Getting Access

How to get access to IronSled as a user — how your Portal account is provisioned from your identity group, how to get into GitLab, create a Personal Access Token for HTTPS Git and API use, and set up Git with the required GPG commit signing.

Getting onto IronSled has two parts: first you reach the platform through Zscaler, then you're granted the things you need to work — an IronSled Portal account, access to GitLab, and Git configured on your machine. This page explains how each is granted and links to the step-by-step instructions.

Network access through Zscaler

You reach IronSled through Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), which grants zero-trust, application-level access based on your user identity — there is no broad network-level access. You must be connected to Zscaler ZPA to load the Portal, GitLab, Rancher, and your environments; when you are not connected, these applications will not resolve even if your account is fully provisioned. If the Portal is unreachable, check your Zscaler ZPA connection first, before troubleshooting your account or access group.

This is part of the platform's overall zero-trust security model: access is granted per application and per user identity, never broadly at the network level.

Your Portal account

Access to the IronSled Portal is driven by identity-provider (Okta/Entra) group membership — you don't request a Portal login directly. When you are added to the appropriate access group, a scheduled sync provisions your account, and the same group membership governs your access across IronSled, GitLab, and Rancher. If you can't sign in to the Portal, you are most likely not yet in the access group; ask your team's owner or the platform team to add you.

GitLab access

Your GitLab account on gitlab.ironsled.com is provisioned through the same identity groups, mapped to GitLab roles via SAML group links. Your GitLab user is typically created automatically the first time you visit a project you have access to.

Create a Personal Access Token (PAT)

IronSled Git connections use HTTPS with a Personal Access Token, not SSH. You'll need a PAT to clone and push over HTTPS and to call the GitLab API. Create one before you set up Git and keep its value ready (for example, exported as GITLAB_TOKEN in your shell).

Follow Create a GitLab Personal Access Token for the recommended scopes and expiration.

Set up Git

All commits to IronSled repositories must be GPG-signed — this is a platform requirement, not an option. Set up Git and your signing key before your first commit.

See Set Up Git and GPG Commit Signing for the full setup, including GPG signing.

Where to go next

Once you can sign in and clone code, head to Projects — the central place where you and your team manage repositories, environments, containers, and security.