Getting Started

You've decided to host with Opalstack? Thanks, that's great! ❤️

Ready to go? Let's get started! 🚀

Creating a new account with a username and password

  1. Go to our signup page.

  2. Enter the username for your account in the space provided. You'll use this name when you log in to the dashboard and the dashboard API.

    Usernames must meet the following requirements:

    • They may contain only lower-case alpha-numeric characters (a-z, 0-9)
    • They must be no more than 150 characters in length.
    • They must be unique -- that is, you cannot register with a username that already exists.

  3. Enter your desired account password in the space provided. You'll use this password when you log in to the dashboard and the dashboard API.

    Passwords must meet the following requirements:

    • Passwords must be from 10 to 64 characters in length
    • Passwords must contain 1 or more of each of the following types of characters:
      • Lowercase letters (a-z)
      • Uppercase letters (A-Z)
      • Numerals (0-9)
      • Special Characters (+-*/\.,:;!?#$%&@=^_~|<>()[]{})

  4. Enter your email address in the space provided. Your email address will be used for billing, control panel password resets, and as a means for us to contact you regarding matters concerning your account.

  5. Click the box next to "I am a human". At this point you may be prompted to complete a challenge or puzzle. If so, complete the task as instructed.

  6. Click the "Sign up" button!

    • If there is a problem with the information you provided in the form, the fields with errors will be highlighted in red. Correct the entries in those fields and resubmit the form.
    • If all goes well, you will be redirected to your Opalstack hosting dashboard and will receive a welcome email a short while later.

Creating a new account with an external provider

Opalstack supports registration and login via your Facebook, Google, and GitHub account instead of a username and password with the following steps:

  1. Go to our signup page.

  2. Click the button for the provider that you want to use for your account.

  3. Follow your provider's instructions to link your Opalstack account.

If all goes well, you will be redirected to your Opalstack hosting dashboard and will receive a welcome email a short while later.

Activating your trial

The first time you visit your dashboard home page you will be prompted to start your free 30-day trial.

  1. Go to the dashboard home page if you are not already there.
  2. In the "Start your 30-day trial" section click "Step 1: Verify with Stripe".
  3. Enter and save your card details. You'll be redirected to the dashboard home page after a few seconds.
  4. Select your desired data center region, then click "Start 30-day trial - then $11.50/month".
  5. You'll see a progress indicator while the new hosting plan is provisioned.
  6. After a few seconds the new hosting plan is ready.

If you would like a different hosting plan and/or annual billing then please contact us to arrange it after you have activated your trial.

Hosting credits

A variety of options are available to earn free credits for a 512MB Value Stack hosting plan. The available options and related details are available on your dashboard home page at dashboard home page under "Earn Hosting Credits".

You can also earn 500MB of free mailbox storage by adding your credit card at https://my.opalstack.com/cards/ with no purchase required. Note that free email service is limited to 100 outgoing messages per day.

Building your first site

Once you have a hosting plan you're ready to build your first site!

Sites on Opalstack are built from the following components:

  • Shell users which own your files and run your web applications.
  • Web applications which are routed to URI paths like /, /blog, etc.
  • Domains and subdomains which are assigned to complete the site.

Read on to learn how it's done!

Step 1: Add a new Shell User and Application

  1. Click "Applications" in the dashboard sidebar, then click the "Add Application" button at the top the page. A form will appear.

  2. On the form, click the button "Add Shell User".

  3. Select the server for your new shell user. This will be the server from which your site will be served.

  4. Enter the username that you want for the new shell user. This is the name that you'll use when you log in to SSH and SFTP as that user.

  5. Click the "Add Shell User" button on the form to save your new shell user. The new shell user is assigned a random initial password which is available in your dashboard notice log. We recommend you change the shell user's password after you have created it.

  6. Select the new shell user in the Shell User selection list.

  7. Select the desired application stack. Note that additional options may appear on the form after you've selected your application type.

  8. Configure the applicable options for the application stack that you've selected.

  9. Enter a name for the application. This will be the name of the directory on the server that will be created for your application.

  10. Enter a name for the new application.

  11. When all of the inputs are valid the button "Add Open App Stack" will appear on the form. Click the button to save your new application.

  12. The new application will appear in the application list with an initial status of "Starting". When the installation is complete the status will change to "Ready".

  13. Check your dashboard notice log for additional details about your application such as your initial username and password (if applicable).

Step 2: Add a new Domain and Site

  1. Click on Domains in the dashboard sidebar and click "Add Your Domain" near the top right corner of the page. A form will appear.

  2. Enter the domain name in the space provided.

  3. If you want to add more domains or subdomains then click the "More" button on the form end enter the name of the new item. For example, if you want to use domain.com and www.domain.com, you'll need to create both of them.

  4. Click the button "Add All" button to save your new domains.

  5. Click on Domains in the dashboard sidebar and click "Add Site" near the top right corner of the page. A form will appear.

  6. Give the site a name to help you identify it in the dashboard. Site names must be lowercase alphanumeric characters only.

  7. Select your server and IP address.

  8. If you want to use HTTPS with your site, activate the "Automatic Let's Encrypt™ Certificate" option for the site.

  9. If you want to force HTTPS for all site traffic then activate the "Encrypt all traffic" option for the site.

  10. If the site will serve multiple domains and you want to redirect all of the traffic to the first domain assigned to the site then activate the "Route all traffic to a single domain" option for the site.

  11. Click "Add Domain to Site" on the form. A list of your domains will appear.

  12. Select your domain from the list.

  13. Repeat the previous 2 steps for each domain on the site.

  14. Click "Add Application to Site" on the form. A list of your applications will appear.

  15. Select your application from the list and enter / as the path in the field provided.

  16. When all of the inputs are valid an "Add Site" button will appear in the form. Click the button to save your new site.

🎉 Congratulations -- you now have a site!