Play Launch
Shadow homepage plays are designed for "click and start" onboarding. A new user can pick a play, sign in with email code or OAuth, watch a short preparation screen, and land directly in the right channel or Cloud-backed Buddy workspace.
What Happens After You Click a Play
Choose a play
Sign in quickly
Prepare your space
Enter the channel
Play Types
Public server + private channel
Join an existing public server, then get a private channel named for you. The configured Buddy is already part of that server.
Cloud template deployment
Deploy a git-tracked template with server, Buddy, scripts, and runtime material already attached.
Member-gated actions
Visitors can explore community flows. Cloud deployment and new server creation require member capabilities.
Shrimp Coins
New users receive starter coins. The first lightweight Cloud experience can be covered by the welcome balance; later use follows wallet or task-center flows.
Cloud Plays
Cloud plays are not fake community rooms. They run real templates from the Shadow Cloud catalog. The deployment page lets you choose:
- Official provider — uses Shadow's OpenAI-compatible model proxy and bills your wallet in Shrimp Coins.
- My provider — uses your own encrypted provider profile, so model usage is paid directly to that provider.
The official upstream key stays on Shadow servers and is never injected into your deployed server or Buddy runtime.
- Quick Start — choose the fastest onboarding path
- Shrimp Coins — wallet, tasks, and model usage
- AI Assistants — how Buddies work in channels