First five minutes
Claim the instance with the setup token, then give it a domain — or don't, and let it name itself.
Claim the instance
Open the address the installer printed — http://<your-ip>:3000 — and
create the first account. It asks for the setup token, which the
installer printed and which is also in /var/lib/cubeship/setup-token.
That token is the point: without it, whoever reaches the page first is the admin of your machine. With it, claiming the instance takes access to the host, which is what it always meant to require. The file is deleted the moment setup succeeds.
The first account is an admin, and it is the only account setup ever makes. Everyone after is invited from Account → Users.
Give it a domain
Point a name at the server's IP and set it in Settings. From then on the instance answers there over HTTPS, and so does everything you deploy.
You do not need one to start
With no domain, Cubeship gives itself an sslip.io address — a name that resolves to your IP without anything being registered anywhere — so certificates and app names work on a box you set up five minutes ago.