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

# BYOCloud overview

> Connect customer-owned cloud accounts to StackShift, provision cloud-backed nodes, and operate them through the same node workflows used elsewhere in the product.

<Tip>
  **Live.** This area is documented as current, user-reliable behavior.
</Tip>

## Goal

Understand the current BYOCloud workflow, supported providers, and the node-scoped operating model StackShift exposes today.

## Prerequisites

* A StackShift account
* A supported provider account for Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or AWS

## Workflow

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Create a provider connection from the Nodes page.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Validate the saved credentials before provisioning a cloud node.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Provision a node using StackShift tiers and tested provider regions.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Operate the resulting cloud node through the same health, maintenance, placement, and workload flows used for other StackShift nodes once bootstrap and registration are complete.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What BYOCloud includes

* Encrypted provider connections and credential validation
* Provisioning StackShift nodes in customer-owned Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS, and Azure accounts
* Bootstrap, agent registration, health tracking, retry, reboot, delete, cleanup, and reconciliation
* Node-scoped cloud resource operations such as volumes, snapshots, placement metadata, and stable public IP actions where supported
* Provider metadata surfaced through StackShift node concepts instead of provider-native consoles

## How the model works

* Users choose a provider connection, tested region, StackShift tier, and node name instead of assembling raw infrastructure primitives.
* The node stays the operational boundary for the cloud resources StackShift creates and tracks.
* Provisioning and resource actions are asynchronous and become visible through node status, bootstrap status, and operation state.
* Once healthy, a BYOCloud node behaves like a normal schedulable StackShift node for workloads.

## Expected result

<Check>
  You understand BYOCloud as a current StackShift node workflow for customer-owned infrastructure, including provisioning and ongoing node operations.
</Check>

## Common failures

<Warning>
  * Provider credentials are invalid
  * Permissions are too narrow for lifecycle operations
  * Selected region or tier is not supported
  * Provider capacity or quota blocks creation
</Warning>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect a BYOCloud node" href="/nodes/connect-a-byocloud-node">
    Save provider credentials, choose a tested region and StackShift tier, and wait for the provisioned cloud node to become healthy and schedulable.
  </Card>

  <Card title="BYOCloud cloud resources" href="/nodes/byocloud-resource-add-ons">
    Manage provider-backed node resources such as volumes, snapshots, placement metadata, stable public IPs, refresh, retry, reboot, and delete actions from the node detail surface.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Node health, diagnostics, and deletion" href="/nodes/node-health-diagnostics-and-deletion">
    Read node diagnostics correctly and understand when deletion is safe or blocked.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>