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Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions when you install and try ekai yourself.

Licensing & Plans​

What is included in the free trial?

Full platform access with all features for 14 days, supporting up to 10 users. No credit card required.

How does tenancy work?

All users who sign up with the same organizational email domain (e.g., @yourcompany.com) are automatically grouped under the same organization. The first person to sign up and install becomes the deployment owner.

What is the difference between a plan and a license?
  • Plan: The subscription tier (Trial, Starter, Professional, Enterprise) that determines features and user limits
  • License: The deployment token that authorizes a specific installation to run

Each deployment environment (dev, staging, production) requires a separate license.

How do I upgrade my license?

Log into the licensing portal at licensing.ekai.ai and select your new plan. Changes take effect immediately. For enterprise plans, contact sales@ekai.ai.

Can I have multiple environments?

Yes, each environment (dev, staging, production) requires a separate license. Contact sales@ekai.ai for multi-environment pricing.

Is my data secure?

Yes. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit using TLS 1.3. For local deployments, data stays entirely on your machine. For cloud deployments, data stays in your infrastructure—ekai never accesses or stores your data.

Installation​

How long does installation take?
  • Local (Docker): 15-30 minutes
  • GCP (Automated): 30-45 minutes
  • Manual Cloud: 45-60 minutes

Times vary based on network speed and system resources.

Can I install without internet?

No. Installation requires internet connectivity for:

  • Downloading Docker images or Terraform modules
  • Authenticating with the licensing portal
  • Pulling application dependencies
What if installation fails?

For GCP deployments with smart resume, simply re-run the installer and choose to resume. For other failures:

  1. Check the Troubleshooting Guide
  2. Review error messages in the installer output
  3. Ensure all prerequisites are met
  4. Contact support@ekai.ai with logs if needed
Can I customize the installation?

Yes:

  • Local: Edit docker-compose.yml and .env files
  • Cloud: Modify Helm values.yaml or Terraform variables

Advanced customization may require manual deployment instead of the automated installer.

Is Windows supported?

Windows is supported via Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) only. Native Windows PowerShell/CMD is not supported. Install WSL2, then run the installer in the Ubuntu terminal.

Technical​

What database does ekai use?

PostgreSQL 16. The database is included in both local (Docker) and cloud (Cloud SQL) deployments.

Can I use an existing database?

Yes. Configure DATABASE_* environment variables to point to your existing PostgreSQL instance. Minimum version: PostgreSQL 13.

What ports need to be open?

Local:

  • Port 80 (frontend)
  • Port 3000 (backend)
  • Port 5432 (database)

Cloud (GCP):

  • Ports 80 and 443 (handled automatically by LoadBalancer)
  • No inbound firewall rules needed on your side
How do I update to a new version?

Local:

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d

Cloud:

helm repo update
helm upgrade ekai ekai/ekai -n ekai

Updates are backward compatible and preserve your data.

Is high availability supported?

Yes, for cloud deployments:

  • Multiple backend replicas
  • Auto-scaling based on CPU/memory
  • Managed database with automatic failover (Cloud SQL)
  • Load balancer with health checks

Local deployments are single-instance only.

Can I run multiple environments?

Yes. Each environment requires:

  • Separate license
  • Separate deployment (different project/namespace)
  • Separate DNS domain (for cloud)
What are the minimum system requirements?

Local:

  • 4 CPU cores (8 recommended)
  • 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended)
  • 20 GB disk space
  • Docker Desktop or Docker Engine

Cloud (GCP):

  • GCP project with billing enabled
  • Appropriate quotas (3-node GKE cluster minimum)
  • gcloud, terraform, kubectl installed
What permissions are needed for GCP deployment?

Your GCP account needs these roles:

  • Compute Admin
  • Kubernetes Engine Admin
  • Service Account Admin
  • Cloud SQL Admin
  • DNS Administrator

See Prerequisites for details.

Operations​

How do I backup my data?

Local:

docker exec ekai-postgres pg_dump -U ekai ekaibackend > backup.sql

Cloud (GCP): Automated daily backups are enabled by default. View and manage in GCP Console → SQL → Backups.

Manual backup:

gcloud sql backups create --instance=ekai-production-db
Can I schedule automatic backups?

Local: Set up a cron job to run the backup command daily.

Cloud: Automated daily backups are pre-configured with 7-day retention.

How do I view logs?

Local:

docker-compose logs -f

Cloud:

kubectl logs -f deployment/ekai-backend -n ekai

Or use GCP Cloud Logging (Stackdriver) in the GCP Console.

What are the resource requirements for 100 users?

Recommended:

  • CPU: 8 cores
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • Storage: 100 GB
  • Cloud: Use auto-scaling (2-10 replicas)

Actual requirements vary based on usage patterns and data volume.

How do I reset the admin password?

Use the password reset link on the login page, or contact support@ekai.ai for assistance with account recovery.

Can I migrate from local to cloud?

Yes. Export your data (database backup + configuration), then import into the cloud instance. Contact support@ekai.ai for migration assistance.

Troubleshooting​

Backend won't start - "database connection failed"

Check:

  1. Database is running (docker ps or kubectl get pods -n ekai)
  2. Credentials in .env (local) or ConfigMap (cloud) are correct
  3. Network connectivity between backend and database

See Troubleshooting Guide for detailed steps.

"Permission denied" errors during installation

Local: Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and log back in.

Cloud: Verify your GCP account has required IAM roles.

Frontend shows "API unavailable"

Verify:

  1. Backend is running
  2. VITE_API_URL (local) or backend service (cloud) points to correct URL
  3. No firewall blocking backend port
  4. Backend health endpoint responds: curl http://localhost:3000/health
Installation keeps timing out or getting interrupted

Cause: Long-running tasks interrupted by network issues or system sleep.

Solution:

  1. Keep system awake during installation
  2. Use stable network connection
  3. Re-run installer if interrupted (safe to retry)
  4. For GCP, use resume feature when prompted
What if the installer hangs?
  1. Wait a few minutes (some operations take time)
  2. Check network connectivity
  3. If truly hung, interrupt (Ctrl+C) and re-run
  4. Check logs in .self-deploy/ folder for errors

Support​

How do I contact support?
Is support included in all plans?
  • Trial: Community support (email)
  • Starter/Professional: Email support (business hours)
  • Enterprise: Priority support with SLA, dedicated slack channel
Where can I find API documentation?

Access Swagger documentation at <your-ekai-url>/api/docs after installation.

Can I contribute to ekai?

ekai is proprietary software. Feature requests can be submitted through the support portal or by contacting sales@ekai.ai.

How do I report a bug?

Email support@ekai.ai with:

  • Description of the issue
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Logs and error messages
  • Deployment mode and environment details

Still Have Questions?​