> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sambanova-systems.mintlify.site/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Initial setup
This guide covers the initial setup and verification of SambaRack Manager software, which initializes your configuration directory, generates encryption keys, and creates the necessary files.
The complete setup process is:
1. Install SambaRack Manager software
2. **Initial setup and verification** (this page)
3. Add SambaRack to the SambaRack Manager inventory
4. Configure device credentials in SambaRack Manager
## Initial setup
Follow these steps to initialize and verify your SambaRack Manager configuration.
### Step 1. Initialize configuration
Run the initialization command to set up snctl:
```bash theme={null}
snctl config init
```
This interactive wizard prompts you for:
* **Folder location** (default: `~/.snctl`): Where to store configuration files. This directory is created if it doesn't exist.
* **Service account** (optional): Service account for GCS access.
* **Logs location** (optional): Where to store logs.
The initialization aborts if the provided folder location already contains configuration files.
After completion, your configuration directory contains:
```text theme={null}
.snctl/
├── config.yaml # Main configuration file
├── encryption.key # AES-GCM encryption key to encrypt secrets.json.enc
├── inventory.json # Your infrastructure inventory (empty initially)
├── logs/ # Logs directory
├── private_key.json # Private key for encrypting secrets during CLI operations
├── public_key.key # Public key for encrypting secrets during CLI operations
├── secrets.json.enc # Encrypted credentials (created with blank placeholders)
└── secrets.json.enc.lock # File lock for secrets file (created when accessing/updating secrets)
```
### Step 2. Set environment variable (if using custom location)
If you chose a custom folder location during `snctl config init` (different from `~/.snctl`), you see the following note at the end:
```text theme={null}
Note: Configuration created at /path/to/custom/.snctl/config.yaml
To use this configuration, run 'export SNCTL_DIR=/path/to/custom/.snctl' or use --snctl-dir=/path/to/custom/.snctl
```
Choose one of the following options:
**Option 1 - Set environment variable (recommended):**
```bash theme={null}
export SNCTL_DIR=/path/to/custom/.snctl
```
**Option 2 - Use --snctl-dir flag with each command:**
```bash theme={null}
snctl --snctl-dir /path/to/custom/.snctl node list
```
If the path used with either option doesn't end with `.snctl`, the CLI automatically appends `.snctl` to it. For example, `SNCTL_DIR=/home/user/myconfig` uses `/home/user/myconfig/.snctl`.
### Step 3. Verify the setup
After initialization, verify that everything is properly configured:
**Verify snctl is working:**
```bash theme={null}
snctl --version
```
Expected output:
```text theme={null}
0.0.2 # Exact version may vary
```
**Display current configuration:**
```bash theme={null}
snctl config show
```
This command displays key information from your `.snctl/config.yaml`.
Expected output:
```text theme={null}
Current Configuration
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| Setting | Value |
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| Folder Location | /home/user1/.snctl |
| Encryption Key File | /home/user1/.snctl/encryption.key |
| Inventory File | /home/user1/.snctl/inventory.json |
| Service Account | None |
| Logs Location | /home/user1/.snctl/logs |
| Version | 0.0.2 |
| Last Updated | 2025-12-08T11:19:27.403696Z |
+---------------------+-------------------------------------------+
```
Running `snctl config show` with SambaRack Manager already installed updates the `config.yaml` to the currently running version if the versions don't match.
**Check created files:**
```bash theme={null}
# Replace ~/.snctl with your actual path if using a custom location
ls -l ~/.snctl
```
Expected output:
```text theme={null}
total 48
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 234 Dec 8 11:19 config.yaml
-rw------- 1 user1 user1 32 Dec 8 11:19 encryption.key
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 2 Dec 8 11:19 inventory.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 128 Dec 8 11:19 secrets.json.enc
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 0 Dec 8 11:19 secrets.json.enc.lock
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 1674 Dec 8 11:19 private_key.json
-rw-r--r-- 1 user1 user1 451 Dec 8 11:19 public_key.key
drwxr-xr-x 2 user1 user1 4096 Dec 8 11:19 logs
```
### Step 4. Verify required dependencies
Verify that all required dependencies are installed:
```bash theme={null}
snctl doctor
```
For more information, see [snctl doctor](/en/v1.2.0/sambastack/hardware-admin/sambarack-manager/srm-command-reference).
### Step 5. Secure your encryption key
Store your encryption key securely. The encryption key is required to:
* Decrypt your secrets
* Run commands on your infrastructure
Anyone with access to your encryption key can decrypt all stored secrets. Protect this file accordingly.
## Security considerations
SambaRack Manager currently has the following security limitations that you should be aware of.
### Access control
Anyone with access to snctl has full permissions to manage all infrastructure.
Currently, snctl does **not** support role-based access control (RBAC). This means:
* All users with snctl access can perform all operations
* No separation between read-only and write permissions
* No distinction between monitoring and power operations
* Network admins and SysAdmins cannot be separated
### Audit and logging
Currently, snctl does **not** maintain an audit log of who performed what operations.
## Next step
After completing the initial setup, add your racks to the SambaRack Manager inventory. See [Rack Administration](/en/v1.2.0/sambastack/hardware-admin/sambarack-manager/srm-rack-admin).