# Deploy WebVH Hosting appliance > Affinidi provisions and operates the WebVH Hosting infrastructure on your behalf: create a configuration linked to your Verifiable Trust Agent and Mediator DID, then run the generated PNM command to connect it to your VTA and activate it. Early Access Programme Affinidi-hosted WebVH Hosting is available through the WebVH Hosting Early Access Programme. [Join the Early Access Programme](https://www.affinidi.com/webvh-beta) with the email linked to your Portal account, wait for the approval email, then activate it on your project from Beta access in Affinidi Portal. A Basic appliance is deleted automatically 14 days after creation, and you can create a new configuration afterwards. By the end of this guide, you will have an active Affinidi-hosted WebVH Hosting appliance, linked to your VTA. Affinidi provisions and operates the underlying infrastructure. You link the appliance to your Verifiable Trust Agent (VTA) and mediator when you create it, then activate it with one PNM command that grants its temporary [setup DID](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/get-started/glossary.md#appliance) access to your VTA. Use this guide when you want Affinidi to manage hosting infrastructure on your behalf. To run WebVH Hosting on your own infrastructure instead, see [Self-hosted (open source): unified daemon](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/get-started/daemon-unified.md) or [Self-hosted (open source): standalone services](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/get-started/standalone-distributed.md). ## Prerequisites - [Rust 1.95 or later](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) installed on your machine, to compile the PNM CLI. - A running [Verifiable Trust Agent (VTA)](/products/affinidi-elements/vta.md) with a did:webvh DID. The WebVH Hosting appliance uses your VTA to authenticate DID creation requests from your applications. - A Mediator DID for DIDComm-based message routing, based on did:web, did:webvh, or did:peer. See [Affinidi DIDComm Mediator](/products/affinidi-elements/affinidi-messaging/didcomm-mediator.md). - Super-admin access to your VTA, which creating the webvh context in Step 3 requires. See [Deploy VTA appliance](/products/affinidi-elements/vta/get-started/vta-affinidi-portal.md). ## Step 1. Install the PNM CLI PNM connects to your VTA and runs the command that activates the appliance. Install the same PNM version the VTA documentation uses, so PNM, your VTA, and the appliance work together: ```bash cargo install pnm-cli@0.16.4 --locked --registry crates-io ``` ### Confirm the installation ```bash pnm help ``` If PNM is already installed at this version and connected to your VTA, skip to Step 2. ## Step 2. Provision the appliance in Affinidi Portal - Log in to [Affinidi Portal](https://portal.affinidi.com) and select your project. - Under Affinidi Elements in the left sidebar, select WebVH Hosting. - Click Create configuration and fill in the fields: Create WebVH Hosting configuration in Affinidi Portal | Field | What to enter | | Name of configuration | A name for your own reference, 3 to 64 characters, including at least one letter or number. Defaults to Default WebVh Hosting. | | Description - optional | A short note on the purpose of this instance. | | Verifiable Trust Agent DID | Choose your VTA’s DID from the list, or select ＋ Enter custom VTA DID and paste it. If the project has no VTAs, type the DID directly. Must be a did:webvh DID. Cannot be changed after creation. | | Mediator DID | The mediator DID from Before you begin. Must be based on did:web, did:webvh, or did:peer. Cannot be changed after creation. To deploy one, see [Deploy an Affinidi-hosted mediator](/products/affinidi-elements/affinidi-messaging/didcomm-mediator/deployment-options/mediator-affinidi-portal.md). | | Appliance size | Select Basic, the default. Basic appliances are for testing and are deleted automatically after 14 days. Larger sizes are offered on some plans. The size is fixed after creation. | | Version | Shown only when more than one version is available. Leave the default. | - Click Create. The Portal returns to the WebVH Hosting list, where the new configuration’s Deployment state shows Pending, then In Progress, while Affinidi provisions the infrastructure. - Click the configuration name to open its details page. Setup State shows Inactive until you complete Step 3. ## Step 3. Activate the appliance with PNM WebVH Hosting configuration details before deployment completes The details page shows the activation steps under Steps to activate your WebVH setup. Complete activation promptly The command in step 3 gives the appliance’s setup DID an admin grant that expires after 6 hours if the appliance has not claimed it. Run the command and click I’ve run the command promptly. - Wait for Deployment state to show Complete. Under Step 1: Grant the setup DID access to your VTA, Generating setup DID changes to the command generated for your appliance. The command grants the appliance’s temporary setup DID, a did:key, admin access to a webvh context in your VTA. WebVH Hosting activation command after deployment completes - Click Copy. The copied command looks like this, with --name and --admin-did pre-filled for your appliance: ```bash pnm contexts create --id webvh --vta --name webvh- --admin-did --admin-expires 6h ``` - Replace with your VTA’s slug, the local name PNM uses for your VTA, and run the command. - Return to the configuration’s details page and, under Step 2: Confirm the grant, click I’ve run the command. - Wait a few moments. The page updates automatically: Setup State changes to Active, the activation steps disappear, and Server DID shows the appliance’s permanent did:webvh. ## Confirm ### Test 1: Setup State shows Active Expected result: on the configuration’s details page, Setup State shows Active. Note these two values for the next guide: - Server DID: on the configuration’s details page. It shows Available after activation until Setup State is Active, then the appliance’s permanent did:webvh. - WebVH URL: on the configuration card in the WebVH Hosting list. Its host is the domain of every DID you create on this appliance. ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Likely cause | Fix | | The WebVH Hosting page shows the Early Access activation panel instead of Configurations | The WebVH Hosting Early Access Programme is not active on this project. | Join the Early Access Programme and activate it on the project from Beta access. | | Create configuration is disabled with Configuration limit reached. | The project already has its one WebVH Hosting configuration allowed during Early Access. | Use the existing configuration, or delete it and create a new one. | | I’ve run the command is disabled with Wait for the setup DID to be generated | The appliance’s setup DID is still being generated. | Wait for the command to appear under Step 1, then run it. | | Setup State remains Inactive after several minutes | Activation is still processing, the pnm contexts create command did not complete, or the setup admin grant expired unclaimed before you clicked I’ve run the command. | Confirm the command in Step 3 ran without error. If more than 6 hours have passed since you ran it, run it again. Then click I’ve run the command again. Contact Affinidi support if Setup State still does not change to Active. | ## Next steps - [Create your first hosted DID](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/get-started/create-your-first-did.md): register the appliance with your VTA and publish a did:webvh identifier on it. - [Create and manage DIDs](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/webvh-management/did-management.md): update, inspect, and delete DIDs on the appliance. - [Glossary](/products/affinidi-elements/webvh-hosting/get-started/glossary.md): terms used across these pages and in pnm output.