How to Use Pulumi

Getting started with Pulumi

In this guide, you'll learn how to set up Pulumi and create your first cloud infrastructure using your preferred programming language. By the end, you'll be ready to manage cloud resources efficiently.

Step 1: Sign up and set up

1. Go to the Pulumi website.
2. Click on the Get Started button in the top right corner.
3. Choose Sign Up and create an account using your email address or sign in with GitHub.
4. After signing up, you’ll be prompted to install the Pulumi CLI. Follow the instructions for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
5. Once installed, open your terminal and run pulumi login to log in to your Pulumi account.

Step 2: Your first project

1. In your terminal, create a new directory for your project using mkdir my-first-pulumi-project && cd my-first-pulumi-project.
2. Initialise a new Pulumi project by running pulumi new.
3. Select your preferred language (e.g., TypeScript, Python, Go, or C#) from the list.
4. Follow the prompts to name your project and select a stack (you can use the default).
5. Once the project is created, you’ll see a Pulumi.yaml file and a main file (like index.ts for TypeScript).
6. Open the main file and add a simple resource, for example, an AWS S3 bucket:

import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";
const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("my-bucket");

1. Save your changes and run pulumi up in the terminal to deploy your infrastructure. Confirm the action when prompted.

Step 3: Get better results

• To manage your stacks, use pulumi stack ls to list all available stacks and pulumi stack select <stack-name> to switch between them.


• Use pulumi config set <key> <value> to manage configuration settings for your project.


• Explore the Pulumi documentation to find libraries and examples for advanced use cases.

Pro tip

Use pulumi preview before running pulumi up. This command shows you what changes will be made without actually deploying them, helping you catch any mistakes early.

Common mistake to avoid

Avoid skipping the installation of the Pulumi CLI. If you don't install it correctly, you won't be able to run any Pulumi commands, which will halt your progress. Make sure to follow the installation instructions carefully.