration, click "Deploy" to start configuring your instance. You'll need to provide the following details:

Enter instance details

Provide a name and description for your instance to help identify its purpose.

Fig 3. Instance details with SSH key already configured.

Configure SSH keys

If you have an SSH key already configured, you'll see "SSH key available". If not, you'll be redirected to add an SSH key before proceeding.

SSH Key Required

SSH keys are required for secure access to your instance. If you don't have one configured yet, you'll be prompted to generate or upload one during deployment.

Need help with SSH keys? View our SSH tutorial →

Select resource allocation

Choose your CPU cores and memory (GB) based on your workload requirements.

Coming Q3 2025

Resource customization sliders will be available in our Q3 2025 release. During the beta period, instances are provisioned with standard configurations.

Resource allocation interface showing CPU and memory selection

Fig 4. Resource allocation interface for CPU cores and memory selection.

Step 5: Review and deploy your instance

Verify the cost breakdown and click "Deploy Instance" to start provisioning. Your new instance will begin provisioning immediately.

Deploy instance interface showing cost breakdown and deploy button

Fig 5. Cost review and deploy instance interface.

Provisioning Time

Provisioning typically takes under a minute. You'll receive a notification when your instance is ready to use.

Step 6: Connect to your instance

Once provisioned, you can connect to your instance using SSH. Follow these steps to get your connection command:

Access the SSH connection details

Navigate to the bottom right of your instance page and locate the Actions window.

Actions window showing SSH connection options

Fig 6. Actions window located at the bottom right of the instance page.

Get your SSH command

Click on the SSH button to reveal your connection command.

SSH connection details showing connection command

Fig 7. SSH connection details with command to copy.

Install Cloudflared (Required for SSH)

SLYD uses Cloudflare tunnels for secure SSH connections. You need to install cloudflared on your local machine first.

Windows

macOS

Linux

Install via PowerShell

# Download cloudflared
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe -OutFile cloudflared.exe

# Add to PATH (optional but recommended)
# Move cloudflared.exe to C:\Windows\System32\ or add its location to PATH

Install via Homebrew

# Install using Homebrew
brew install cloudflared

Alternatively, download the binary from GitHub releases.

Install via Package Manager

# Debian/Ubuntu
wget -q https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb

# Or via snap
sudo snap install cloudflared

# Or download binary directly
wget -q https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64
chmod +x cloudflared-linux-amd64
sudo mv cloudflared-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/cloudflared

Configure SSH to use Cloudflared

Add the following configuration to your SSH config file to enable cloudflared proxy for SLYD instances.

~/.ssh/config

# Add this to your SSH config file
Host *.slyd.cloud
    ProxyCommand cloudflared access ssh --hostname %h

SSH Config Location

Windows: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\.ssh\config
macOS/Linux: ~/.ssh/config
Create the file if it doesn't exist
Ensure proper permissions: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config on macOS/Linux

Verify Installation

Test that cloudflared is properly installed and configured:

Verify cloudflared

# Check cloudflared version
cloudflared --version

# Test tunnel connectivity (should show usage info)
cloudflared access ssh --help

Copy and customize the command

Copy the provided SSH command and replace <my ssh key> with the path to your actual SSH key that matches the one stored in "My Account".

Coming Soon

Web-based console access is coming soon to the SLYD platform.

Example SSH Connection Command

ssh -i .ssh <my ssh key> ubuntu@example-instance-12345.slyd.cloud

Important Notes

Replace <my ssh key> with the actual path to your SSH private key file
Ensure the SSH key matches the one you have stored in "My Account" section
Your actual command will have a different subdomain unique to your instance
Cloudflared must be installed and configured before connecting
Remember to stop or terminate the SSH session when finished

Troubleshooting SSH Connection

Error: "cloudflared: command not found"

Ensure cloudflared is installed (see Step 3)
Check that cloudflared is in your PATH
On Windows, restart your terminal after installation

Error: "Permission denied (publickey)"

Verify your SSH key path is correct
Check that your public key is uploaded to "My Account"
Ensure SSH key has correct permissions: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/your-key

Error: "Failed to connect to proxy"

Verify your SSH config includes the ProxyCommand (see Step 4)
Check your internet connection
Ensure the instance is still running
Try: cloudflared access ssh --hostname your-instance.slyd.cloud directly

Next Steps

Now that you have your first instance up and running, here are some recommended next steps:

Manage Your Instance

Learn about instance management, monitoring, and optimization

Deploy Applications

Install and configure applications on your instance

Secure Tunneling

Learn about the secure tunneling capabilities

Tutorials

Step-by-step guides for common use cases

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