# Sign in and create an account

One door at [nationalcompute.com](https://nationalcompute.com): **Log in
with Google**, or an email address that receives a sign-in link. Members
who were given a password use **I have a password** on the same page.
Programmatic access is described in [Authentication](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/authentication.md).
[Public Marshall](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/public-marshall.md) provides model chat without sign-in;
saved sessions, shells and persistent files require sign-in.

## The email link

Typing your address and choosing **Continue with email** sends one mail.
The link in it signs you in on the browser that opens it and expires 30
minutes after it was sent; a link found later does nothing. Anyone who
opens the link before then is signed in as you, so do not forward it. An
account with an authenticator app or a passkey is asked for it after the
link, as on a password sign-in.

A session started from an email link lasts 30 days on that browser.
Google and password sessions last 7 days. Signing out ends either at once.

## Who can create an account

What happens when you type an address depends on the address:

| Address | What happens |
|---|---|
| One the platform already knows (a member, an invitee, a Google account that signed in before) | You receive a sign-in link |
| A new one at an institution with a `.edu`, `.mil` or `.gov` domain | A confirmation mail; opening its link creates your account and your public research organization |
| A new one that an existing organization's [rules](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/api/organization.md#members-and-invitations) admit | A confirmation mail; opening its link creates your account and you join that organization |
| Any other new address | The waitlist: the address is recorded and you are emailed when a spot opens ([below](#the-waitlist)) |

A new account cannot sign in until the link in its confirmation mail is
opened; opening it signs you in. If the mail never arrived, type the same
address on the sign-in page again and a new confirmation is sent. Some
email providers delay or block inbound mail: if nothing has arrived after
a few minutes, email support@nationalcompute.com.

## Public research organizations

An account created for a `.edu`, `.mil` or `.gov` address comes with its
own organization, named `<you>-<institution>` from the address
(`jdoe@cs.stanford.edu` becomes `jdoe-stanford`; a `-2` suffix resolves a
collision). It is an organization like any other: you are its owner and
can add members, set [join rules](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/api/organization.md#members-and-invitations),
and buy credits. Public-research organizations cannot earn the
[feedback reward](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/api/mcp.md#feedback-rewards), even after buying credits;
their feedback is still recorded. The organization includes $100 of
credits to get started (a deposit of source `airdrop` on the
[ledger](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/api/billing.md#the-ledger)) and no clusters; its members request whole GPU
nodes, one at a time, from Marshall through [Public Research](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/public-research.md).
[`GET /api/whoami`](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/authentication.md#discovering-what-a-token-can-address)
and the MCP tool `grid_whoami` report it as `org_kind: public_research`;
every other organization reads `standard`.

A join rule for a whole `.edu`, `.mil` or `.gov` institution
(`stanford.edu`) is refused with `400`; a department or lab domain
(`lab.cs.stanford.edu`) or an individual address is accepted.

## Data sharing

Organizations created for `.edu` addresses take part in the
[Marshall data-sharing program](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/marshall-data-sharing.md#tiers) at tier 2
(analytics, transcripts and training artifacts) as a condition of the
public research program. The setting is managed by National Compute: the
organization's data-sharing page shows it as
[placed](https://docs.nationalcompute.com/marshall-data-sharing.md#changing-the-tier), and changes go
through National Compute. Organizations created for `.gov` and `.mil`
addresses start at tier 0 (usage analytics only) and may opt in from their
data-sharing page.

## The waitlist

Early access is available in waves for public users. An address the door
cannot admit today is placed on the waitlist: the address and the time are
recorded, nothing else, and the page says so. When a spot opens you receive
an email ("National Compute sign-ups are open") — come back and sign in with
the same address; your account and your own organization are then created
exactly as for a `.edu`, `.mil` or `.gov` address, including the welcome
credits. If you already had an account, the email says your organization is
ready and you only sign in. Signing in again before then does not move you
up the list.

Signing in with Google from an address outside the program creates your
account but no organization. The console then shows the waitlist page
instead: your address is recorded, and the moment a spot opens your
organization is created and the page you are on opens it — no need to sign
in again, and no need to wait for the email. The page also links to the
public console, which you can explore while you wait. The first time an
organization opens, Marshall may say "Setting up your organization" for up
to a minute while your workspace is placed and started; it continues by
itself.

Sign-ups may also be paused for a while (the sign-in page keeps working for
existing accounts). A `.edu`, `.mil` or `.gov` address that arrives during a
pause is queued first in line and emailed when sign-ups reopen. Signing in
with Google during a pause still creates your account; your organization
follows when sign-ups reopen, and the waitlist page opens it.

Questions, or something to tell us about what you want to run? Write to
[support@nationalcompute.com](mailto:support@nationalcompute.com);
organizations outside the public research program are set up by
arrangement.