Quick Start

This guide walks you through connecting to an existing LaserData Cloud deployment using our pre-built Docker quickstart image.

Prerequisites

• A running LaserData Cloud deployment
• Docker installed on your machine
• Your deployment credentials (found in the Credentials tab of the Console)

1. Verify Network Access

Free tier Managed deployments are created with a default global access rule (0.0.0.0/0), so you can connect immediately — no manual setup required.

For paid-tier deployments, you need to create an access rule first:

1. Open the Access Rules tab in the Console
2. Click Add Rule
3. Enter your current IP address (or CIDR range)
4. Save the rule

See Access Rules for details on protocol selection and CIDR configuration.

2. Pull the Quickstart Image

docker pull ghcr.io/laserdata/quickstart:latest

3. Run the Producer

docker run ghcr.io/laserdata/quickstart \
  /producer {DOMAIN} \
  -u {USERNAME} \
  -p {PASSWORD}

This starts a producer that pushes sample messages to a sample-stream stream and sample-topic topic.

4. Run the Consumer

In a separate terminal:

docker run ghcr.io/laserdata/quickstart \
  /consumer {DOMAIN} \
  -u {USERNAME} \
  -p {PASSWORD}

This consumes and displays messages from the stream in real time.

Connection Options

Run /producer --help or /consumer --help inside the container for all available options.

Quick Start via API

If you prefer the API over the Console, you can spin up a Free-tier deployment with a single call using your API key:

curl -X POST https://api.laserdata.cloud/tenants/{tenant_id}/divisions/{division_id}/deployments/starter \
  -H "ld-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "cloud": "aws",
    "region": "us-west-1"
  }'

cloud and region are required. You can optionally pass environment_name, environment_id, or deployment_name. See Create a Starter Deployment for the full reference.