| copyright |
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| lastupdated | 2026-06-02 | ||
| keywords | ui, platform, console, using the console | ||
| subcollection | overview |
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{: #ui}
Learn how to manage your IBM Cloud® resources using the IBM Cloud console, including accessing documentation, catalog, pricing, and support. {: shortdesc}
The IBM Cloud® console{: external} is the user interface that you use to manage all your IBM Cloud resources. You can create a free account, log in, access documentation, access the catalog, view pricing information, get support, or check the status of IBM Cloud components. After you log in, the menu bar contains a Navigation Menu icon 
and more links.
{: #consoleoptions}
When you log in to IBM Cloud, your dashboard is displayed, which shows widgets that summarize the status of your account. If you're interested in customizing your dashboard, see Working with scoped dashboards.
Use the following options to navigate to general areas of the console:
Browse available products : Use the Catalog link to explore over 350 products that offer options for compute, networking, security management, end-to-end developer solutions, and more. Use the tabs to filter the catalog to quickly access deployable architectures{: term}, IBM products, Cloud essentials, and more.
Find help when you need it
: Click the Help icon 
> Docs to access the product documentation.
Get support when something's not working as expected
: Click the Help icon > Support center to go to the Support Center{: external} page.
Manage account preferences and more : From the Manage menu, you can access your account, billing and usage, and Identity and Access Management options.
Quickly access a browser-based shell environment
: Click the IBM Cloud Shell icon 
to open a browser-based shell environment that you can use to work with your IBM Cloud resources.
Estimate costs for your cloud deployments
: Click the Cost estimator icon 
to open the cost estimator.
Stay up to date with notifications
: Click the Notifications icon 
to view and control all incidents, maintenance, and announcements that are likely to affect your account.
Customize your profile and more
: Click the Avatar icon 
to access your profile, guided tours, console theme options, and more.
In addition to the console, command-line interfaces (CLIs), APIs, and SDKs are available for interacting with you cloud account and resources. Terraform support is also available through use of the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in for managing cloud resources at enterprise scale through templates and scripting.
{: #navoptions}
The IBM Cloud platform recently consolidated services and features to provide you with a more simplified and customized experience. Services and areas of the console are now unified into the following hubs: Infrastructure, Containers, Automation, Databases, Observability, and Security. The goal of these changes is to bundle together related services to make it easier to find, deploy, and use them. Use our mapping and guidance to see what's changed in the IBM Cloud catalog and console navigation to find what you're looking for.
{: #catalog-changes-ps}
In addition to the new navigation changes, we updated the discoverability and management of our catalog. The new IBM Cloud catalog makes it easy to discover IBM products such as managed services, preconfigured software, professional services, and even partner services. You can navigate by using the new tabs in the catalog to explore what each category consists of.
- Get your job done more efficiently with expertly-designed solutions. Cloud essentials is your main source for exploring related products that are tailored to specific industries in a cohesive way.
- Use deployable architectures to understand how pre-built compositions of products work together to help solve common business problems. Deployable architectures accelerate your innovation and reduce risk across complex enterprise workloads. Industry solutions with configurations that previously took months to achieve are now available within hours.
{: #console-nav-ps}
{: caption="Updated navigation for the IBM Cloud console" caption-side="bottom"}
From the Navigation Menu , you can access areas of IBM Cloud that are focused on specific use cases and industries. Use the following options to explore the menu:
Containers : The previous Kubernetes, OpenShift, Code Engine, and Container Registry menu options are now nested within Containers.
Databases : All of your database needs are now centralized into one location. From Databases, you can create and manage relational databases (Databases for MySQL, Db2, Databases for PostgreSQL, and Databases for EDB); auxiliary databases (IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS, Databases for etcd, and Databases for Redis); and non-relational databases (Databases for Elasticsearch, Databases for MongoDB, and IBM Cloudant).
Infrastructure : The previous Classic Infrastructure, VPC Infrastructure, Power Virtual Server, and Interconnectivity menu options are now nested within Infrastructure.
Observability : The Observability option still provides access to Logging, Monitoring, and Activity tracking.
Platform Automation : The previous DevOps and Schematics options are now nested within Platform Automation, along with Event Notifications.
Security : Workload Protection is now integrated with IBM Key Protect and Secrets Manager and can be accessed from the Security menu option.