Constellation runs entirely in your cloud environment and can be controlled via a dedicated command-line interface (CLI).
The following guides you through the steps of installing the CLI on your machine, verifying it, and connecting it to your cloud service provider (CSP).
## Prerequisites
Make sure the following requirements are met:
- Your machine is running Linux or macOS
- You have admin rights on your machine
- [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/) is installed
- Your CSP is Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Amazon Web Services (AWS)
## Install the Constellation CLI
The CLI executable is available at [GitHub](https://github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/releases).
The CLI supports autocompletion for various shells. To set it up, run `constellation completion` and follow the given steps.
:::
## Set up cloud credentials
The CLI makes authenticated calls to the CSP API. Therefore, you need to set up Constellation with the credentials for your CSP.
:::tip
If you don't have a cloud subscription, you can try [MiniConstellation](first-steps-local.md), which lets you set up a local Constellation cluster using virtualization.
The following resource providers need to be need to be [registered](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/resource-providers-and-types#register-resource-provider) in your subscription:
*`Microsoft.Compute`
*`Microsoft.ManagedIdentity`
*`Microsoft.Network`
*`microsoft.insights`
By default, Constellation tries to register these automatically if they haven't been registered before.
You need the following permissions for your user account:
-`Contributor` (to create cloud resources)
-`User Access Administrator` (to create a service account)
If you don't have these permissions with scope *subscription*, ask your administrator to [create the service account and a resource group for your Constellation cluster](first-steps.md).
Your user account needs the `Contributor` permission scoped to this resource group.
</tabItem>
<tabItemvalue="gcp"label="GCP">
Create a new project for Constellation or use an existing one.
Enable the [Compute Engine API](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/compute.googleapis.com) on it.
You need the following permissions on this project:
-`compute.*` (or the subset defined by `roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1`)
-`iam.serviceAccountUser`
Follow Google's guide on [understanding](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/understanding-roles) and [assigning roles](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/granting-changing-revoking-access).
</tabItem>
<tabItemvalue="aws"label="AWS">
To set up a Constellation cluster, you need to perform two tasks that require permissions: create the infrastructure and create roles for cluster nodes. Both of these actions can be performed by different users, e.g., an administrator to create roles and a DevOps engineer to create the infrastructure.
To create the AWS IAM policies, your user requires the following minimal set of permissions:
```json
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"sts:GetCallerIdentity",
"ec2:DescribeAccountAttributes",
"iam:CreateRole",
"iam:CreatePolicy",
"iam:GetPolicy",
"iam:GetRole",
"iam:GetPolicyVersion",
"iam:ListRolePolicies",
"iam:ListAttachedRolePolicies",
"iam:CreateInstanceProfile",
"iam:AttachRolePolicy",
"iam:GetInstanceProfile",
"iam:AddRoleToInstanceProfile",
"iam:PassRole",
"iam:RemoveRoleFromInstanceProfile",
"iam:DetachRolePolicy",
"iam:DeleteInstanceProfile",
"iam:ListPolicyVersions",
"iam:ListInstanceProfilesForRole",
"iam:DeletePolicy",
"iam:DeleteRole"
],
"Resource": "*"
}
]
}
```
To create the infrastructure, you can either use a predefined role from Amazon,
such as `PowerUserAccess`, or use the following minimal set of permissions:
Follow Amazon's guide on [understanding](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html) and [managing policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_managed-vs-inline.html).
</tabItem>
</tabs>
### Authentication
You need to authenticate with your CSP. The following lists the required steps for *testing* and *production* environments.
:::note
The steps for a *testing* environment are simpler. However, they may expose secrets to the CSP. If in doubt, follow the *production* steps.
:::
<tabsgroupId="csp">
<tabItemvalue="azure"label="Azure">
**Testing**
Simply open the [Azure Cloud Shell](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-shell/overview).
**Production**
Use the latest version of the [Azure CLI](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/) on a trusted machine:
```bash
az login
```
Other options are described in Azure's [authentication guide](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/authenticate-azure-cli).
</tabItem>
<tabItemvalue="gcp"label="GCP">
**Testing**
You can use the [Google Cloud Shell](https://cloud.google.com/shell). Make sure your [session is authorized](https://cloud.google.com/shell/docs/auth). For example, execute `gsutil` and accept the authorization prompt.
**Production**
Use one of the following options on a trusted machine:
- Use the [`gcloud` CLI](https://cloud.google.com/sdk/gcloud)
```bash
gcloud auth application-default login
```
This will ask you to log-in to your Google account and create your credentials.
The Constellation CLI will automatically load these credentials when needed.
- Set up a service account and pass the credentials manually
Follow [Google's guide](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/production#manually) for setting up your credentials.
</tabItem>
<tabItemvalue="aws"label="AWS">
**Testing**
You can use the [AWS CloudShell](https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudshell/home). Make sure you are [authorized to use it](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudshell/latest/userguide/sec-auth-with-identities.html).
**Production**
Use the latest version of the [AWS CLI](https://aws.amazon.com/cli/) on a trusted machine:
```bash
aws configure
```
Options and first steps are described in the [AWS CLI documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/index.html).
</tabItem>
</tabs>
## Next steps
You are now ready to [deploy your first confidential Kubernetes cluster and application](first-steps.md).
