FAQ

Machines#

Is the machine shared with anyone?#

No. A reservation is one whole physical machine, used by you alone for your whole reservation. It isn't a virtual machine, there's one renter per machine at a time, and nobody else is on it.

What can I run on it?#

Anything legal that fits the Terms of Service: language models, fine-tuning, benchmarks, builds, notebooks over an SSH tunnel. Spam, attacks, scanning other networks, piracy, illegal content, open proxies or relays, and crypto mining (unless agreed with us) are not allowed. See What's allowed on the machine.

Can I install software?#

Yes, in your home folder: Python packages in a virtual environment (python3 -m venv, pip, uv), MLX, PyTorch, llama.cpp, Hugging Face models and most other tools.

• On a Mac Studio, Homebrew is there with git, python and uv, but you can't brew install new formulae. See Mac Studio environment.
• On a DGX Spark, CUDA is installed, and the docker command runs containers as you (rootless Podman). See DGX Spark environment.

If you need a system-level package, contact us: we can add it between rentals.

Do I get root or admin rights?#

No. You log in as renter, a standard account without sudo or admin rights. You can't change system settings, other accounts or the SSH configuration. Everything you need for your work installs in your home folder.

Which models fit in 128 GB?#

Roughly: a 70B-parameter model quantised to 4 bits (about 40 GB) with room for a long context, or several smaller models at once. M5 Max vs M5 Ultra: memory sizing works through the maths.

Access#

How do I connect?#

Over SSH, with your key: ssh -p <port> renter@ssh.gputorent.com. The host and user are the same for every machine; the port is your machine's own, and it's on your reservation page once the reservation is live. See Connecting.

Why isn't it port 22?#

Every machine sits behind the same address, ssh.gputorent.com, and has its own port: 2211, 2212 and so on for Mac Studios, 2201, 2202 and so on for DGX Sparks. Some office or hotel networks block ports other than 22; if yours does, try another network or a phone hotspot.

Can I log in with a password?#

No. The machines accept SSH keys only. See Generating a key.

Can I use Jupyter or VS Code?#

Yes. VS Code Remote-SSH connects through your ~/.ssh/config entry, and Jupyter or any other web UI is reached through SSH port forwarding. See VS Code and Jupyter.

Can I see the Mac's desktop?#

Yes. On a Mac Studio, Screen Sharing (VNC) works through an SSH tunnel; no VNC port is open to the internet. See Remote desktop on a Mac Studio.

Can I send email from the machine?#

Not on port 25, which is blocked. Services that send email over ports 587 or 465 with authentication work.

Booking#

Why can't I book today?#

Days run from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC, and a reservation must start at least an hour after you book. Today's 00:00 UTC has already passed, so the earliest day you can book is tomorrow. See Lead time, window and limits.

How far ahead can I book, and for how long?#

Up to 8 weeks ahead, for up to 5 days in one reservation, unless the plan says otherwise. The catalog card shows each plan's rules.

Can I extend a reservation?#

Not the same reservation, but you can book the following days as a new one, if they're free and you're within your limit of current or upcoming reservations. It may be on a different machine, with a different port; copy your work across.

Can I choose a specific machine?#

No. You reserve a plan, and we assign a machine of its type that's free for all your days. Machines of the same type are identical.

What is the instance name for?#

It's your own label for the reservation, so you can tell your reservations apart. It isn't part of the machine's address.

Payment#

When am I charged?#

Once, when you book, for the whole reservation. There's no subscription.

Can I cancel?#

No. Paid reservations can't be cancelled, moved or shortened. You're refunded only if we can't provide the machine. See No cancellations.

Why am I charged VAT?#

VAT is added for customers in Ireland (23%). Prices are shown without VAT, and the checkout shows the VAT before you pay. See Payment, currencies and VAT.

Data#

What happens to my files at the end?#

Everything is permanently erased when your reservation ends: your home folder, your files anywhere else on the machine, the tools you installed, your crontab and background processes, and the account itself, including any keys you added. There are no backups. Copy anything you want to keep before 23:59 UTC on your last day; we email you an hour before the end. See Copying files.

Can I keep a machine's setup between reservations?#

Not on the machine itself. Use a startup script to recreate your setup automatically at the start of each reservation. It runs once, as renter, and writes its output to ~/startup.log.

Is my startup script private?#

It's visible only to you and to us, but it's stored with your reservation. Keep tokens and passwords out of it, and copy a credentials file over SSH once the machine is ready instead: see Keeping secrets out of scripts.

Time zones#

Which time zone are the days in?#

UTC, everywhere: the calendar, the dashboard, the emails and the invoices. Plans and periods shows what 00:00 UTC is in a few common time zones.