Quickstart
Sign up, log in, and get a GPU VM running with the orl CLI in four commands, then connect to it, watch its spend, and stop it when you are done.
This is the fastest path onto OpenRelay: create a key, log in, deploy a GPU VM, and SSH into it. If you want an OpenAI-compatible API to call from your app instead of your own box, use the Inference API.
Create an account and an API key
Sign up at app.openrelay.inc. Add a card and make a deposit to fund your balance.
Signing up creates an organization for you: your workspace that owns your
keys, VMs, and balance. In the dashboard, open Account > API Keys,
create a key, and copy it. The plaintext value (it starts with or_) is shown
once, so paste it somewhere safe.
The key is bound to that organization. You never pass an org id to orl: it
reads the org from the key.
Install and log in
Install orl (see Install), then log in and paste the key when
prompted:
orl auth loginorl stores the key in your OS keyring and confirms which organization it acts
for. Check it any time:
orl auth statusCheck what it costs
GPU VMs are billed per hour while they run. See live rates and what has capacity right now before you deploy:
orl catalog pricing get
orl catalog gpu-availability getDeploy a GPU VM
orl deploy takes a name and at least one --ssh-key, and creates the VM. Pass
--connect to wait for it to boot and drop you into an SSH session:
orl ssh-keys list # pick a key id
orl deploy trainer --gpu-model "h100 pcie" --gpu-count 1 --ssh-key $SSH_KEY_ID --connectGive it only a name and a key in a terminal (orl deploy trainer --ssh-key $SSH_KEY_ID) and orl walks you through the GPU choice from live availability.
--gpu-model takes a catalog id or a model name. Names are matched loosely, so
"h100 pcie", H100 PCIe and h100-pcie are the same model. Where one GPU
ships in more than one board, each is its own model at its own price: H100 PCIe
and H100 SXM are separate choices, not one entry the scheduler picks from. Run
orl catalog gpu-model list to see what is sellable.
Boot takes a few minutes while the VM provisions and starts, longer for
many-GPU shapes. Use --wait instead of --connect if you just want the id
once it is ready, or drop both flags to return immediately.
Connect, watch spend, and stop
Reconnect to a running VM any time, and check your balance and current-month spend:
orl vms ssh <vm-id>
orl balanceA VM keeps billing until you stop or terminate it:
orl vms stop <vm-id> # keep the disk, stop the meter
orl vms terminate <vm-id> # destroy it (asks first; --force to skip)Next steps
- The signature commands and how to script
orlin CI: Workflows - Serve the whole API to an agent with one key: Agents (MCP)
- The same flow with
curland full API detail: API Quickstart
Overview
orl is the OpenRelay command-line tool. Log in with an API key, deploy GPU VMs, open SSH sessions, and drive the whole API from your terminal or an agent.
Authentication
How orl signs you in (a browser device login, or an API key for scripts and CI), picks your organization, and which setting wins when several are set.