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

# Quickstart

## Get started in 5 min

Goal: a running GPU pod you can SSH into. All steps are in the dashboard at [lium.io](https://lium.io).

### 1. Create an account

Sign up at [lium.io/register](https://lium.io/register) — with an email (click the verification link before you log in), GitHub, Google, or a [fingerprint](./fingerprint-signup) if you don't want to give an email. Then open the account menu (your name, bottom-left of the sidebar), click **Billing** and **TOP UP** by card, crypto or TAO — your account balance shows in the top-left of the dashboard. **Deploy** is refused until the balance is above 15 minutes of the node's hourly price; a $0 balance gets a bare *Insufficient balance*. Free signup credit is not guaranteed — check the balance before you count on it.

### 2. Add an SSH key

Sidebar → **Access** → **SSH Keys** → **ADD NEW +**. Paste your public key (e.g. `~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub`) and give it a name.

```bash
# Generate a key if you don't have one
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
```

![SSH Keys tab in Access page](./assets/access-ssh-keys.png)

### 3. Pick a machine

Click **Browse Pods** in the sidebar. Use the right-hand filter rail to narrow by GPU type (RTX 4090, A100, H100, L40, …), GPU count, location, **Confidential Computing** for CVM-isolated nodes, or **GPU Profiling (ncu)** for machines where [Nsight Compute profiling](./gpu-profiling) works.

![Browse Pods list with filters](./assets/browse-pods.png)

A yellow **Reduced power limit** badge on a node card means the node's GPU power limit is set below the card's default, so expect somewhat lower peak performance than the same GPU at full power; hover it for the watts. The badge also shows on the Create Pod page and on the pod's own page after you rent. No badge does not always mean full power: a node's limit cannot be judged while a Lium default job holds its own temporary cap on it, and a limit set at the card's driver minimum is not judged while such a job runs. From the API, `GET /executors?hide_power_limited=true` leaves out every node that carries the badge.

:::tip Sensitive workload?
Toggle the **Confidential Computing** filter on the right. CVM nodes prevent the GPU provider from reading your pod's memory or filesystem. See [Pod security](./security).
:::

### 4. Configure and deploy

Click **RENT NOW** on the row you want. On the **Create Pod** page:

1. Tweak the auto-generated **Pod Name** if you want.
2. Confirm the **Template** — `Pytorch (Cuda) - daturaai/pytorch` is selected by default.
3. Confirm your **SSH Key** is in the chip list.
4. (Optional) attach a **Volume** for persistent storage at `/mnt`.
5. (Optional) set **Auto-Termination** so the pod stops billing after N hours.
6. Review the **Total cost** in the right-hand summary.
7. Click **Deploy**.

![Create Pod page with summary panel on the right](./assets/create-pod.png)

### 5. Connect via SSH

Open **Your Pods**. Once the card flips to **RUNNING**, click **SEE DETAILS**. Copy the SSH command from the **SSH CONNECTION** field at the top:

```bash
ssh root@<pod-ip> -p <pod-port>
```

![Pod detail page with SSH connection string](./assets/pod-detail.png)

If `ssh` asks for a password, the pod is fine: your client is offering a different key from the one you added in step 2. `ssh` only tries the default keys (`~/.ssh/id_*`) on its own, so point `-i` at the matching private key file (not the `.pub` file you uploaded):

```bash
ssh -i ~/.ssh/<your_private_key> root@<pod-ip> -p <pod-port>
```

You're in. Your home directory is `/root` and is mapped to the pod's local volume. Anything outside `/root` (and `/mnt` if you attached a volume) is **not** persisted across pod restarts.

## Next steps

- The same journey with timings, the CLI, a GPU check and your first result file → [Your first hour](./first-hour)
- Save your work between sessions → [Volumes](./volumes)
- Avoid losing checkpoints if a pod dies → [Backups](./backups)
- Spin up the same environment from one image → [Templates](./templates)
- Cap costs with auto-termination → [Scheduled termination](./scheduled-termination)
- Drive everything from the CLI / an agent → [API Keys](./api-keys)