> ## Documentation Index
>
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://lithi.ai/llms.txt
>
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

---
title: Configure your Compute account
description: >-
  Set up the smallest account that runs your first workflow, then add advanced resources
  only when a workflow needs them. Every change is planned, reviewed, applied and read
  back.
route: /docs/compute/configure
page_id: docs-compute-configure
page_type: hubIndex
content_layer: guided documentation
surface_profile: guided_docs
audience: Compute customers and organization administrators
voice: D
reader_question: What do I actually need to configure before my first workflow runs?
primary_action: Set up a solo account
source_locale: en-US
source_status: APPROVED
source_version: docs-compute-configure-en-us-2026-09-05-v1
last_updated: '2026-09-05'
robots: index
claim_registry_pinned: true
claim_registry_resync: "npm run governed:tsx -- scripts/build-compute-public-claim-registry.ts --write"
---

## Configure only what your workflow needs

Compute does not ask you to build a workflow before you can use it. You choose a workflow that already exists, then configure the few resources it requires.

Every configuration change follows the same loop. You inspect what exists, review a plan, approve what needs approval, apply it, and read the result back. The portal reviews configuration; it is never a workflow canvas.

## Start with the minimum

Most accounts need three things before their first run: an identity, a spend ceiling, and the one source the workflow reads.

- [Set up a solo Compute account](/docs/compute/configure/solo-account) — one person, one scoped identity, one workflow.
- [Set up a Compute organization](/docs/compute/configure/organisation) — legal account, administrator and policy.
- [Plan, apply and read back a change](/docs/compute/configure/plan-apply-read-back) — the loop every change follows.
- [Set spend and approvals](/docs/compute/configure/spend-and-approvals) — ceilings and who decides.

## Add advanced resources when a workflow needs one

Everything below is optional. Add a resource when a workflow you have chosen actually requires it, and not before.

- [Separate work with projects](/docs/compute/configure/projects) — isolate keys, budgets and costs.
- [Run Compute for your own customers](/docs/compute/configure/platform-subaccounts) — tenant separation and delegated administration.
- [Register a source](/docs/compute/configure/sources) — where your input is read from.
- [Register a destination](/docs/compute/configure/destinations) — where results are written.
- [Build reusable workflow profiles](/docs/compute/configure/profiles) — team defaults for quality, policy, output and limits.
- [Describe your configuration as a file](/docs/compute/configure/desired-state) — secret-free desired values you keep in version control.

## When something stops partway

An apply can stop on an expired plan, a changed resource version or a timeout in an external system. Verified changes stay in place, and every stopped resource carries a next action.

- [Recover from drift or a partial apply](/docs/compute/configure/drift-and-partial-apply)