Quickstart
NVIDIA’s Brev platform simplifies GPU access by offering virtual machine instances with various GPU types. Instead of being limited to one cloud provider, Brev pulls resources from multiple providers, helping you find the right GPU setup for your workload.
Brev allows you to create, manage, and access your GPU instances.
This guide will help you build a fully configured GPU development environment and launch your first instance in three steps.
Prerequisites
- A Brev account: sign up at brev.nvidia.com
- A terminal: (macOS Terminal, Linux shell, or Windows WSL)
- For macOS: Homebrew installed
Install the Brev CLI
The Brev CLI manages your GPU instances from the terminal. Choose from one of the following platforms:
Expected output: You should see a version number printed, confirming the CLI is installed.
Authenticate
Log in to your Brev account. This opens your browser for authentication.
After logging in, your credentials are stored in ~/.brev/. This directory also contains your SSH keys for connecting to instances.
For headless environments: Use brev login --token to authenticate with an API token instead of browser OAuth. Copy the command from the CLI settings page.
Create and Connect to Your Instance
Create a GPU instance and open a shell session:
The brev create command provisions an instance with the specified GPU. This takes a few minutes while the instance starts. Once ready, brev shell opens a terminal session on the instance.
You can also create instances in the Brev Console. If you do, run brev refresh to sync them to your CLI, then brev list to see all your instances.
Refer to the GPU Types catalog for all available GPUs.
Verify Your Setup
After connecting to your instance, verify the GPU is available:
You can see a table showing your GPU name (NVIDIA L40S), driver version, and CUDA version. This confirms the GPU is accessible and drivers are configured correctly.
