Deploy your first Pod

Run code on a remote GPU in minutes.

Follow this guide to learn how to create an account, deploy your first GPU , and use it to execute code remotely.

Step 1: Create an account

Start by creating a Runpod account:

1. Sign up here.
2. Verify your email address.
3. Set up two-factor authentication (recommended for security).

Step 2: Deploy a Pod

Now that you’ve created your account, you’re ready to deploy your first Pod:

Web

1. Open the Pods page in the web interface.
2. Click the Deploy button.
3. Select A40 from the list of graphics cards (or any other GPU that’s available).
4. In the field under Pod Name, enter the name quickstart-pod.
5. Keep all other fields (Pod Template, GPU Count, and Instance Pricing) on their default settings.
6. Click Deploy On-Demand to deploy and start your Pod. You’ll be redirected back to the Pods page after a few seconds.

If you haven’t set up payments yet, you’ll be prompted to add a payment method and purchase credits for your account.

Terminal

First, create an API key if you haven’t already. Export it as an environment variable:

export RUNPOD_API_KEY="your-api-key"

Then deploy your Pod:

curl --request POST \
  --url https://rest.runpod.io/v1/pods \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "name": "quickstart-pod",
    "imageName": "runpod/pytorch:2.1.0-py3.10-cuda11.8.0-devel-ubuntu22.04",
    "gpuTypeIds": ["NVIDIA A40"],
    "gpuCount": 1
  }'

The response includes your Pod ID:

{
  "id": "uv9wy55tyv30lo",
  "name": "quickstart-pod",
  "desiredStatus": "RUNNING",
  ...
}

Save it for later:

export RUNPOD_POD_ID="uv9wy55tyv30lo"

Step 3: Execute code on your Pod

Once your Pod finishes initializing, connect and run some code:

Web

1. On the Pods page, click your Pod to open the detail pane.
2. Under HTTP Services, click Jupyter Lab to open a JupyterLab workspace.
3. Under Notebook, select Python 3 (ipykernel).
4. Type print("Hello, world!") in the first cell and click the play button.

Terminal

You’ll need an SSH key added to your account for this to work.

Get your Pod’s SSH connection details:

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://rest.runpod.io/v1/pods/$RUNPOD_POD_ID" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY"

The response includes publicIp and portMappings:

{
  "id": "uv9wy55tyv30lo",
  "publicIp": "194.68.245.207",
  "portMappings": {
    "22": 22100
  },
  ...
}

Use these values to connect via SSH:

ssh root@194.68.245.207 -p 22100
python3 -c "print('Hello, world!')"

Congratulations! You just ran your first line of code on Runpod.

Step 4: Clean up

To avoid incurring unnecessary charges, clean up your Pod resources.

Terminating a Pod permanently deletes all data that isn’t stored in a . Be sure that you’ve saved any data you might need to access again.

Web

To stop your Pod:

1. Return to the Pods page and click your running Pod.
2. Click the Stop button (pause icon) to stop your Pod.
3. Click Stop Pod in the modal that opens to confirm.

You’ll still be charged a small amount for storage on stopped Pods ($0.20 per GB per month). If you don’t need to retain any data on your Pod, you should terminate it completely.

To terminate your Pod:

1. Click the Terminate button (trash icon).
2. Click Terminate Pod to confirm.

Terminal

Stop your Pod:

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://rest.runpod.io/v1/pods/$RUNPOD_POD_ID/stop" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY"

You’ll still be charged a small amount for storage on stopped Pods ($0.20 per GB per month). If you don’t need to retain any data on your Pod, terminate it completely:

curl --request DELETE \
  --url "https://rest.runpod.io/v1/pods/$RUNPOD_POD_ID" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RUNPOD_API_KEY"

Next steps

Generate API keys

Create API keys for programmatic resource management.

Manage your account

Create teams and invite collaborators.

Choose the right Pod

Learn how to select the best Pod for your workload.

Pod pricing

Review pricing options for Pods.

Explore tutorials

Follow step-by-step guides for specific AI/ML use cases.

Runpod Serverless

Start building production-ready applications.

Need help?

• Join the Runpod community on Discord.
• Submit a support request using our contact page.
• Reach out to us via email.