Quick Start

This guide will walk you through setting up your first dxflow engine and running a simple workflow in under 10 minutes.

Step 1: Verify installation

First, confirm that dxflow is properly installed:

dxflow --version

You should see output similar to:

dxflow version 2.x.x

Step 2: Start the engine

Launch your dxflow engine with different modes:

Basic start (foreground mode)

dxflow boot up --console

Advanced boot options

Run as daemon (Linux only):

dxflow boot up --daemon

Enable HTTPS:

dxflow boot up --https

Hub mode with subdomain allocation:

dxflow config set proxy-domain "your-domain.com"
dxflow boot up --proxy

Bridge mode (connect to hub):

dxflow config set bridge-gateway "https://your-domain.com/"
dxflow config set bridge-identity "mynode01"
dxflow boot up --bridge

To learn more about boot modes and flags, see the Advanced Boot Configuration for comprehensive details about all boot options, network architectures, and deployment patterns.

Step 3: Access the web interface

With the engine running, open your web browser and navigate to:

• Local access: http://localhost
• Remote access: http://<your-server-ip>

The dxflow web console loads, organized into three sections — Workflows, Artifacts, and Shells.

Step 4: Explore the interface

The dxflow web interface provides three main sections for managing your workflows, files, and system resources.

Step 5: Create your first workflow

Let's create a simple "Hello World" workflow using Docker Compose:

5.1 Using the web interface

1. Navigate to the Workflows section
2. Click "Create Workflow"
3. Name your workflow: hello-world
4. Use this simple Docker Compose configuration:

version: '3.8'
services:
  hello:
    image: hello-world
    container_name: dxflow-hello

5. Click "Create" to save the workflow

5.2 Using the CLI

Alternatively, create the workflow via command line:

First, create a Docker Compose file:

# hello-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  hello:
    image: hello-world
    container_name: dxflow-hello

Then create the workflow using the CLI:

# Create the workflow
dxflow workflow create --identity hello-world hello-compose.yml

Step 6: Run the workflow

Start the workflow

Web Interface: Click the "Start" button next to your workflow

CLI: Use the command line:

dxflow workflow start hello-world

Monitor progress

View Logs:

dxflow workflow logs hello-world

Check Status:

dxflow workflow list

Next steps

That's it — you've booted an engine and run a workflow. From here:

• User Interface — manage workflows, files, and shells from the console
• CLI Reference — every command, including artifact, shell, key, bridge, and proxy
• API Documentation — integrate dxflow into your applications
• Advanced Topics — boot modes, authentication, tunneling, and remoting

Troubleshooting

For more, see the FAQ and Troubleshooting.