> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.porter.run/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating a cluster

> Provision a managed Kubernetes cluster in your AWS, GCP, or Azure cloud account by selecting a region, machine type, and initial instance count

After [connecting your cloud account](/cloud-accounts/connecting-a-cloud-account), you can create a cluster. Porter handles all the complexity of cluster provisioning, including networking, load balancers, and node groups.

## Provisioning Your Cluster

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="AWS">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Review costs">
        Porter displays estimated monthly costs for your infrastructure (\~\$225/month for AWS).

        These estimates are for the default cluster configuration. Actual costs vary based on usage, region, and customizations.

        Review the cost breakdown and click **Accept** to continue.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure your cluster">
        Porter pre-configures your cluster with sensible defaults:

        * **Cluster name**: Auto-generated based on your project
        * **Region**: Defaults to `us-east-1`
        * **Node groups**: EKS clusters are initialially provisioning with cost-optimal node groups. You can edit your node group configuration after provisioning is complete

        <Info>
          For guidance on choosing a region: if you have an external database, choose that region or a region as close as possible. Otherwise, choose a region near your primary customer base.
        </Info>

        You can customize these settings or accept the defaults.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Handle quota limits (if needed)">
        If AWS is limiting your account's resource quota, Porter displays a warning and offers to auto-request quota increases on your behalf.

        **Allow Porter to auto-request AWS quota** is enabled by default. This is the recommended approach.

        Alternatively, you can manually request quota increases through the [AWS Service Quotas console](https://console.aws.amazon.com/servicequotas/). If you go the manual route, you won't be able to provision until the quota increase requests are approved.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Provision">
        Click **Provision** to start creating your infrastructure.

        <Warning>
          Provisioning takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You can close the browser and return later — Porter continues working in the background.
        </Warning>
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    ### Troubleshooting

    <AccordionGroup>
      <Accordion title="Provisioning takes longer than 45 minutes">
        If your cluster has been provisioning for more than 45 minutes, there may be an issue:

        * Verify that the IAM role still exists in your AWS account
        * Check your AWS Service Quotas to ensure they were approved
        * Verify that the selected region supports the requested instance types

        If issues persist, contact us through the dashboard chat bot with your project ID.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Permission errors during provisioning">
        If you encounter permission errors:

        * Verify the CloudFormation stack created successfully and the role exists
        * Ensure the role has not been modified after creation
        * Check that your AWS account has not applied SCPs (Service Control Policies) that restrict Porter's actions
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Quota increase requests not approved">
        AWS typically approves quota increases automatically, but some may require manual review:

        * Check the status of quota requests in the [AWS Service Quotas console](https://console.aws.amazon.com/servicequotas/)
        * Requests under manual review typically take 24-48 hours
        * If urgent, contact AWS support to expedite the review
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="CloudFormation stack creation fails">
        If the CloudFormation stack fails to create:

        * Ensure you have sufficient permissions in your AWS account to create IAM roles
        * Check that you're logged into the correct AWS account (the account ID should match)
        * Verify your account is in good standing and billing is enabled
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="GCP">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Review costs">
        Porter displays estimated monthly costs for your infrastructure (\~\$253/month for GCP).

        These estimates are for the default cluster configuration. Actual costs vary based on usage, region, and customizations.

        Review the cost breakdown and click **Accept** to continue.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Pass provision checks">
        Before provisioning, Porter verifies that your cloud account credentials are connected and that billing is enabled on your GCP project. If any checks fail, troubleshooting steps are shown on the dashboard.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure your cluster">
        Porter pre-configures your cluster with sensible defaults:

        * **Cluster name**: Auto-generated based on your project
        * **Region**: Defaults to `us-east1`
        * **Node groups**: Pre-configured with appropriate instance types

        <Info>
          For guidance on choosing a region: if you have an external database, choose a region close to it. Otherwise, choose a region near your primary customer base.
        </Info>

        You can customize these settings or accept the defaults.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Provision">
        Click **Provision** to start creating your infrastructure.

        <Warning>
          Provisioning takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You can close the browser and return later—Porter continues working in the background.
        </Warning>
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    ### Troubleshooting

    <AccordionGroup>
      <Accordion title="Provisioning takes longer than 45 minutes">
        If your cluster has been provisioning for more than 45 minutes:

        * Verify the service account still exists and has the **Project IAM Admin** role
        * Verify the **Cloud Resource Manager API** is enabled
        * Verify the GCP project has billing enabled

        If issues persist, contact us through the dashboard chat bot with your project ID.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="API not enabled errors">
        Porter automatically enables required APIs during setup. If you still see API errors:

        1. Verify the service account has the **Project IAM Admin** role (this is required for Porter to enable APIs automatically)
        2. Navigate to **APIs & Services** in the GCP Console and verify both the **Cloud Resource Manager API** and **Service Usage API** are enabled — Porter cannot enable other APIs unless these two are active
        3. Return to Porter and retry provisioning

        <Info>
          The Service Usage API is typically enabled by default on new GCP projects. If it has been disabled, it must be re-enabled manually through the console — Porter cannot enable it programmatically.
        </Info>
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Permission denied errors">
        Porter automatically provisions all required IAM bindings from a single bootstrap role. If you encounter permission errors:

        * Verify the service account has the **Project IAM Admin** role (`roles/resourcemanager.projectIamAdmin`)
        * Check that the JSON key file matches the service account
        * Ensure the service account hasn't been modified since creation
        * Ensure a billing account is attached to the project
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Azure">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Review costs">
        Porter displays estimated monthly costs for your infrastructure (\~\$165/month for Azure).

        These estimates are for the default cluster configuration. Actual costs vary based on usage, region, and customizations.

        Review the cost breakdown and click **Accept** to continue.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Request compute quotas">
        By default, Azure limits the types of resources you can provision. Before provisioning, you may need to request quota increases.

        In the Azure portal:

        1. Navigate to your subscription
        2. Select **Usage + quotas**
        3. Set the resource filter to **Compute** and region to your desired region

        Request increases for:

        | Resource Family             | Recommended Quota |
        | --------------------------- | ----------------- |
        | Total Regional vCPUs        | 40                |
        | Standard Basv2 Family vCPUs | 40                |

        Click **Request quota increase** for each resource. Requests are typically approved automatically within a few minutes. If not, fill out the support ticket as prompted.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure your cluster">
        Porter pre-configures your cluster with sensible defaults:

        * **Cluster name**: Auto-generated based on your project
        * **Region**: Defaults to `eastus`
        * **Azure tier**: Free tier for non-production, Standard tier for production
        * **Node groups**: Pre-configured with appropriate instance types

        <Info>
          For guidance on choosing a region: if you have an external database, choose a region close to it. Otherwise, choose a region near your primary customer base.
        </Info>

        You can customize these settings or accept the defaults. The Azure tier can be changed after cluster creation.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Provision">
        Click **Provision** to start creating your infrastructure.

        <Warning>
          Provisioning takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You can close the browser and return later—Porter continues working in the background.
        </Warning>
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    ### Troubleshooting

    <AccordionGroup>
      <Accordion title="Provisioning takes longer than 45 minutes">
        If your cluster has been provisioning for more than 45 minutes:

        * Verify the service principal still exists and has the required permissions
        * Check that all resource providers are registered
        * Verify your compute quota requests were approved

        If issues persist, contact us through the dashboard chat bot with your project ID.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Quota errors">
        If you see errors about insufficient quota:

        1. Navigate to **Usage + quotas** in your Azure subscription
        2. Check the status of your quota requests
        3. If pending, wait for approval or contact Azure support
        4. Once approved, retry provisioning in Porter
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Resource provider not registered">
        If you see errors about resource providers:

        1. Navigate to your subscription's **Resource providers** page
        2. Find the mentioned provider and click **Register**
        3. Wait for registration to complete
        4. Retry provisioning in Porter
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Permission errors">
        If you encounter permission errors:

        * Verify the service principal has the `porter-aks-restricted` role
        * Check that admin consent was granted for Microsoft Graph permissions
        * Ensure the client secret hasn't expired
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## After Provisioning

Once your cluster is ready, you'll see the Porter dashboard. From here you can:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Deploy your first app" icon="rocket" href="/applications/deploy/overview">
    Deploy an application from GitHub or a container registry.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configure node groups" icon="server" href="/cloud-accounts/node-groups">
    Customize instance types and scaling settings.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cluster observability" icon="chart-mixed" href="/cloud-accounts/cluster-observability">
    Monitor cluster health and resource usage.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>