Bare metal

A bare-metal machine gives you exclusive use of one physical Mac. Use it for workloads that need dedicated hardware.

You sign in to a bare-metal Mac as a permissive, non-root user. For changes that need an administrator, such as system settings and launch daemons, use a virtual machine. See Compute types.

Choose how to manage bare metal

Portal
mthr CLI
Kubernetes

Open the launch page in the portal. Keep the suggested machine name or enter your own, choose a Mac configuration and image, then click Launch machine.The portal then opens the machine’s page, which shows its state and updates on its own. A Mac is usually ready in under a minute. When it is ready for access, the page shows the mthr CLI commands to connect:

mthr bm ssh BM_NAME
mthr bm desktop BM_NAME

To restart the Mac, click Restart on its page. Access drops while it boots, usually for a minute or two.To release it, click Release Mac. Releasing ends the lease and wipes the Mac. Time on a Mac is charged in 24-hour windows, and a window you have started is not refunded.

Allocate

The interactive command prompts for a name and machine class:

mthr bm allocate

For a repeatable command, pass the machine name and class:

mthr bm allocate BM_NAME --class m4-24g

Allocation renders progress and returns when the Mac is ready for access.

Connect

mthr bm ssh BM_NAME

Access is controlled by your Mount Thor identity and account permissions. The CLI grants temporary access to the machine, so you do not need to manage a machine password or SSH keys yourself.For desktop access:

mthr bm desktop BM_NAME

The CLI creates a secure local port forward for the desktop connection. On macOS, it opens the built-in Screen Sharing app automatically. On Linux, it tries vncviewer, remmina, and xdg-open, in that order. To use another VNC client, add --no-launch and connect to the local URL the CLI prints. Keep the command running while you use the desktop connection.A first desktop session starts at the macOS login window. Sign in there as the Mac’s own local account: mthr bm desktop prints its username and password when it opens the connection. Apple’s Screen Sharing app cannot fill them in for you, so type both values. The password is printed only to a terminal; add --show-password to print it when the output goes to a file or another program. SSH goes through the CLI’s tunnel and never asks for them.

Inspect

mthr bm ls
mthr bm get BM_NAME

bm ls shows each Mac’s state and whether it is ready for access:

NAME         CLASS   IMAGE     STATUS   ACCESS  AGE
lunar-otter  m4-24g  macos-26  Running  ready   1h

Release

mthr bm free BM_NAME

Releasing the Mac ends access and returns it to the pool. Charges for any paid minimum window that has already started still apply; releasing early does not issue a refund. See Billing for usage and costs.

Compute

Platform

API Reference

Choose how to manage bare metal

Allocate

Connect

Inspect

Release

​Choose how to manage bare metal

​Allocate

​Connect

​Inspect

​Release

Choose how to manage bare metal

Allocate

Connect

Inspect

Release