Quick Start Guide

Quick Summary - Get started with Stacktic in minutes. This guide walks you through creating your first automated full-stack application from design to deployment.

Before You Begin: Make sure you've reviewed the Prerequisites to ensure your environment is ready.

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What is Stacktic?

Stacktic is a metadata-driven automation platform that transforms your application topology designs into complete, production-ready repositories. Simply drag and drop components to design your stack, and Stacktic automatically generates all configurations, deployments, security policies, and operational files.

The Three-Layer Platform Engineering Architecture

How it works:

1. You design the topology - Drag and drop components in the Stacktic UI to visualize your architecture
2. Stacktic understands relationships - From your topology design, Stacktic automatically identifies component dependencies and determines what operational configurations need to be generated
3. Three-layer automation executes:

Layer	What It Does	Result
1. Integration	Connects components (source code, Helm charts, frameworks, tools, packages, open source)	All components integrated and ready
2. Relationships	Automates connections between components (databases, messaging, data pipelines, APIs)	Secure, configured relationships
3. Full-Stack Operational	Builds production-ready applications with versioning, security, validation, and operations	Complete deployable stack

The outcome: Production-ready, fully managed stacks with built-in versioning, control, security, and operational automation—all generated from your visual topology design.

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Key Features

Feature	What You Gain
Automated Relationships	Service links and dependencies are mapped for you—no manual YAML
Metadata-Driven	Declarative metadata eliminates human error and operational drift
Full-Stack Version Control	Roll back or branch entire environments, not just code
Autonomous Security	RBAC, NetworkPolicy, and OPA rules generated at build time
Cloud-Agnostic Migration	Import workloads from VMs, managed services, or Docker to Kubernetes in minutes
Stack Awareness	Stack layers and relationships awareness, Audit Report, SecOps test automation and more

Generic Version Control Approach

Stacktic centralizes complexity by turning full-stack relationships into versioned, automated building blocks.

Supported Workflows

Workflow	Description
Topology Design	Visual drag-and-drop architecture
Data Flow Management	Automated pipeline configuration
SecOps Automation	Security policies and compliance

Who Uses Stacktic?

Developer • Architect • DevOps • SecOps • SRE • CISO teams

How It Works

High-Level Workflow

Step	Action	Output
1. Design Topology	Drag components and connect them	Visual architecture diagram
2. Extend with Logic	Add custom automation rules, observability, SecOps	Enhanced configuration
3. Generate Stack	Click Build	Git skeleton (k8s/, scripts/, dashboards, secrets)
4. Deploy	Apply to cluster	Complete E2E stack running

Automation Examples

Scenario	What Stacktic Generates
Source Code → Database	Creates DB & user, injects connection string as Secret
RAG & AI	Automate private Llama maintenance and security, cache models, automate RAG & Data feed
ETL	Link DAG to databases, simplify ETL and data flow to drag and drop
Kafka Topic → Database	Provisions topic, ACLs, and KafkaConnect sink
Policies Automation	RBAC, NetworkPolicy, and OPA Gatekeeper rules via toggles

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Getting Started

Step 1: Understanding the Automation

Please watch (3 min)

Step 2: Access Stacktic Platform

Action	URL
Sign In	https://staging.app.stacktic.io/
Create or Select Stack	https://staging.app.stacktic.io/systems

Step 3: System Configuration

Configure Docker registry and GitHub integration.

Important: Use tokens instead of passwords and always test connections before proceeding.

SOPS Support (Optional)

Enable encryption by adding your Age public key for secret management:

Designing Your First App

1. Drag-and-drop a backend and a database, then connect them.
2. Build (first time) – choose Build, not FastBuild, to create the full repo.
3. Merge strategy – The stacktic branch is the generated skeleton; main is yours. Automatic merges respect your custom edits.

Deployment

Build and Deploy Steps

1. Clone Repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-stacktic-repo.git
   cd your-stacktic-repo

2. Build Images

   kubectl apply -k k8s/build/overlays/dev/ --server-side=true --force-conflicts=true

3. Deploy Stack

   kubectl apply -k k8s/deploy/overlays/dev/ --server-side=true --force-conflicts=true

4. Check Deployment

   kubectl get pods -n build
   kubectl get apisixroute -A

Source Code Integration Options

Migration Guide

Database Migration

1. Manual Restore: Copy DB dump to running pod and restore
2. MinIO-Based Restore (Recommended): Upload dump to MinIO bucket and link to database
3. InitDB Setup: Use application-driven schema creation or initdb scripts

Continuous Updates

Use FastBuild for incremental updates when adjusting specific component values without changing relationships.

Examples

• Kafka Connect Setup: https://github.com/stackticio/strimzi_basic_setup/tree/main
• Llama Integration: https://github.com/stackticio/Llama_base/tree/main

Resources

• Q&A: https://www.stacktic.io/differentiators
• ROI Examples: https://www.stacktic.io/roi
• Blog: https://www.stacktic.io/blog
• Demos: https://www.stacktic.io/demos

Support

• Support: support@stacktic.io
• General Inquiries: info@stacktic.io

License

© 2025 Stacktic. All rights reserved. This technical guide is protected by copyright law. Contact for licensing or permissions.

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