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Total time: ~30-45 minutes (varies by provisioning method) The Skyhook onboarding guide is an interactive wizard that walks you through provisioning new Kubernetes clusters and configuring essential infrastructure. If you already have existing clusters, see the Quick Start guide instead.
The onboarding wizard appears automatically when you first sign in to app.skyhook.io. It remembers your progress and picks up where you left off if you exit partway through.

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What the Guide Does

The onboarding wizard helps you provision new Kubernetes clusters from scratch and set up essential infrastructure. After selecting your cloud provider (GCP, AWS, or Azure), the wizard walks you through:
  • Cluster Provisioning - Create new Kubernetes clusters using Terraform, CloudFormation, or Skyhook’s Infra-Manager
  • VPC Network Setup - Automatically configure networking infrastructure
  • Skyhook Cluster Connector Installation - Connect clusters to Skyhook for monitoring and management
  • GitHub & GitOps Setup - Configure GitHub access and install ArgoCD
  • Addon Configuration - Set up cert-manager and nginx-ingress
  • Service Import - Optionally import existing services
The wizard automatically handles VPC network setup and cluster provisioning. You’ll need to provide cloud provider credentials and configuration settings.

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Before You Start

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Cloud Provider Requirements

Ensure you have the necessary cloud provider setup before starting the wizard:
  • GCP
  • AWS
  • Azure
Required before onboarding:
  • GCP Account with a GCP Project
  • Enabled APIs: “Artifact Registry API” and “Compute Engine API”
  • Docker Image Registry (Google Artifact Registry or other compatible registry)
What the wizard handles (if needed):
  • VPC Network creation
  • GKE cluster provisioning

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Step 1: Cloud Provider Selection (2 min)

Choose your cloud platform: AWS, GCP, or Azure. This determines which provisioning templates and configuration options are available.
Onboarding wizard with cloud provider options and cluster creation strategy

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Step 2: Provision New Cluster (15-30 min)

The wizard guides you through cluster provisioning:

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Provisioning Configuration (5 min)

  1. Provision Method: Choose your infrastructure tool
    • Terraform - Use Skyhook’s Terraform templates
    • Native Platform Tools - AWS CloudFormation/GCP Deployment Manager/ARM Tempaltes
  2. Topology: Select your cluster layout
    • Single Cluster - All environments in one cluster (lean setup)
    • Multi-Cluster - Separate clusters for prod/non-prod + management cluster (recommended)
  3. Configuration: Fill in cloud-specific settings
    • Cluster name, region/zone
    • Node pool size and machine types
    • Network configuration
  4. Execution Method (Terraform only):
    • Manual - Download Terraform files and run locally
    • Automated - Let Skyhook execute via GitHub Actions

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Provisioning Execution (10-20 min)

The wizard generates your infrastructure code and guides you through execution. Provisioning time varies by cloud provider and cluster size.

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Connect Provisioned Cluster (5 min)

Once provisioning completes:
  1. Install the Skyhook Connector using the provided helm install command
  2. Verify the cluster connection appears ONLINE in the Skyhook dashboard

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Step 3: GitHub & GitOps Setup (5 min)

The wizard sets up GitHub access and GitOps automation using ArgoCD:

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GitHub Authentication

Choose your authentication method:
  • GitHub Token - Manual personal access token setup
  • GitHub OIDC - Automated OIDC-based authentication (recommended)
This grants ArgoCD access to your repositories for GitOps workflows.
GitHub authentication configuration in the onboarding wizard

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ArgoCD Installation

The wizard guides you through installing ArgoCD:
  1. Run the provided helm install command to deploy ArgoCD on your management cluster
  2. Set up a GitOps repository (create new or connect existing)
  3. Configure repository access for ArgoCD
ArgoCD is Skyhook’s recommended approach for managing cluster addons. It provides GitOps-based automation, version control, and drift detection for your infrastructure.

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Step 4: Addon Configuration (3 min)

Configure essential Kubernetes addons through the wizard:

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Core Addons

  • cert-manager - Automates TLS certificate management with Let’s Encrypt
  • nginx-ingress - Handles ingress routing and load balancing

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Configuration

The wizard helps you:
  • Select which clusters to install each addon on
  • Configure addon settings (ingress class, certificate issuers, etc.)
  • Generate ArgoCD Applications to manage the addons
Once configured, ArgoCD automatically deploys and maintains these addons across your clusters.

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Step 5: Import Services (2 min)

Import existing services from your repositories or create new services. You can skip this step and add services later.
Service import is optional during onboarding. You can import or create services anytime from the Services page. See Creating and Importing Services for details.

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After Onboarding

Once the wizard completes, you’ll have:
  • ✅ Kubernetes clusters connected and monitored by Skyhook
  • ✅ Skyhook Cluster Connector syncing cluster state in real-time
  • ✅ ArgoCD managing your infrastructure via GitOps
  • ✅ cert-manager automating TLS certificates
  • ✅ nginx-ingress handling external traffic
  • ✅ GitOps repository with all configurations version-controlled
You can now: These tools are worth having for working with Skyhook and Kubernetes: 
# Basic Kubernetes tools
brew install kubectl kustomize helm

# Development and workflow tools
brew install skaffold kubectx stern

# Optional: Skyhook CLI (web UI supports all features)
brew tap Skyhook/skyhook-cli
brew install skyhook/skyhook-cli/skyhook
Tool descriptions:
  • kubectl - Kubernetes command-line tool
  • kustomize - Template-free Kubernetes configuration customization
  • helm - Kubernetes package manager
  • skaffold - Automates development workflows for Kubernetes applications
  • kubectx - Simplifies working with multiple clusters and namespaces
  • stern - Tails and filters logs from multiple pods and containers
  • skyhook CLI - Optional command-line interface (all features available in web UI)

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Skipping Onboarding

You can skip the wizard and set things up manually:
  1. Connect clusters manually
  2. Set up ArgoCD for addon management
  3. Install addons via ArgoCD or helm directly
  4. Deploy services as needed
The manual approach gives you full control but requires more Kubernetes knowledge.
If you skip the onboarding wizard, make sure to install the Skyhook Cluster Connector on each cluster. Without it, Skyhook cannot monitor or manage your clusters.

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Next Steps

Deploy Your First Service

Start deploying applications to your clusters

Monitor Cluster Health

View cluster status, nodes, and resource usage

GitOps with ArgoCD

Learn more about ArgoCD and GitOps workflows

Addon Management

Manage cluster addons via GitOps

Configure Environments

Set up staging, production, and preview environments

Manage Secrets

Add environment variables and secrets to your services

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Need Help?

If you get stuck during onboarding: