Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sfcompute.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
This guide walks you through launching your first GPU instance on SF Compute.
Install the CLI
curl -fsSL https://cli.sfcompute.com | bash
Log in
This opens your browser to authenticate and stores your credentials locally. You can check your
credit balance anytime with sf billing balance.
Check what you can buy
Hardware is described by instance SKUs. Preview what’s currently for sale,
one row per SKU.
INSTANCE SKU NODES NOW NEXT 48H
Amsterdam H100 (IB) 24 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁ peak: 24
Ashburn H100 (IB) 64 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ peak: 64
Chicago A100 (Ethernet) 96 ▇▇▇▇▇▄▄▄▄▄▂▂▂▂▂▁▁▁▁▁ peak: 96
Seattle H100 (IB) 128 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ peak: 128
Tokyo H100 (IB) 48 ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁ peak: 48
NODES NOW is what’s available right now; NEXT 48H sparklines the schedule with the peak shown
to the right.
Create an empty capacity
A capacity tracks your compute allocation over time. You buy compute time
into a capacity with orders, and instances on the capacity run when there’s allocated time.
sf capacities create --name dev
Buy compute time
This will charge your account. Make sure you have credits — check with sf billing balance or
top up on the dashboard. sf orders create --capacity dev --side buy
Check your order
SIDE STATUS PERIOD NODES RATE CAPACITY ID
buy filled Mar 23 1 ≤$20.00/node/hr dev ordr_...
If the order shows cancelled, the price was too low or there was no availability. Try a higher
rate, a later start time, or use --allow-standing to leave the order on the book.
List images
Images are bootable OS disk images. You’ll need an image name or ID to create an instance.
NAME VISIBILITY STATUS CREATED
ubuntu-22.04.5-cuda-12.7 public completed Feb 23, 6:50pm
Create an instance
First, create a startup script that injects your SSH key so you can connect to the instance.
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_ecdsa_sk.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_xmss.pub 2>/dev/null)
$(cat ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub 2>/dev/null)
EOF
SCRIPT
sf instances create --capacity dev --image ubuntu-22.04.5-cuda-12.7 --cloud-init ./startup.sh
now, the instance will be allocated within about a minute and begin booting. Compute ownership
and instances are separate: you can terminate and recreate instances without losing your purchased
compute time.
Watch your instance start
The image download and boot process takes up to 10 minutes before SSH is available.
Connect via SSH
sf instances ssh {instance-name}
Next steps
You now have a running GPU instance. Here are some things to try:
Sell back unused compute. Place a sell order as a standing order — if someone buys it, you get
credits back and the instance loses its compute time.
sf orders create --capacity dev --side sell --nodes 1 \
--start now --duration 1h --min-rate 8.00 --allow-standing
