Quickstart - San Francisco Compute Docs

Create a pool, buy compute time into it, and start your first GPU instance on SF Compute.

Install the CLI

Download and run the install script.

curl -fsSL https://cli.sfcompute.com | bash

Log in

Authenticate the CLI.

sf login

This opens your browser to sign in and stores your credentials locally.

Check what you can buy

SKUs describe the hardware you can buy. List them and when each becomes available, 1 row per SKU.

sf availability

  NAME        ID               NEXT AVAILABLE  NEXT 48H
  ams-1-h100  sku_7GtBqvXk2Nm  now (24)        ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁  peak: 24
  iad-2-h100  sku_Wm5cRzJq8Ld  now (64)        ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁  peak: 64
  ord-1-a100  sku_2xPfVn6KwQh  now (96)        ▇▇▇▇▇▄▄▄▄▄▂▂▂▂▂▁▁▁▁▁  peak: 96
  sea-3-h100  sku_4UpxzQw7A8N  now (128)       ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁  peak: 128
  nrt-1-h100  sku_Ht9sLc3MvBn  now (48)        ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁  peak: 48

NEXT AVAILABLE is the soonest instances become available and how many. Values are now (N), a time like Today, 8:00pm (4), or — when nothing is scheduled. NEXT 48H sparklines the schedule with the peak shown to the right.

Create an empty pool

A pool tracks your compute allocation over time. You buy compute time into a pool with orders, and instances on the pool run when there’s allocated time. Create a pool named dev.

sf pools create --name dev

Buy compute time

Buying compute time charges your organization. Make sure you have credits: check with sf billing balance or top up on the dashboard.

Place a buy order for compute time on your pool. The command guides you through each option interactively. You set the number of nodes (each node runs 1 instance), start time, duration, rate, and the SKU the order pins to. For this guide, choose a start time of now.

sf orders create --pool dev --side buy

Check your order

List your orders and check the status.

sf orders list

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIDE  STATUS  PERIOD  NODES  RATE ($/NODE/HR, 8x GPU)  POOL  INSTANCE SKU     CREATED BY      ID
buy   filled  Mar 23  1      ≤$20.00/node/hr           dev   sku_4UpxzQw7A8N  admin@acme.com  ordr_5KwQh2xPfVn6M3RtLcQw9

If the order shows cancelled, the price was too low or there was no availability. Try a higher rate, a later start time, or --allow-standing. A standing order stays open on the orderbook until it fills or you cancel it.

List images

An image is the bootable disk template an instance starts from. You need an image name or ID to create an instance. List the images available to you.

sf images list

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAME                                                 VISIBILITY  STATUS     CREATED
sfc:image:sfcompute:public:ubuntu-22.04.5-cuda-12.7  public      completed  Feb 23, 6:50pm

SF Compute publishes public images with Ubuntu and CUDA pre-installed. You can also build and upload your own custom images.

Create an instance

First, create a startup script that injects your SSH key so you can connect to the instance.

# The $(cat ...) lines expand on your machine as startup.sh is written,
# embedding your public keys in the script.
cat >startup.sh <<SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash

mkdir -p /root/.ssh
cat >>/root/.ssh/authorized_keys <<"EOF"
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub 2>/dev/null)
EOF
SCRIPT

Then create an instance on your pool with the public image.

sf instances create --pool dev --instance-sku sku_4UpxzQw7A8N \
  --image sfc:image:sfcompute:public:ubuntu-22.04.5-cuda-12.7 --cloud-init ./startup.sh

Your pool already has compute time from the order you placed. Because you chose a start time of now, your instance gets its allocation within about a minute and begins booting. Compute ownership and instances are separate: you can terminate and recreate instances without losing your purchased compute time.

Watch your instance start

List your instances to watch the status. The NAME column shows the name you’ll use to connect.

sf instances list

The image download and boot process takes up to 10 minutes before SSH is available.

Connect via SSH

SSH in with the instance name from sf instances list.

sf instances ssh <instance-name>

Verify the GPUs are available.

nvidia-smi

Next steps

You now have a running GPU instance. Here are some things to try.

Sell back unused compute time

Place a sell order as a standing order. If someone buys it, you get credits back (minus a variable platform fee) and the instance loses its compute time.

sf orders create --pool dev --side sell --count 1 --instance-sku sku_4UpxzQw7A8N \
  --start now --duration 1h --min-rate 8.00 --allow-standing

Check your pool’s allocation schedule

See the compute time you own on the pool.

sf pools get dev

Learn more

Instances and Pools explains the core model.
Auto-scaling shows how to scale a fleet up and down while buying and selling time automatically.
Pools, orders, and instances are the resource references for the commands used here.

​Install the CLI

​Log in

​Check what you can buy

​Create an empty pool

​Buy compute time

​Check your order

​List images

​Create an instance

​Watch your instance start

​Connect via SSH

​Next steps

​Sell back unused compute time

​Check your pool’s allocation schedule

​Learn more

Install the CLI

Log in

Check what you can buy

Create an empty pool

Buy compute time

Check your order

List images

Create an instance

Watch your instance start

Connect via SSH

Next steps

Sell back unused compute time

Check your pool’s allocation schedule

Learn more