Free Account
Register a free account to get started with Riptides. Free accounts are fully functional — you can connect daemons, define WorkloadIdentities, enforce mTLS, and deliver secretless credentials just as you would in production. Free accounts support a small number of nodes; contact info@riptides.io for a production plan if you need more.
Register
Section titled “Register”Go to console.riptides.io and submit the registration form.
After registration
Section titled “After registration”- Confirmation email — check your inbox and click the approval link. The link expires after 7 days.
- Control plane deployment — Riptides deploys your dedicated control plane. This typically takes a few minutes.
- Access details email — once your control plane is ready, you’ll receive a second email containing:
| Item | What it is | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Control plane URL | The HTTPS endpoint for your tenant (e.g. https://db16a6be.console.riptides.io) | Daemon config, kubectl |
| Kubeconfig | Pre-configured kubeconfig pointing at your tenant’s API server | kubectl commands |
| Trust domain | A domain string used as the root of all SPIFFE IDs (e.g. db16a6be.console.riptides.io) | Daemon config |
Default authentication
Section titled “Default authentication”Free accounts ship with Clerk email code authentication pre-configured. The registering user’s email address is the only account authorised out of the box — when you log in to the UI or run a kubectl command for the first time, Riptides emails a one-time code to that address and you enter it to authenticate.
This is intentional for getting started quickly, but it is not suitable for team access. Once you are up and running, configure a proper IdentityProvider (GitHub, Google, Entra, or OIDC) so that team members can authenticate with their normal credentials.
Set up kubectl access
Section titled “Set up kubectl access”Install the oidc-login kubectl plugin if you have not already — it handles the OIDC flow that the kubeconfig uses:
kubectl krew install oidc-loginSave the kubeconfig to ~/.riptides/kubeconfig and export it before running any kubectl commands:
export KUBECONFIG=~/.riptides/kubeconfigVerify access:
riptides-cli ctl get namespacesOn the first run oidc-login will open a browser window. You will be prompted to enter the email code sent to your registered address. After authenticating, the token is cached and reused until expiry.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”Once you have your access details, follow the Getting Started guide to connect your first daemon.