Create a Stack Manually

Configure a stack step by step in Axio — repository, cloud runtime, state backend, workflow template, variables, secrets, and policy packs — without uploading an axio.yaml manifest.

Important

Manual setup does not read axio.yaml. The repository step connects Git for your IaC source code only; Axio does not discover or import a stack manifest during manual creation. If your repository already has axio.yaml, use Create Stack from axio.yaml instead.

Your progress is saved automatically in the browser on each step. When you return to Stacks → New Stack → Manual setup, you can resume the draft or start fresh.

Prerequisites

• Permission to create stacks (Member or higher with iac:manage in the target project, workspace, or environment scope).
• A Project, Team workspace, and Environment where the stack will live (create them inline from the General step if needed).
• A Git connection under Administration → Integrations → Source Control for the repository that contains your IaC code.
• Cloud credentials under Administration → Integrations → Cloud providers when deploying to AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, or DigitalOcean.
• At least one published workflow template compatible with your chosen IaC engine (and cloud provider, if applicable).

STACK CREATION

Create Stack with Manual Setup

Go to Stacks → New Stack and choose Manual setup. Walk through eight wizard steps to define scope, repository, runtime, backend, workflow, and policies.

Manual Setup

i

Manual configuration gives you full control over the stack.

Best when the repository has no axio.yaml yet, or you prefer to configure engine, backend, and workflow in the Axio UI.

Create Stack

Manual Setup

Organization

Project * Abcd Corp Demo Project Platform Project

Team workspace * platform-team engineering devops

Environment * Development Staging Production Stack name * Description Stack created manually

Stack name must start with a letter and contain only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores. Use Create project, Create workspace, or Create environment links if hierarchy resources are missing.

Source control provider * my-github (GitHub) abcd-gitlab (GitLab) abcd-bitbucket (Bitbucket) Repository *

↗

Ref type Branch Tag Commit

Branch main

Repository path *

Enter owner/repository (not a full URL). Repository path is the working directory for IaC files (use . for the repo root). Manual setup does not discover axio.yaml from the repository.

Cloud

Cloud provider * AWS Azure GCP OCI DigitalOcean Cloud credential * abcd-aws-prod abcd-aws-dev Region *

IaC engine

Engine * Terraform OpenTofu Pulumi Crossplane CloudFormation Azure ARM / Bicep Engine version * 1.15.9 1.9.5

Available cloud providers depend on the selected IaC engine. Provider plugin versions (for example AWS provider for Terraform) may also be required.

State backend provider Axio database (default) Amazon S3 Azure Blob Storage Google Cloud Storage MinIO

Axio database is the default managed option for Terraform and OpenTofu — state is stored in the platform with an HTTP remote backend URL after creation. Pulumi, Crossplane, CloudFormation, and ARM/Bicep use engine-native state management; backend configuration applies to Terraform and OpenTofu only.

Workflow template * Terraform Standard Deploy Terraform Plan & Apply OpenTofu Standard Deploy

Only published templates compatible with your IaC engine (and cloud provider) are shown. Axio may recommend a template based on your selections. Browse all templates or open a template link from Administration to pre-fill this step.

Variables

=

Secrets

Assign saved secrets from Axio — do not store sensitive values in plain variables.

Policy packs

None (optional) AWS Security Policies Cost Policies Organization Policies

Policy packs are optional. Attach published packs to run compliance checks during Plan and Apply workflows.

ProjectAbcd Corp

Team workspaceplatform-team

EnvironmentDevelopment

Stack namemy-app-stack

Repositoryacme/my-infra @ main

Repository path.

CloudAWS · abcd-aws-prod · us-east-1

IaC engineTerraform 1.15.9

BackendAxio database

Workflow templateTerraform Standard Deploy

Variablesregion = us-east-1

Policy packsNone

Click any section on the review screen in Axio to jump back and edit that step. Axio validates the full configuration before creation.

✓

You're all set! Your stack is created and appears in the Stacks inventory.

!

Review before you create

Verify repository access, cloud credentials, backend settings, workflow template compatibility, variables, secrets, and policy packs on the Review & Create step. Deployment runs (Plan / Apply / Destroy) require a valid cloud connection when a provider is configured.

Best Practices

• Use meaningful stack names and descriptions scoped to the correct project, workspace, and environment.
• Keep sensitive values in secrets, not plain variables.
• Start with the Axio database backend unless your organization requires a dedicated S3, Azure, or GCS bucket.
• Pick a workflow template that matches your IaC engine and cloud provider.
• Set the repository path to the subdirectory that contains your Terraform, OpenTofu, or Pulumi code.
• If you later add axio.yaml to the repo, use Sync from repository on the stack detail page — or recreate via From axio.yaml for manifest-driven stacks.

← Create Stack from axio.yaml Workflow Template →