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This walkthrough uses the aireserve CLI because it already covers the full quote, launch, connection, and cleanup flow. You will create one GPU instance with an ephemeral root disk and no persistent storage.

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Before you begin

You need:
  • an organization API key with Compute: Manage access;
  • an enabled, funded organization wallet;
  • an SSH public key, such as ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub;
  • jq, which the steps below use to read IDs out of the CLI’s output.
Your API key is the only value you type. Every other ID is captured into a shell variable by the step that produces it.
1

Install the CLI

2

Export a Compute-enabled API key

Create the key on the API Keys page. Keep it out of shell history and source control.
3

Request a quote

The quote creates nothing. It reports the selected normalized region, the running price, the price after stop, and a short-lived quote ID.
Capture the ID for the next step. The CLI prints JSON whenever its output is not a terminal, so nothing is copied by hand. Quotes expire after 120 seconds, so launch right away.
4

Launch and wait for SSH

--wait polls the durable operation until it reaches a terminal state, usually a minute or two, then returns the instance and its connection details. If INSTANCE_ID prints null, the launch was refused: run jq . <<<"$LAUNCHED" to read why. If the quote expired or the price moved, request a fresh quote and launch again.
5

Connect

Run the SSH command returned by the CLI. AI Reserve receives only the public key; your private key remains on your machine.
6

Terminate when finished

Termination releases the GPU and destroys the ephemeral root disk. It does not delete an attached persistent volume.
The quickstart uses one H100_80GB, any eligible normalized region, the maintained PyTorch/CUDA image, a 50 GiB ephemeral root disk, and SSH only. The quote is a price and placement decision—not a capacity reservation—so launch rechecks current price and availability.

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Keep files between runs

Add a persistent volume to the quote when checkpoints, datasets, or outputs must survive stop and termination:
The quote shows both the total running price and the storage-only rate that continues after the instance stops or terminates. Continue with Storage and persistence before launching important data.

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Prefer direct REST?

The same flow is available through:
  1. POST /v1/gpu/instances/quote
  2. POST /v1/gpu/instances with an Idempotency-Key
  3. GET /v1/gpu/operations/{operationId} until terminal
  4. GET /v1/gpu/instances/{instanceId}/connections
Use the generated API Reference for exact wire schemas.