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Project Setup After Deployment

Once RushDB is running (see Self-Hosting RushDB), the next steps are:

  1. Create a project
  2. Generate an API key
  3. Optionally configure per-project embedding settings
  4. Test SDK connectivity
  5. Invite team members

Step 1: Sign in to the dashboard​

Open http://your-host:3000 (or whatever host and port you configured). Sign in with the RUSHDB_LOGIN / RUSHDB_PASSWORD you set in your environment.

Step 2: Create a project​

  1. Click New Project in the top-left panel.
  2. Give the project a name (e.g. production, staging, my-app).
  3. Choose the data store:
    • Managed (default) — RushDB uses the Neo4j instance configured in server env vars
    • My own Neo4j / Aura — Toggle on and enter your connection URI and credentials. See Connecting an Aura Instance for the full walkthrough.
  4. Click Create.

Each project is isolated: records, relationships, and embedding indexes in one project are never visible from another.

Step 3: Generate an API key​

  1. Open the project and navigate to the API Keys tab.
  2. Click New API Key, enter a label (e.g. backend-service), and save.
  3. Copy the key — it is only shown once.

Store the key in an environment variable or secret manager. Never commit it to source control.

Step 4: Test connectivity from each SDK surface​

from rushdb import RushDB
import os

db = RushDB(
    os.environ['RUSHDB_API_KEY'],
    base_url='http://your-host:3000/api/v1'
)

result = db.records.find({'labels': ['_PING_TEST']})
print('Connected. Total records:', result.total)

Step 5: Switching between cloud and self-hosted without code changes​

Keep the API URL in an environment variable so you can toggle between RushDB Cloud and your self-hosted instance without changing application code.

import os
from rushdb import RushDB

db = RushDB(
    os.environ['RUSHDB_API_KEY'],
    base_url=os.environ.get('RUSHDB_API_URL', 'https://api.rushdb.com/api/v1')
)

Step 6: Configure an embedding model per project (optional)​

The server-level RUSHDB_EMBEDDING_MODEL env var sets the default embedding model for all projects. If you want to override it per project:

  1. Open the project → Settings → Embedding.
  2. Select or enter a model identifier (e.g. text-embedding-3-large).
  3. Enter the dimensions that match the model.
  4. Save.

Records ingested into this project will use the per-project model for backfill. Other projects on the same server continue using their own settings.

note

Per-project embedding configuration is only relevant for managed embedding indexes (where RushDB calls the embedding provider). For BYOV (external) indexes, you supply the vectors yourself — no server-side model is involved.

Step 7: Invite team members (cloud)​

On RushDB Cloud:

  1. Open Workspace → Team.
  2. Click Invite Member and enter the email address.
  3. Assign a role: Admin or Member.

On self-hosted RushDB the team member feature is available depending on your plan configuration. Contact support if you need multi-user access on a self-hosted instance.

Next steps​