Getting started

Getting started

SwiftCloud runs your apps, databases, object storage and virtual machines in Lusaka, Zambia, priced in Kwacha and paid for in advance. This page takes you from your first sign-in to your first running resource, in the console and from the terminal.

At a glance

1Sign inmagic linkor Google2Your nameasked once ifyou used a link3Organisationcreate one, oraccept an invite4Top upmobile money,card or coupon5Createan app, database,bucket or machine6CLIoptional: do itfrom a terminal
The path from a new account to a running resource.

1. Sign in

There are no passwords. On the sign-in page, enter your email and we send you a magic link — open it within an hour and you are in. Or choose Continue with Google. Your first sign-in creates your account.

A session lasts seven days and is extended while you use it. Sign out is in the account menu. See Account & access for the details.

2. Tell us your name

If you signed in with a magic link, the console first asks What should we call you? Enter the name your teammates will see in member lists, on invitations and in the activity log (2 to 60 characters — the same rule as in Settings). Google sign-ins already have a name and skip this step. You can change it later in Settings → Profile.

3. The dashboard

You land on the Overview. At the top, the Welcome to SwiftCloud panel shows the two first steps — create an organisation, top up your wallet — each ticked in green once it is done, and a card for each product with its starting hourly price and a Create button.

cloud.co.zm/dash
The Overview dashboard: a Welcome to SwiftCloud panel with two numbered first steps, Create an organisation and Top up your wallet, followed by cards for App Platform, Managed Databases, Object Storage and Virtual Machines, each with a starting hourly price and a Create button.
The getting-started panel: first steps, then each product with its starting price.

Once you have resources, tiles below the panel count them by kind (with how many are running), and Recent Resources lists your latest ones with a quick-create menu. The sidebar takes you to each product, to Billing, Organisations, Notifications and Settings.

4. Create an organisation

Everything belongs to an organisation: it owns the resources, holds the wallet, and is what you invite teammates to.

  1. Select Create organisation on the panel, or New Organisation at the top of the dashboard.
  2. Give it a name (and, if you like, a description) and create it.
  3. You are its owner. It becomes your active organisation, with a wallet at K0.00.

If a teammate has invited you, accept the invitation from the email or from Notifications instead — invitations expire after 48 hours and must be accepted from the invited address. You can belong to several organisations and switch between them in the sidebar. Roles and invitations are covered in Account & access.

5. Top up

Select Top up on the panel (or go to Billing → Top up). Choose an amount (from K1) and a payment method:

  • Mobile money — enter your MTN, Airtel or Zamtel number and approve the prompt on your phone.
  • Card — pay on the payment provider's checkout page.
  • Coupon — redeem a code for credit.

A waiting page follows the payment and shows Payment received once the provider has confirmed it; the balance updates at once and the panel's second step turns green.

6. Create your first resource

Each product card on the dashboard has a Create button. The create forms show the hourly price of each size before you confirm. The region is zm-lsk-1 (Lusaka). New resources start as provisioning and become ready on their own; each guide explains the states you will see. Creating a resource needs the owner or admin role in the organisation — you are the owner of one you created; in an organisation you were invited to as a member or viewer, the create forms say so and will not submit.

An app

App Platform → Create app: name it, give a container image (for example nginx:1.27 or your own, public or from a private registry), the port it listens on, a size and how many replicas. Within a minute or two you get a live https:// URL. With a minimum of 0 replicas it scales to zero when idle and costs nothing until the next request. App Platform guide.

cloud app create demo --image nginx:1.27 --region zm-lsk-1 --wait

A database

Databases → Create: choose PostgreSQL, a version and a size. When it is ready, its page shows the host, port, user and password to connect with. Databases guide.

cloud db create orders --engine postgresql --region zm-lsk-1 --wait
cloud db credentials orders

A bucket

Object Storage → Create: name the bucket and pick a size. Its page gives you the S3 endpoint and access keys for any S3 tool. Object storage guide.

cloud storage bucket create photos --region zm-lsk-1 --wait
cloud storage cp ./logo.png s3://photos/logo.png

A virtual machine

Virtual Machines → Create: choose an image (Linux or Windows), a size, a username, and your SSH public key and/or a console password (Windows machines use a password, for Remote Desktop). Reach it over SSH or from the browser console on its page; attach a dedicated public IP when you need one. Virtual machines guide.

cloud vm create web --image ubuntu-24-04 --size vm-1 --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub --region zm-lsk-1 --wait

A domain

Domains → Add domain: enter the domain, then point it at our name servers at your registrar. Domains are free and need no balance. Domains & DNS guide.

7. Install the CLI (optional)

The cloud CLI does what the console does, from a terminal or a CI pipeline.

# Linux and macOS
curl -fsSL https://cloud.co.zm/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://cloud.co.zm/install.ps1 | iex

Sign in: cloud login shows a code and opens your browser; approve it where you are signed in to the console. The CLI picks your first organisation for you; choose another with its slug, and set the region once so you can leave out --region:

cloud login
cloud org list
cloud org use acme
export CLOUD_REGION=zm-lsk-1
cloud whoami

For CI, create an API token instead of signing in — see API tokens. The full command reference is in the CLI guide.

Where things run

There is one region today: zm-lsk-1 in Lusaka. Everything you create lives in and is served from Zambia, and your data does not leave the country. Read more on the data residency page.

What to do next