Getting started with Skycap

Skycap is a Container Deployment Pipeline. You can use Skycap to automatically turn your source code into container (Docker) images, manage your Kubernetes configuration files and deploy your applications to any Kubernetes cluster.

What you’ll need

Before you start, please check you have the following:

• A Cloud 66 Account — If you don't already have one sign up for a Cloud 66 account. Your first server is free, no credit card required.

• A Git repository containing your application code — This can be a public or private repo. You can use any Git provider like GitHub / BitBucket or use your own privately hosted repo.

What is a Build Pipeline?

Build pipelines are composed of all the individual (containerized) services that make up your application. Services can include raw source code that needs to be built into Docker images or pre-built images. You can mix and match these as required.

• Build from Source — Your code should be hosted in a git repo. It should contain a Dockerfile that describes how to build your image. Cloud 66 provides Dockerfile templates for building common web frameworks. You can use these to help get started.

• Pre-built Container Images — These can be hosted in any public image repo like Dockerhub or your own private repo.

Adding Services

The first step is to give your application a name. This will be used to label your application throughout the Cloud 66 dashboard.

Next, you need to add at least one service. To your application. If you're using our demo application, you will need to add a single service called "hello-world" by pulling the code from this public repo.

To do this:

1. Copy the Clone or download link from Github
2. Paste it into the Git Repo URL field
3. Type master into the branch field
4. Click Go to fetch and analyze the code

You can add as many other services as required by clicking the green + Add Service button at the bottom of the page. You will need to supply a source for each service you add (more info on this below).

Once you have added all your services, click the green Next button.

Specifying the source of images

The Where is your service image? dropdown provides you with three options to specify the source of your services.

• Build Image from a GitHub repo — This is the easiest way to add services if your code is hosted on GitHub. You'll need to link your GitHub account with Cloud 66 before you can take advantage of this. Just click the Setup access to your GitHub projects. link. (This is the option you should pick if you're using our "hello world" app)

• Build image from any Git Repo — Use this option if you have a private git repo or you're using another git provider such as BitBucket. You can also use this if you don't want to link Cloud 66 to your GitHub account. You will need to add your Cloud 66 public key if your repo is private. You'll be prompted to do this if it's required.

• It's in a Docker image repository — Use this to add pre-built images to a project. You can use a service like DockerHub or your own private image repo. If you're using a private repository you'll be prompted to add the necessary login credentials.

Snapshots and building images

After you have added your services you will be taken to your application page. To start the build process you should click the green Take Snapshot button at the bottom of the main panel.

A snapshot captures all the components of your application including application images, environment variables and configuration items, in preparation for deployment.

Because this is the first time you are creating a snapshot for this application, Skycap will fetch and build your code into images, as well as fetching any pre-built images.

All of these components are then stored in a private repository on your Cloud 66 account so that you can roll back easily at any time.

During the build process you can view the status of each individual build. You can also drill down into the logs if you need to troubleshoot any part of the process.

Deploying your application

Once you've built your images, you're ready to deploy your application using Skycap's Formations feature. To do this, you should follow our guide: Get started with Skycap Formations