v3.2.1
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Getting Started

Introduction to Prism

Prism is an open-source developer platform for building, deploying, and monitoring distributed applications. This guide will get you up and running in minutes.

Prerequisites: Prism requires Node.js 20+ or Go 1.22+. Docker is recommended for local development.

What is Prism?

Prism provides a unified interface for managing infrastructure, observability, and deployments. It's designed to be incrementally adoptable — you can start with just the CLI and add features as your needs grow.

At its core, Prism consists of three components:

  • Prism Agent — Lightweight daemon that runs on each node
  • Prism Control Plane — Central coordination service and API
  • Prism CLI — Command-line interface for developers and operators

Quick Install

The fastest way to get started is using the official install script:

bash
# Install the Prism CLI
curl -sSL https://get.prism.dev | bash

# Verify installation
prism --version
# prism version 3.2.1 (darwin/arm64)

Your First Project

Create a new project with the prism init command. This scaffolds a project directory with a prism.config.ts file and example services.

typescript
// prism.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "prism";

export default defineConfig({
  project: "my-app",
  region: "us-east-1",
  services: [
    {
      name: "api",
      runtime: "node20",
      port: 3000,
      healthCheck: "/health",
    },
    {
      name: "worker",
      runtime: "go1.22",
      replicas: 2,
    },
  ],
});

Note: The region field must match an available Prism region. Run prism regions list to see all available regions.

Deploy your project

Once configured, deploy with a single command:

bash
prism deploy

# Output:
# ✓ Building services... (12s)
# ✓ Pushing images... (8s)
# ✓ Deploying api → https://api.my-app.prism.run
# ✓ Deploying worker → healthy (2/2 replicas)

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