Getting Started

Install the POC.ai CLI, deploy your first app, and get a live preview URL in under five minutes.

Prerequisites

RequirementMinimum VersionNotes
Node.js18.0+LTS recommended. Run node -v to check.
npm9.0+Ships with Node.js 18+.
POC.ai account—Sign up at poc.ai or join the waitlist.

Quickstart

1 Install the CLI

Install the POC.ai CLI globally via npm:

npm install -g @poc-ai/cli

Verify the installation:

poc --version
# poc-cli/1.0.0

2 Log in

Authenticate with your POC.ai account. This opens a browser window for OAuth:

poc login
# Output:
# Opening browser for authentication...
# ✓ Logged in as you@example.com

3 Deploy your first app

Point the CLI at a directory containing your project. POC.ai automatically detects the framework, generates a deployment blueprint, and deploys a preview:

poc deploy ./my-app
# Output:
# Detecting framework...  React (Vite)
# Generating blueprint...  done
# Deploying preview...     ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 100%
#
# ✓ Preview live at https://my-app-abc123.poc.ai
# Deployment ID: dep_7xk2m9
Tip: If you omit the path, POC.ai deploys the current directory: poc deploy

4 Check deployment status

Use the deployment ID to check the current status:

poc status dep_7xk2m9
# Output:
# Deployment   dep_7xk2m9
# Status       live
# URL          https://my-app-abc123.poc.ai
# Created      2 minutes ago
# Framework    React (Vite)

5 View your preview URL

Open the preview URL in your browser to see the live deployment. Share it with teammates, stakeholders, or approval reviewers before promoting to production.

6 Promote to production

When you are ready, promote the preview deployment to production:

poc promote dep_7xk2m9
# Output:
# Promoting dep_7xk2m9 to production...
# ✓ Production live at https://my-app.poc.ai

What happens under the hood

  1. Framework detection — POC.ai scans your project for package.json, Dockerfile, requirements.txt, and other markers to identify the framework and runtime.
  2. Blueprint generation — A Render-compatible deployment blueprint is generated with optimal build and start commands, environment variables, and resource settings.
  3. Preview deployment — The blueprint is deployed to Render as a preview service with a unique URL.
  4. Promotion — When promoted, the preview is swapped to the production domain with zero downtime.

Next steps