Sign in and create an account¶
One door at 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. Public Marshall 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 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) |
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,
and buy credits. Public-research organizations cannot earn the
feedback reward, 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) and no clusters; its members request whole GPU
nodes, one at a time, from Marshall through Public Research.
GET /api/whoami
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 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, 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; organizations outside the public research program are set up by arrangement.