> ## 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 the Thunder Compute CLI for Mac, Windows or Linux. Deploy your first cloud instance in minutes.

<Columns cols={4}>
  <Card title="VS Code" icon="window" href="/vscode/quickstart" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card">
    Editor extension
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI" icon="terminal" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card platform-current">
    Command line
  </Card>

  <Card title="Console" icon="browser" href="/console/quickstart" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card">
    Web interface
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Server" icon="robot" href="/mcp-server/quickstart" color="#95c5ea" className="platform-card">
    MCP server
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Installation

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Windows">
    Download the installer for x64 from [here (most common)](https://storage.googleapis.com/thunder-cli/tnr/releases/latest/windows/tnr_windows_amd64.msi) or for ARM64 from [here](https://storage.googleapis.com/thunder-cli/tnr/releases/latest/windows/tnr_windows_arm64.msi) and run the .msi file.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="MacOS">
    Download the installer for Apple Silicon (ARM64) from [here (most common)](https://storage.googleapis.com/thunder-cli/tnr/releases/latest/macos/tnr_darwin_arm64.pkg) or the Intel x64 from [here](https://storage.googleapis.com/thunder-cli/tnr/releases/latest/macos/tnr_darwin_amd64.pkg) and run the .pkg file.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux">
    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Thunder-Compute/thunder-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Authentication

Run the following command to log in to the CLI:

```bash theme={null}
tnr login
```

Your browser will open automatically to complete authentication.

## Add a Payment Method

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

## Using Thunder Compute

```bash theme={null}
# Create an instance
tnr create

# Check on your instance
tnr status

# Connect to a running instance
tnr connect 0
```

## Next Steps

* Learn about [Development vs Production](/development-vs-production) to choose the right mode for your workload
* Explore [Technical Specifications](/technical-specs) for hardware, networking, and storage details
* Learn how to [transfer files](/cli/operations/file-transfers), [create snapshots](/cli/operations/snapshots), and more in the Operations section
* Learn how to [Run a Jupyter Notebook](/guides/running-jupyter-notebooks-on-thunder-compute)