Start with ScrinCloud

This guide takes you from an empty ScrinCloud account to a saved, validated architecture with a connected Terraform workspace. It follows the same order as the product setup flow and explains what each choice means before you make it.

You do not need to be a cloud or Terraform expert. You do need to know the purpose of the system you are setting up and who should be allowed to work on it.

Typical time

30–60 minutes

Experience level

First-time user

End result

Ready for design and review

What you will complete

By the end of Start here, you will have:

• a project with a clear owner, provider, access level, and default environment;
• the right teammates invited with deliberate roles;
• a workspace that separates one environment or delivery boundary;
• policy guardrails and approval behavior selected for that workspace;
• a saved architecture diagram with its first validation result; and
• a Terraform workspace that you can inspect safely in the code editor.

Caution

Completing this guide does not deploy cloud resources. Saving a diagram, generating files, validating code, or receiving a successful plan are review steps. Applying infrastructure remains a separate governed action.

Note

Start here uses the current product labels. Runner-backed Terraform actions also depend on the selected environment, workspace, provider connection, and your role. If a named control is missing or disabled, stop at the last saved step and report the page and control name. Do not substitute a nearby action.

Before you begin

Ask an organization administrator for help if you cannot confirm any of the following:

1. Organization: Which ScrinCloud organization owns this work?
2. System purpose: What product, service, or platform area are you setting up?
3. Cloud provider: Will the first workspace use AWS or Microsoft Azure?
4. Environment: Is this development, test, staging, production, or another approved environment?
5. People: Who should edit, review, or only view the project?
6. Delivery boundary: Will Terraform be managed manually in ScrinCloud or linked to an approved Git repository?
7. Approval expectations: Who must review policy exceptions or infrastructure changes?

You may create a project without provider credentials. A cloud connection is needed only when a workflow must read from or act in a real account or subscription.

Understand the workspace hierarchy

Use these terms consistently:

• An organization is the top-level ownership and policy boundary.
• A project groups one product, platform area, or infrastructure initiative.
• A workspace separates an environment, account, region, team, or delivery stream.
• A diagram is the saved visual architecture inside a project and workspace.
• A Terraform revision is a saved version of the files attached to a workspace.

For a first setup, use one project and one non-production workspace. Add more workspaces only when account, region, access, approvals, or release timing needs to differ.

Your guided journey

1. Create a project

Name the work, choose AWS or Azure, select access, and set a default environment. Open the project guide.

2. Invite your team

Add recipients, choose the lowest useful role, review permissions, and send invitations safely. Open the team guide.

3. Set up a workspace

Define the environment, provider, region, execution path, and optional connections. Open the workspace guide.

4. Configure guardrails

Select policy packs, approval behavior, scanners, and exception routing. Open the policy guide.

5. Build the architecture

Add resources, connect them, configure required properties, save, and validate. Open the canvas guide.

6. Review the code

Open the Terraform workspace, inspect files, and save a reviewable revision. Run governed checks only when the editor exposes them and the workspace preflight passes. Open the code editor guide.

Journey overview · Projects is the starting pointThe Projects view is where a beginner creates a project or resumes an incomplete setup flow.

How to use each guide

Every Start here page has the same structure:

1. Prepare tells you what information or permission is needed.
2. Do the work uses the exact labels shown in the product.
3. Check your result explains how to know the step succeeded.
4. Fix common blockers explains what to do when an action is disabled or unavailable.
5. Continue points to the next required page.

Reviewed product captures show the main UI state for each journey step. Captions call out any non-production or unavailable-provider state so the screenshots remain useful without exposing customer data.

Common blockers

You cannot see Projects or Create project

Confirm you are signed into the intended organization. Your role may not allow project creation; ask an organization administrator to verify access.

You do not know which provider or environment to choose

Stop before creating the project and ask the system owner. These choices become the default context for the guided setup and should not be guessed.

You do not have provider credentials

You can still create a project, invite teammates, create a manual workspace, and build a visual design. Add a least-privilege cloud connection later when an approved live workflow requires it.

Your setup order looks different

Resume the next incomplete task shown in project setup. Do not create a duplicate project merely to restart the checklist.

A named control is not visible

Stop at the last saved step. Record the page, workspace, and missing control label, then ask your administrator or support contact to confirm the deployed product version and feature availability. Do not use an unrelated action as a replacement.

Safety rules for a first setup

• Use synthetic or approved non-sensitive names in descriptions, tags, variables, and screenshots.
• Never paste passwords, tokens, private keys, recovery codes, or provider credentials into project fields or Terraform files.
• Give each teammate the lowest role and optional permissions they need.
• Start in a non-production workspace unless your organization explicitly directs otherwise.
• Treat AI output as a proposal. Save, validate, review, and approve through the normal workflow.
• Read creates, updates, replacements, and deletes before any Terraform apply.

Completion checklist

You are ready to leave Start here when all of these are true:

• The project name and purpose are recognizable to another teammate.
• At least one workspace exists with the correct environment, provider, and region.
• Team access matches real responsibilities.
• Policy guardrails have been saved or applied through the approved path.
• The architecture has a saved revision.
• Architecture Validation has been run and findings are understood.
• The Terraform editor opens the intended workspace.
• Any enabled runner checks were completed, or their availability blocker was recorded.
• No deployment has been started accidentally.

Ready to begin?

Continue with Create your first project. Keep this page open as your overall checklist.