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

# Overview

> Beta9 is the open source project that powers Beam

## Beam vs. Beta9

**Beam and Beta9 have similar functionality.**

You can switch between either product by changing the SDK imports and CLI commands used:

|              | [beam.cloud](https://beam.cloud) | [Beta9](https://github.com/beam-cloud/beta9/) |
| ------------ | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Installation | `pip install beam-client`        | `pip install beta9`                           |
| Imports      | `from beam import endpoint`      | `from beta9 import endpoint`                  |
| CLI Commands | `beam serve app.py:function`     | `beta9 serve app.py:function`                 |

## Self-Hosting Beta9

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Self-Host on AWS" icon="aws" href="/v2/self-hosting/aws" color="#ea5a0c" />

  <Card title="Self-Host Locally" icon="computer" href="/v2/self-hosting/local-machine" color="#0285c7" />
</CardGroup>

## Architecture

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/slai-beam/vg5aTEbpFmupCYom/img/v2/beta9.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vg5aTEbpFmupCYom&q=85&s=f3ca1404db8aab63b72860b77b17aa1c" width="1497" height="520" data-path="img/v2/beta9.png" />
</Frame>

## Contributor Guide

We welcome contributions, big or small! These are the most helpful things for us:

* Rank features in our roadmap
* Open a PR
* Submit a [feature request](https://github.com/beam-cloud/beta9/issues/new?assignees=\&labels=\&projects=\&template=feature-request.md\&title=) or [bug report](https://github.com/beam-cloud/beta9/issues/new?assignees=\&labels=\&projects=\&template=bug-report.md\&title=)