Get what you need from cloud.gov

May 24, 2017

What’s new

The web interface helps you learn and use cloud.gov concepts

The dashboard is the web-based interface for managing apps and services on cloud.gov. With the dashboard, you don’t need to use the command line to handle some of the basic tasks of managing applications on the platform. You can orient yourself more easily now with information we’ve added to some of the dashboard’s core tools. Meaningful error messages (for example, alerts about data retrieval issues) can help you troubleshoot. Prompts in empty fields (for example, an empty list of applications or users) help you figure out how to get started. If you have a cloud.gov account, log in to get started. If you don’t but you have a federal government email address, you can create a free sandbox to explore.

Example of the text prompt that appears to someone who is the only user in their organization. It describes the user's ability to invite other users and then offers a link to more information about how to do so. If you’re the only user in your organization, this prompt helps you figure out how to add more users. cloud.gov now has more information like this to help you orient yourself.

Strengthen your cloud.gov know-how with Cloud Foundry

cloud.gov is built on the open source Cloud Foundry project, which means Cloud Foundry materials will help you learn about cloud.gov, as well. The Cloud Foundry Foundation is creating new training resources that you might want to check out. The first is a free Intro to Cloud Foundry course that can help you learn more about building and hosting applications on the platform. And next month they’re launching additional courses. And if you’d like to meet other users or learn what’s coming next in cloud platforms, check out an upcoming event, whether it’s the Cloud Foundry Summit or a smaller event near you.

Build tools for managing and auditing cloud.gov usage

cloud.gov was built with compliance in mind. We want the tools your agency uses to meet your management and compliance needs to work as seamlessly as they can with your cloud.gov applications and spaces. Now you can share specific information about your cloud.gov usage with a cloud.gov identity provider service instance. When you create that instance, you can configure it to ask people who use your tools to surface information about their cloud.gov accounts to those tools. This is just one option for building tools that work with cloud.gov data; you can also use the Cloud Foundry API.

Interested in using cloud.gov?

We can help you figure out whether the platform meets your needs.

Email us at inquiries@cloud.gov and we will contact you with next steps shortly.

You can also try a free sandbox space.

Anyone with a federal government email address can now create a free, limited sandbox space for themselves. Instead of getting an invite from the cloud.gov team or someone else at your organization, you can now go to https://account.fr.cloud.gov/signup and send yourself an invite. You don’t need paperwork with us; you don’t even need to know what sort of app you want to build. Sandboxes are for experimenting, not for production or information with security requirements. But if you’re considering cloud.gov, or you’re already a user and want to explore doing something new, a sandbox is a great place to get started.

Help us make cloud.gov better

The cloud.gov team is looking to make the cloud.gov platform easier to evaluate and use, and we’re recruiting volunteers to help us do that. Usually this takes the form of walking through a few aspects of the platform or changes we’re working on and sharing your feedback with us. If you’d be interested in talking with us, let us know at inquiries@cloud.gov.

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