Getting Started with the CLI

The Rulebricks CLI is a deployment and management tool that fully automates the creation of production-ready Rulebricks rule engine clusters. It handles:

Infrastructure provisioning - Creates Kubernetes clusters, networks, and security groups
Application deployment - Deploys all Rulebricks services with proper configuration
Database setup - Configures PostgreSQL (self-hosted or managed)
Monitoring & logging - Sets up Prometheus, Grafana, and Vector
Security - Configures TLS certificates, secrets management, and network policies
Auto-scaling - Configures KEDA for dynamic worker scaling based on load

Our CLI offers a particularly high level of DevOps automation, and allows you to spin up dedicated, automatically scaling Rulebricks clusters in as few as two CLI commands. However, we strongly recommend still paging through as many of these docs as you can, as it's important you understand what these commands are running under the hood.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following tools installed:

Required for All Deployments

kubectl - Kubernetes command-line tool
- macOS: brew install kubectl
- Linux: See official docs (opens in a new tab)

Cloud Provider Requirements

AWS

AWS CLI: brew install awscli (macOS) or see AWS docs (opens in a new tab)
eksctl: brew tap weaveworks/tap && brew install weaveworks/tap/eksctl (macOS) or see eksctl docs (opens in a new tab)

Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud SDK: brew install --cask google-cloud-sdk (macOS) or see GCP docs (opens in a new tab)

Azure

Azure CLI: brew install azure-cli (macOS) or see Azure docs (opens in a new tab)

Cloud Provider Authentication

You'll need to authenticate with your chosen cloud provider:

AWS: Configure credentials using aws configure or environment variables
GCP: Run gcloud auth login and gcloud auth application-default login
Azure: Run az login

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The CLI will check for required dependencies and provide installation instructions if any are missing.

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

macOS and Linux:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rulebricks/cli/main/install.sh | sh

Windows: Download the latest Windows binary from the releases page (opens in a new tab) and add it to your PATH.

Install from Source

Requires Go 1.21+:

git clone https://github.com/rulebricks/cli.git
cd cli
make install

Verify Installation

rulebricks version

You should see output showing the CLI version, git commit, and build information.

License Key

The Rulebricks CLI requires a valid license key. You can provide it in several ways:

Environment variable (recommended):

export RULEBRICKS_LICENSE_KEY="your-license-key"

In configuration file (see Initial Setup):

project:
  license: env:RULEBRICKS_LICENSE_KEY

Directly in config (less secure):
```
project:
  license: 'your-license-key'
```

Contact support@rulebricks.com for licensing information.

Your First Deployment

Step 1: Initialize Your Project

Run the interactive wizard to create your configuration:

rulebricks init

This will guide you through:

Project naming and domain configuration
Cloud provider selection
Database deployment options
Email provider setup
Security and monitoring preferences

The wizard creates a rulebricks.yaml file in your current directory.

Step 2: Review Your Configuration

Before deploying, review the generated rulebricks.yaml file. You can edit it directly or re-run rulebricks init to make changes.

Key things to verify:

Domain: Ensure your domain DNS is configured (or will be configured) to point to your cloud provider
Cloud credentials: Make sure you're authenticated with your chosen provider
License key: Verify your license key is set correctly

Step 3: Deploy

Deploy your Rulebricks cluster:

rulebricks deploy

This single command will:

Provision cloud infrastructure using Terraform
Create a managed Kubernetes cluster
Deploy and configure all required services
Set up DNS and SSL certificates
Initialize the database with migrations

The deployment process typically takes 15-30 minutes depending on your cloud provider and configuration.

Step 4: Verify Deployment

Check the status of your deployment:

rulebricks status

This shows:

Infrastructure health and cluster endpoint
Kubernetes node status
Pod distribution and health
Database availability
Application deployment status
Service endpoints and versions
Certificate validity

Step 5: Access Your Deployment

Once deployment is complete, you can access:

Main Application: https://your-domain.com
Grafana Dashboard (if enabled): https://grafana.your-domain.com
Supabase Studio (if self-hosted): https://supabase.your-domain.com

Next Steps

Configure Monitoring: See Monitoring & Logging
Set Up Logging: See Vector Logging Setup
Customize Configuration: See Configuration Reference
Upgrade Your Deployment: See Upgrades & Maintenance

Common Issues

Cloud Authentication Errors

If you see authentication errors:

AWS: Run aws configure or check your ~/.aws/credentials file
GCP: Run gcloud auth login and gcloud auth application-default login
Azure: Run az login

DNS Not Configured

If certificate generation fails, ensure your domain DNS points to the load balancer. You can find the load balancer address in the deployment output or by running rulebricks status.

Resource Quotas

If deployment fails due to resource limits:

AWS: Check your service quotas in the AWS Console
GCP: Ensure billing is enabled and quotas are sufficient
Azure: Check your subscription quotas

For more troubleshooting help, see Status & Troubleshooting.

Getting Access Configuration Reference