# Documentation

- [Welcome](/docs)
- **Getting Started**

- Quickstart: undefined
  - [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart)
  - [From Local to Cloud](/docs/quickstart/from-local-to-cloud)
- [How Alien Works](/docs/how-alien-works)
- [Patterns](/docs/patterns)
- **Build**

- [Stacks](/docs/stacks)
- [Stack inputs](/docs/inputs): Declare the values a deployment needs in alien.ts, mark who provides each one, and Alien validates and collects it across the dashboard, deployment portal, CLI, CloudFormation, Terraform, and Helm.
- [Resource APIs](/docs/resource-apis)
- [Remote Commands](/docs/commands): Invoke explicit handlers on remote deployments without opening inbound ports.
- [Permissions](/docs/permissions): How Alien manages access control across AWS, GCP, and Azure using permission profiles.
- [External URLs](/docs/external-urls): How resources get HTTPS endpoints and how to access them.
- [Networking](/docs/networking): VPC configuration and network isolation for deployments.
- [Local Development](/docs/local-development)
- [Testing](/docs/testing)
- [Releases](/docs/releases)
- **Going Live**

- [Deployment Models](/docs/deploying/deployment-models)
- [Onboarding Customers](/docs/deploying/onboarding-customers)
- [Deployment Portal](/docs/deploying/deployment-portal)
- [Google Cloud OAuth](/docs/deploying/google-cloud-oauth): Configure the Google OAuth app used by browser-based GCP deployments.
- [Observability](/docs/observability): One operational view for every customer deployment.
- [Remote debugging](/docs/debug): Open a secure channel into a customer's deployment and run the CLIs you already use — aws, gcloud, az, kubectl — with manager-provided, least-privilege credentials.
- **Infrastructure**

- [Overview](/docs/infrastructure): Declare storage, queues, secrets, and compute once — Alien provisions the native cloud service in each customer's environment.
- Containers: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/container): Run services and background processes as containers in each customer's cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/container/api): Builder methods, options, and outputs for Alien Containers.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/container/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform notes for Alien Containers.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/container/pricing): Cost model for Alien Container resources.
- Workers: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/worker): Serverless compute that scales to zero, triggered by HTTP, queues, storage events, or cron.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/worker/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien Workers.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/worker/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Worker resources.
  - [Toolchains](/docs/infrastructure/worker/toolchains): How Alien compiles and packages your code for each platform.
  - [Events & Triggers](/docs/infrastructure/worker/events-and-triggers): Trigger workers from queue messages, storage events, and cron schedules.
  - [Environment Variables](/docs/infrastructure/worker/environment-variables): Configuration and secrets for your workers.
  - [Wait Until](/docs/infrastructure/worker/wait-until): Extend a worker's lifetime to run background work after the response is sent.
- Network: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/network): Configure the VPC or VNet used by a deployment in each customer environment.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/network/api): StackSettings.network modes and fields for Alien Network.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/network/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform notes for Alien Network.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/network/pricing): Cost model for Alien Network resources.
- Storage: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/storage): Store and retrieve files, blobs, and objects across any cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/storage/api): Complete API reference for Alien Storage bindings.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/storage/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien Storage.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/storage/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Storage resources.
- KV: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/kv): Fast key-value lookups with optional TTL across any cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/kv/api): Complete API reference for Alien KV bindings.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/kv/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien KV.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/kv/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien KV resources.
- Postgres: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/postgres): A managed PostgreSQL database with pgvector, private on every cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/postgres/api): Connecting to Alien Postgres from your application.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/postgres/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific notes for Alien Postgres.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/postgres/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Postgres resources.
- Queue: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/queue): Asynchronous message passing between components across any cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/queue/api): Complete API reference for Alien Queue bindings.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/queue/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien Queue.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/queue/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Queue resources.
- AI: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/ai): Call frontier models through the customer's own cloud, with no API keys in your app.
  - [Models & Prerequisites](/docs/infrastructure/ai/models): The models Alien serves on each cloud, and the setup each cloud requires before they answer.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/ai/api): Complete API reference for Alien AI bindings.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/ai/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific notes for Alien AI.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/ai/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien AI resources.
- Email: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/email): Send and receive mail on customer-owned domains, backed by AWS SES.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/email/api): Sending mail and managing identities from your application.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/email/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and update semantics for Alien Email.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/email/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Email resources.
- Vault: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/vault): Secure secret storage and retrieval across any cloud.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/vault/api): Complete API reference for Alien Vault bindings.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/vault/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien Vault.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/vault/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Vault resources.
- Artifact Registry: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/artifact-registry): Container image storage and distribution provisioned by Alien.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/artifact-registry/behavior): Guarantees, limits, and platform-specific behavior for Alien Artifact Registry.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/artifact-registry/pricing): Cloud provider pricing for Alien Artifact Registry resources.
- Daemons: undefined
  - [Overview](/docs/infrastructure/daemon): Run an always-on process in each customer's environment.
  - [API Reference](/docs/infrastructure/daemon/api): Builder methods, options, and outputs for Alien Daemons.
  - [Behavior & Limits](/docs/infrastructure/daemon/behavior): Supported platforms, lifecycle guarantees, and limits for Alien Daemons.
  - [Pricing](/docs/infrastructure/daemon/pricing): Cost model for Alien Daemon resources.
- **Reference**

- Self-Hosting: undefined
  - [Self-Hosting](/docs/self-hosting)
  - [Configuration](/docs/self-hosting/configuration)
- [CLI Reference](/docs/cli)
- [Frozen & Live Resources](/docs/frozen-and-live): The tradeoff between security and control when deploying to customer clouds.
- [Cloud Scoping](/docs/cloud-scoping): How the isolated area is defined within each cloud provider.
- [Impersonation](/docs/impersonation): How Alien gets access to manage your application inside the customer's cloud.

## Blog

- [Authentication for BYOC apps](https://alien.dev/blog/byoc-authentication): When your app runs in the customer's cloud, where does login happen and where do API keys live? Auth stays in your control plane; the data plane only verifies tokens.
- [The agent nobody operates](https://alien.dev/blog/the-agent-nobody-operates): Most B2B products ship a component that customers run inside their own environment. It usually has no owner, no release process, and more access than anything else you ship.
- [What is BYOC? Bring your own cloud, explained](https://alien.dev/blog/what-is-byoc): BYOC means the vendor's software runs in the customer's cloud account while the vendor still operates it — and the second half is the part people miss.