---
title: EdgeConnect
linkTitle: EdgeConnect Cloud
weight: 20
description: >
  Sovereign edge cloud for running applications
---

## Overview

EdgeConnect is a custom cloud provided by the project as a whole. It has several goals, including retaining sovereign control over cloud compute resources, and supporting sustainability-aware infrastructure choices.

While EdgeConnect is managed outwith our Edge Developer Platform, we have produced a number of tools to facilitate its use and broaden its applicability. These are an [SDK](/docs/components/deployments/edgeconnect/edgeconnect-sdk/), command-line [client](/docs/components/deployments/edgeconnect/edgeconnect-client/), bespoke [provider](/docs/components/orchestration/infrastructure/provider/) for [Terraform](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform), and tailor-made [Forgejo Actions](/docs/edgeconnect/edgeconnect-actions/).

{{< likec4-view view="edgeconnect-context" project="architecture" title="EdgeConnect Context View: Users, Tooling and Control Plane" >}}

The diagram summarizes how EdgeConnect is typically consumed and operated. Developers and automation do not interact with edge clusters directly; instead they use stable entry points (CLI, SDK, Terraform) that talk to the EdgeConnect API.

EdgeConnect itself is shown as a single cloud boundary that contains the control plane (API + controllers) and the managed resource model (e.g., App, AppInstance). Controllers continuously reconcile the desired state expressed via the API and drive deployments into the runtime.

EDP appears here as an external consumer: it can automate provisioning and deployment workflows (for example via Terraform) while EdgeConnect remains a separately managed cloud. This separation clarifies responsibilities: EDP orchestrates delivery processes, EdgeConnect provides the target runtime and lifecycle management.

## Key Features

* Managed by the broader project, not specifically by EDP
* Focus on sovereignty and sustainability
* Utilities such as [CLI](/docs/components/deployments/edgeconnect/edgeconnect-client/) and [Terraform provider](/docs/components/orchestration/infrastructure/provider/) encourage widespread platform use
* [EDP](/docs/edp/) products such as [Forgejo](/docs/components/forgejo/) are hosted on [OTC](/docs/components/deployments/otc/) rather than EdgeConnect

## Purpose in EDP

EdgeConnect is documented here because it is a key deployment target and integration point for the broader platform. Even though EdgeConnect is operated separately from EDP (and core EDP services are hosted on OTC), EDP tooling and automation frequently needs to provision or deploy workloads into EdgeConnect in a consistent, repeatable way.

Working with EdgeConnect also helps ensure that our developer workflows and platform components remain portable and “cloud-ready” beyond a single environment. By integrating with a sovereign system and making sustainability-aware choices visible in practice, we align platform engineering with the project’s wider goals and enable closer collaboration with the teams operating the EdgeConnect cloud.

### Access

* [Gardener console access](https://gardener.apps.mg3.mdb.osc.live/namespace/garden-platform/shoots)
    - Choose `Log in with mg3` then `platform` before entering credentials set up by the Platform Team.
* [Edge cluster](https://hub.apps.edge.platform.mg3.mdb.osc.live/)
* [Orca cluster](https://hub.apps.orca.platform.mg3.mdb.osc.live/)


### Notes

Documentation for EdgeConnect is provided using other systems, including Confluence.