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Getting Started Guide

Welcome to Lineserve! This guide will help you get up and running with our platform in just a few minutes.

Step 1: Create Your Account​

Sign Up Process​

  1. Visit app.lineserve.com
  2. Click "Sign Up" and provide your details
  3. Verify your email address
  4. Complete your profile information

Account Verification​

  • Email verification: Required for account activation
  • Phone verification: Required for SMS services
  • Identity verification: May be required for higher limits

Step 2: Set Up Billing​

Payment Methods​

  • Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express
  • Bank Transfer: Local bank transfers in supported regions
  • Mobile Money: M-Pesa, Airtel Money (Kenya, Tanzania)
  • Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin, Ethereum (coming soon)

Billing Setup​

  1. Navigate to Account > Billing
  2. Add your preferred payment method
  3. Set up automatic top-up (optional)
  4. Review pricing for services you plan to use

Step 3: Choose Your First Service​

For Developers & Startups​

Recommended: VPS Hosting

  • Start with a Starter VPS ($5/month)
  • Deploy your first application
  • Scale as your needs grow

For Marketing Teams​

Recommended: SMS Platform

  • Set up sender ID
  • Import contact lists
  • Send your first campaign

For Enterprises​

Recommended: Managed Kubernetes

  • Deploy containerized applications
  • Auto-scaling and load balancing
  • Enterprise-grade monitoring

Step 4: Deploy Your First Resource​

Option A: Using the Web Console​

Deploy a VPS Instance​

  1. Go to Compute > Virtual Servers
  2. Click Create VPS
  3. Choose your configuration:
    • Region: Select closest to your users
    • OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (recommended)
    • Size: Starter (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM)
    • Storage: 25GB SSD
  4. Add SSH key or set root password
  5. Click Deploy - ready in 60 seconds!

Send Your First SMS​

  1. Go to Messaging > SMS
  2. Click Send SMS
  3. Enter recipient number
  4. Type your message
  5. Click Send - delivered instantly!

Option B: Using the API​

Get Your API Key​

  1. Go to Account > API Keys
  2. Click Generate New Key
  3. Copy and store securely

Deploy VPS via API​

curl -X POST https://api.lineserve.com/v1/vps \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-first-server",
    "region": "nairobi",
    "image": "ubuntu-22.04",
    "size": "starter",
    "ssh_keys": ["your-ssh-key-id"]
  }'

Send SMS via API​

curl -X POST https://api.lineserve.com/v1/sms/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+254700123456",
    "message": "Hello from Lineserve!",
    "from": "YourBrand"
  }'

Option C: Using the CLI​

Install Lineserve CLI​

# macOS/Linux
curl -sSL https://cli.lineserve.com/install.sh | bash

# Windows
iwr https://cli.lineserve.com/install.ps1 | iex

Configure CLI​

lineserve auth login
# Enter your API key when prompted

Deploy Resources​

# Create VPS
lineserve vps create \
  --name my-server \
  --region nairobi \
  --image ubuntu-22.04 \
  --size starter

# Send SMS
lineserve sms send \
  --to +254700123456 \
  --message "Hello from CLI!" \
  --from YourBrand

Step 5: Monitor Your Resources​

Web Console Dashboard​

  • Resource overview: All your services in one place
  • Usage metrics: CPU, memory, storage, bandwidth
  • Billing summary: Current usage and costs
  • Alerts: Set up notifications for important events

API Monitoring​

# Check VPS status
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.lineserve.com/v1/vps/{instance_id}

# Check SMS delivery
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.lineserve.com/v1/sms/status/{message_id}

CLI Monitoring​

# List all VPS instances
lineserve vps list

# Check SMS delivery status
lineserve sms status {message_id}

# View account usage
lineserve account usage

Common First Steps​

Secure Your VPS​

  1. Update packages: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
  2. Configure firewall: Use security groups or ufw
  3. Set up SSH keys: Disable password authentication
  4. Install monitoring: Set up basic monitoring tools

Optimize SMS Delivery​

  1. Register sender ID: Improve delivery rates
  2. Verify phone numbers: Ensure valid recipients
  3. Test messages: Send test messages before campaigns
  4. Monitor delivery: Track delivery rates and failures

Set Up Monitoring​

  1. Enable alerts: Get notified of issues
  2. Create dashboards: Monitor key metrics
  3. Set up logging: Centralize application logs
  4. Configure backups: Protect your data

Next Steps by Use Case​

Web Application Hosting​

  1. Deploy VPS
  2. Set up load balancer
  3. Configure SSL certificate
  4. Set up monitoring

Mobile App Backend​

  1. Deploy Kubernetes cluster
  2. Set up managed database
  3. Configure object storage
  4. Integrate SMS notifications

Marketing Campaigns​

  1. Set up SMS platform
  2. Configure sender ID
  3. Import contact lists
  4. Track delivery reports

Getting Help​

Documentation​

  • API Reference: Complete API documentation
  • Tutorials: Step-by-step guides
  • FAQ: Common questions and answers

Support Channels​

  • Email: support@lineserve.com
  • Live Chat: Available in web console
  • Phone: +254 700 123 456 (business hours)
  • Community: Join our developer community

Resources​

  • Status Page: status.lineserve.com
  • Blog: Latest updates and tutorials
  • GitHub: Sample code and SDKs
  • Postman: API collection for testing

Ready to dive deeper? Explore our comprehensive documentation or contact our support team for personalized assistance!