Welcome to Nebula Aurora! This checklist will get you fully set up to start contributing.
flowchart LR
subgraph "Week 1"
A[Admin Setup] --> B[Communication]
B --> C[Platform Access]
C --> D[Environment Setup]
end
D --> E[Orientation & First Task]
Complete these as emails arrive (usually within 1-2 days of starting):
- Sign NDA (email notification)
- Sign statement of work contract via Remote.com or platform.a.team* (if applicable)
- Install Insightful for time tracking*
- You'll receive an invite from
support@insightful.io(check spam) - If no invite, your account may be active—download from app.insightful.io and log in
- Setup guide: Insightful onboarding instructions
- You'll receive an invite from
*May not apply to all team members—confirm with your manager before proceeding.
- Join Discord (invite will be sent to you)
- Attend onboarding call: Daily at 10:00–10:30 PM IST — Google Meet link
- Note: Office hours are mandatory, daily at 10:30 PM IST
These require an admin to grant access first. Reach out on Discord to Kartik or Chai if blocked.
- Review the Apex Setup Guide for reference
- Log into Apex UI with your Google account
- Retrieve your API key from the Apex UI dashboard
Install the CLI tool using the install script in the Nebula repo:
cd Nebula
bash apex-arena-install.shYou'll need an API key from Apex UI to complete the installation.
Authenticate with the same Google account you used for Apex UI:
gcloud auth loginConfigure Docker to pull from Google Artifact Registry:
gcloud auth configure-docker us-central1-docker.pkg.dev| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
apex-arena init <task_name> |
Create a new task from template |
apex-arena check-anatomy <folder> |
Validate task folder structure |
apex-arena check-quality <task> |
AI-powered quality review |
apex-arena validate-grader <grader.py> |
Check grader for issues |
apex-arena test-solution <task_id> |
Run solution.sh and verify score |
apex-arena tasks list |
List your tasks |
apex-arena tasks push <dir> |
Push task to Apex |
apex-arena tasks download <id> |
Download task(s) by ID |
apex-arena eval --tasks <ids> |
Run evaluations |
apex-arena update |
Update apex-arena to latest version |
Run apex-arena --help or apex-arena <command> --help for full options.
- Confirm you can access NebulaAuroras/Nebula
- Confirm you can access the Task Tracking Board
Important: Local development is only supported on Linux or in a Linux VM. Running the Nebula container directly on macOS is not supported due to container/k3s compatibility issues.
docker pull us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/bespokelabs/nebula-devops-registry/nebula-devopsTest that it runs:
docker run -d \
--name nebula-test-container \
--privileged \
--cgroupns=private \
nebula-devopsVerify the environment:
docker exec -it -u ubuntu nebula-test-container bash
watch -n 1 kubectl get podsIf you're not certain you'll be running exclusively on local Linux or hosted environments, request a VM in the #vm-request Discord channel.
Once your VM is being provisioned:
- Add your SSH public key to the pubkey spreadsheet
- Wait for VM connection details from admin
- SSH into VM and verify access
- Start Here / Single Source of Truth — check the "Last Updated" date; some sections may be outdated
- Nebula Aurora Instructions — task creation workflow, environment details, debugging
- Apex Arena Documentation — CLI reference and task format
Note: The Nebula Aurora Real Scenarios spreadsheet is deprecated. Task tracking has moved to the GitHub Project Board.
- Receive your task category: SRE / DevOps / Platform Engineering / CloudOps
- Check the Task Tracking Board for available tasks and assignments
All tasks go through two layers of review before acceptance:
flowchart TD
A[Approved Task Ideas] --> B[In Progress]
B --> C[Ready for Primary Review]
C --> D[In Primary Review]
D --> E[Ready for Secondary Review]
E --> F[In Secondary Review]
F --> G[Approved]
G --> H[Done]
D -.->|feedback| D
F -.->|feedback| F
- Primary Review — Another team member reviews your task for correctness and clarity
- Secondary Review — A category lead performs final approval
Note: If a reviewer requests changes, the task stays in its current review column while you address feedback. Don't move it back to In Progress. See this Discord thread for context.
Use the GitHub project board to track your task through these stages.
Create a simple task to verify your setup:
flowchart LR
A[init] --> B[edit]
B --> C[check-anatomy]
C --> D[check-quality]
D --> E[test-solution]
E --> F[push]
D -.->|issues| B
E -.->|fails| B
-
Initialize a new task:
apex-arena init my-first-task
-
Edit the generated files in
tasks/my-first-task/ -
Validate your task:
apex-arena check-anatomy tasks/my-first-task apex-arena check-quality tasks/my-first-task
-
Test your solution:
apex-arena test-solution my-first-task
-
Push to Apex using the spec ID for your category:
apex-arena tasks push tasks/my-first-task --spec <spec-id>
Category Spec ID DevOps b407a435-9dc1-4cc3-950c-3194a8f08fdeSRE 46394e31-2a74-47c1-8359-51e1b678146dPlatform Engineering 9e4d158e-96ff-4435-ab39-4d1e389f4b47CloudOps 450f2e9c-ba04-429c-bf80-e22be0065313
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Apex UI | https://apex-ui-v2-319533213591.us-central1.run.app/ |
| Apex Setup Guide | Google Slides |
| GitHub Repo | https://github.com/NebulaAuroras/Nebula |
| Task Tracking Board | GitHub Project |
| Instructions Doc | Google Doc |
| Daily Call | Google Meet — Onboarding 10:00 PM, Office Hours 10:30 PM IST |
Post in Discord or attend office hours. Kartik and Chai can help with access issues.