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Build Your First Pipeline

Write a pipeline, deploy it to Expanso Cloud, and watch it run on a connected edge node. Start with a simple "Hello World" and progressively work up to processing real system data.

This series follows the Expanso Cloud route throughout: you author pipeline config locally, wrap it in a job spec, and deploy it with expanso-cli job deploy. Expanso Edge also runs standalone, but that is a separate route documented in Local Mode — follow one or the other, not a mix of both.

What You'll Learn​

This tutorial covers 4 progressive examples, each building on the last:

  1. Hello World - The simplest possible pipeline
  2. Make a Change - Modify and see updates instantly
  3. Data Transformation - Convert sensor readings with calculations
  4. Real Data - Read and process live system logs

Time required: 10 minutes total (or 2-3 minutes per step)

Prerequisites​

  • Linux, macOS, or Windows
  • Terminal access
  • An Expanso Cloud workspace, a saved expanso-cli profile with an API key, and at least one connected edge node. That one-time setup is in Deploy to Cloud.

Install Expanso Edge and expanso-cli​

Expanso Edge is the runtime that executes your pipelines, and expanso-cli is how you deploy jobs to your workspace. You need both:

# Install Expanso Edge
curl -fsSL https://get.expanso.io/edge/install.sh | bash

# Install expanso-cli
curl -fsSL https://get.expanso.io/cli/install.sh | bash

# Verify installation
expanso-edge version
expanso-cli version
The Agent Reads Files as Its Own User

expanso-edge runs under the user's context, and will only have access to files that that user explicitly has access to. It is recommended to run expanso-edge under a dedicated user or group. If you see "Failed to create directories", you may not have the necessary permissions.

Neither binary runs a pipeline from a bare config file. expanso-edge run --config loads agent settings, as explained in Configuration Formats and Common Mistakes; pipelines execute as jobs you deploy with expanso-cli job deploy.

Ready to Start?​

👉 Begin with Step 1: Hello World