> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.thundercompute.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Configure Thunder using VSCode, Cursor, or Devin Desktop. Set up your development environment and establish remote connections with this guide.

export const QuickstartCard = ({title, icon, href, children, selected}) => {
  const enter = e => {
    if (selected) return;
    const el = e.currentTarget;
    el.style.borderColor = '#555';
    el.querySelector('[data-title]').style.color = '#fff';
    el.querySelector('[data-sub]').style.opacity = '0.7';
    el.querySelector('[data-icon]').style.opacity = '0.7';
  };
  const leave = e => {
    if (selected) return;
    const el = e.currentTarget;
    el.style.borderColor = '#333';
    el.querySelector('[data-title]').style.color = '';
    el.querySelector('[data-sub]').style.opacity = '0.5';
    el.querySelector('[data-icon]').style.opacity = '0.35';
  };
  return <a href={href} className="group" style={{
    textDecoration: 'none',
    borderBottom: 'none',
    color: 'inherit',
    display: 'block',
    marginBottom: '0.75rem'
  }}>
    <div className="border rounded-xl p-5 transition-all duration-150 border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-800" style={{
    minHeight: '8rem',
    height: '100%',
    borderWidth: '1.5px',
    borderColor: selected ? '#95c5ea' : '#333'
  }} onMouseEnter={enter} onMouseLeave={leave}>
      <div data-icon style={{
    marginBottom: '0.75rem',
    opacity: selected ? 1 : 0.35,
    transition: 'opacity 0.15s ease'
  }}>
        <Icon icon={icon} size={24} color="#95c5ea" />
      </div>
      <div data-title style={{
    fontWeight: 600,
    fontSize: '1.05rem',
    marginBottom: '0.25rem',
    color: selected ? '#fff' : undefined,
    transition: 'color 0.15s ease'
  }}>{title}</div>
      <div data-sub style={{
    fontSize: '0.9rem',
    opacity: selected ? 0.7 : 0.5,
    transition: 'opacity 0.15s ease'
  }}>{children}</div>
    </div>
  </a>;
};

<Columns cols={4}>
  <QuickstartCard title="VS Code" icon="window" href="/docs/vscode/quickstart" selected={true}>
    Editor extension
  </QuickstartCard>

  <QuickstartCard title="CLI" icon="terminal" href="/docs/cli/quickstart">
    Command line
  </QuickstartCard>

  <QuickstartCard title="Console" icon="browser" href="/docs/console/quickstart">
    Web interface
  </QuickstartCard>

  <QuickstartCard title="MCP Server" icon="robot" href="/docs/mcp-server/quickstart">
    MCP server
  </QuickstartCard>
</Columns>

## Installation

Click the following links to access the Thunder extension:

* [VSCode extension](vscode:extension/ThunderCompute.thunder-compute)
* [Cursor extension](cursor:extension/ThunderCompute.thunder-compute)
* [Devin Desktop extension](windsurf:extension/ThunderCompute.thunder-compute)

You must have already installed the corresponding editor for each link to work.

## Authentication

You may be automatically prompted to login. If not, open the command palette with `Ctrl + Shift + P` (or `Cmd + Shift + P` on macOS) and run `Thunder Compute: Login`.

Your browser will open automatically to complete authentication.

## Add a Payment Method

In the console, [add a payment method](https://console.thundercompute.com/settings/billing) to your account.

## Using The Extension

You can create instances through the [console](https://console.thundercompute.com) or directly through the extension like so:

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/thundercompute/mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq/images/VSCode_Create_Instance.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq&q=85&s=a80a30dc614d4a4ea83ee7004bbe056b" alt="Create Instance" width="1092" height="622" data-path="images/VSCode_Create_Instance.png" />

Click on the `Connect` button next to your instance, shaped like two arrows pointing towards each other.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/thundercompute/mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq/images/VSCode_Connect_Instance.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq&q=85&s=4021cfeb51b37c6263e2d6f85a0a375e" alt="Connect to Instance" width="656" height="183" data-path="images/VSCode_Connect_Instance.png" />

<Note>
  If connecting to the instance fails, check that you have the remote-ssh extension installed on your editor.
</Note>

A new window will open connected to your instance. You can drag files you need into the file explorer, run notebooks, scripts, and more as if they were on your local machine.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/thundercompute/mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq/images/VSCode_SSH.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mmRzgHvGKON9hkSq&q=85&s=bcddd30a99fa944a6b75e9599ccafea3" alt="SSH View" width="925" height="474" data-path="images/VSCode_SSH.png" />

That's it! You're now ready to use Thunder.

## Next Steps

* Check the [pricing page](https://www.thundercompute.com/pricing) for current GPU instance sizes and pricing
* Explore [Technical Specifications](/docs/technical-specs) for hardware, networking, and storage details
* Learn how to [transfer files](/docs/vscode/operations/file-transfers), [create snapshots](/docs/vscode/operations/snapshots), and more in the Operations section
* Learn how to [Run a Jupyter Notebook](/docs/guides/running-jupyter-notebooks-on-thunder-compute)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.