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Lyft Data Docs (Beta)

Evaluation Quickstart

Goal

Spin up the Lyft Data server with its built-in worker on a single host so you can explore the UI, run a sample job, and evaluate the product without permanent infrastructure changes.

  • Audience: product managers, solution engineers, and platform leads running a proof-of-concept.
  • Time to complete: ~15 minutes end to end.
  • What you will have at the end: server listening on 127.0.0.1:3000, built-in worker ready for jobs, and admin access to the UI.

Before you start

  • One 64-bit workstation (Linux, macOS, or Windows 10/11) with admin privileges.
  • Port 3000 available locally.
  • Ability to unzip or extract archives and run a terminal or PowerShell session as administrator.

Optional (but recommended): choose an easy-to-remember admin password that you can share with other evaluators.

Step 1 – Stage the binary

Follow the matching command block for your platform. Each one downloads the latest binary, extracts it into ~/lyftdata-eval (or the Windows equivalent), and confirms the version.

Linux

Terminal window
mkdir -p ~/lyftdata-eval && cd ~/lyftdata-eval
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz.sha256
sha256sum -c lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz.sha256
tar -xJf lyftdata-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
chmod +x lyftdata
./lyftdata --version

macOS

Terminal window
mkdir -p ~/lyftdata-eval && cd ~/lyftdata-eval
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz
curl -LO https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz.sha256
shasum -a 256 -c lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz.sha256
tar -xJf lyftdata-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.xz
chmod +x lyftdata
./lyftdata --version

Windows

Terminal window
$evalDir = "$env:UserProfile\lyftdata-eval"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $evalDir -Force | Out-Null
Set-Location $evalDir
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip -OutFile lyftdata.zip
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://dist.lyftdata.com/downloads/latest/lyftdata-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip.sha256 -OutFile lyftdata.zip.sha256
$expected = (Get-Content lyftdata.zip.sha256).Split()[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash lyftdata.zip -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
if ($expected -ne $actual) { throw "Checksum mismatch: expected $expected but saw $actual" }
Expand-Archive -Path lyftdata.zip -DestinationPath $evalDir -Force
.\lyftdata.exe --version

Step 2 – Launch the server with the built-in worker

Run the server in a new terminal session. Set the EULA flag for the life of that session, create a temporary staging directory, and bootstrap the admin password to ChangeMeVerySoon (you can change it later in the UI).

Linux

Terminal window
cd ~/lyftdata-eval
export LYFTDATA_LICENSE_EULA_ACCEPT=yes
./lyftdata run server \
  --staging-dir "$HOME/lyftdata-eval/server" \
  --admin-init-password ChangeMeVerySoon \
  --bind-address 127.0.0.1:3000

macOS

Terminal window
cd ~/lyftdata-eval
export LYFTDATA_LICENSE_EULA_ACCEPT=yes
./lyftdata run server \
  --staging-dir "$HOME/lyftdata-eval/server" \
  --admin-init-password ChangeMeVerySoon \
  --bind-address 127.0.0.1:3000

Windows

Terminal window
Set-Location $env:UserProfile\lyftdata-eval
$env:LYFTDATA_LICENSE_EULA_ACCEPT = "yes"
.\lyftdata.exe run server `
  --staging-dir "$env:UserProfile\lyftdata-eval\server" `
  --admin-init-password ChangeMeVerySoon `
  --bind-address 127.0.0.1:3000

The server process keeps the built-in worker attached automatically—no external workers are required for this pilot. Leave the terminal window open; it streams logs and will surface any configuration errors immediately.

Step 3 – Sign in and validate

  1. Browse to http://localhost:3000.
  2. Sign in with admin / ChangeMeVerySoon.
  3. Go to Settings → Workers and confirm the Built-in worker shows Online.
  4. Navigate to Jobs → New job, create the “Hello, world” template (or another simple pipeline), and run it. The run should complete on the built-in worker.

Success checklist

  • Web UI reachable at http://localhost:3000.
  • Built-in worker online in the dashboard.
  • Sample job run succeeds.

If any step fails, consult the Troubleshooting guide and review the logs in the terminal window where the server is running.

Clean up or continue

  • Stop the evaluation by pressing Ctrl+C in the server terminal.
  • Ready to go deeper? Promote this host to a service by following the platform guide for your OS and enabling metrics via Next steps after install.
  • Planning a production rollout? Share the Prerequisites checklist with your infrastructure partners and schedule host provisioning.

Track adoption

For evaluation pilots, capture the following signals as you proceed toward production:

  • Number of evaluators who completed the quickstart.
  • Time from first login to first successful job run.
  • Whether metrics collection and dashboards were enabled during the pilot.

Document these metrics in your rollout plan so you can justify scaling beyond the pilot phase.