Operators

This manual is for network engineers and lab operators who work in VS Code or Cursor. You author YAML and operate labs from the EVE IaC sidebar. You do not need the SDK or CLI.

Illustrated lifecycle, cockpit reference, and screenshots: User manual.

Shared model: Why EVE IaC?, Architecture. AI chat in the same window uses the same connection. See AI / MCP.

What you need

  1. An EVE server with eve-iac-agent listening on HTTPS (default port 8787).
  2. A workstation with Visual Studio Code or Cursor and the universal VSIX eve-iac-client.
  3. A Git folder that will contain IaC/<lab>/ directories.

The same VSIX runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The workstation does not need Go.

Operator journey

  1. Install the VSIX
  2. Connect and trust TLS
  3. Create a project, import an existing EVE lab, or load (attach only)
  4. Edit and validate
  5. Plan and deploy — later edits use Reconcile, not Deploy
  6. Optionally pull from EVE, use consoles, open the lab canvas, apply live link quality / suspend, or ask the AI (Console MCP)
  7. Optionally prepare OOB SSH and generate an Ansible or Netmiko inventory from the current lab's Automation group. Consoles, Inventory export

If something fails, see troubleshooting.

What the sidebar does not do

Selecting a lab does not start, stop, wipe, deploy, or destroy anything. Several labs may run at once. Selected lab ≠ running lab.

CREATE, IMPORT, and LOAD are different project modes. Importing a source lab is not a later from_eve pull. Details: project structure.