First pipeline guide

Use this guided path when you want to evaluate LyftData or onboard a new teammate. It bundles the essentials—download, install, and deploy—so you can experience the full product without exploring the entire reference section. In Community Edition the server ships ready to use: no license is required and the built-in worker comes online automatically. If you only have 15 minutes and a single host, start with the Evaluation Quickstart and return here when you are ready for the full install.

Note

This is the canonical quick start. The Overview, Getting Started, and Running a Job pages summarize this flow and point back here when you only need headlines.

1. Check your environment (5 minutes)

Tip

Confirm you have a host with the required CPU/RAM and an OS from the supported list.

• Review System requirements to confirm hardware, OS version, network access, and ports.
• If you expect to upgrade later, decide whether future workers live on separate hosts so you can plan firewall and directory layouts now.

2. Download the binary (5 minutes)

• Visit the Downloads page and pull the archive that matches your platform.
• Optional: verify the checksum before extracting.
• Keep the binary accessible; it powers both the server and workers.

3. Start the server (10 minutes)

Follow the quick start so the control plane is online:

1. Walk through Getting Started to launch the server and complete initial setup with the one-time setup link.
2. Confirm the built-in worker shows Online in the dashboard. (Additional workers require a license upgrade and are optional for later.)
3. Run curl -ksS https://localhost:3000/api/workers | jq '.[].status' to verify the API reports "online" for the built-in worker. The -k option is for the evaluation server’s self-signed certificate only.

Tip

The verification command uses jq. If it is not installed, install it (for example brew install jq or apt install jq) or drop the | jq '.[].status' portion and inspect the raw JSON from curl.

4. Run your first job (15 minutes)

Use the visual editor to create, test, and stage a job:

• Follow Running a Job to build the default echo → time → print pipeline.
• Experiment with Run & Trace to see how events move through each action.
• Stage the job and deploy it to the built-in worker.

When you are done, check the live run history—this proves the pipeline deployed successfully.

5. Explore what’s next (10 minutes)

Once the basics work, branch out based on your goal:

• Install & configure: If you need a production-ready service, jump into the Install overview and the OS-specific guides.
• Build pipelines: Learn how to connect real systems by reading the Build overview and trying the S3 integration example.
• Operate & scale: Prepare for day two with Monitoring and the Scaling playbook.
• Connect an assistant: On LyftData 3.0.0-beta.5, follow the MCP quickstart for a verified read-only connection.
• Build a workflow: If Deployments is enabled for your environment, create a versioned multi-job flow in Workflows, then try the local fan-out tutorial.

Checklist recap

• Environment verified against requirements
• Binary downloaded and extracted
• Server running with admin access
• Built-in worker reporting online
• First job staged, deployed, and producing output

Keep this list handy when onboarding new teammates or spinning up a fresh environment—it covers the minimum viable path to demonstrate LyftData end to end.