# ix

> ix runs machines: full virtual computers with their own disk and kernel, started from the CLI or an SDK, billed for what they use.

## Start a VM

Install the CLI: `curl https://ix.dev | sh`
Sign in as a person: `ix login`. For an agent or a server, mint a key with `ix keys create <name> --limit <usd>` and set `IX_TOKEN`.
Boot: `ix new --name hello --no-shell`. Run a command: `ix shell hello --noninteractive -- uname -a`. Remove: `ix rm hello --force`.
SDK: `bun add @indexable/sdk`, `pip install ix-sdk` or `cargo add ix-sdk`. The API endpoint is https://api.ix.dev/rpc (WebTransport, bearer token), see the API page.

Every page in one file: https://ix.dev/llms-full.txt. Fetch it and grep it.

## Get started

- [Quickstart](https://ix.dev/docs/quickstart): An API key, the SDK, and your first machine.
- [Start a machine](https://ix.dev/docs/start-a-machine): Install the CLI, sign in, and run a machine from the terminal or the SDK.
- [Machines](https://ix.dev/docs/machines): One size of machine, sized for anything, metered on use.
## Guides

- [Secrets and keys](https://ix.dev/docs/secrets): Write-only secrets, and keys with spending ceilings.
- [Networking](https://ix.dev/docs/networking): Private, encrypted links between your machines.
- [Snapshots](https://ix.dev/docs/snapshots): A whole machine at one moment, back in under a second.
- [Backups](https://ix.dev/docs/backups): Every disk, copied to storage you own.
- [Agents](https://ix.dev/docs/agents): A machine and a capped key for every agent.
- [Sealed](https://ix.dev/docs/security): Memory and disk encrypted by the CPU, keyed to the machine.
- [Metering](https://ix.dev/docs/billing): CPU, memory and disk, paid for as they are used.
- [Pricing](https://ix.dev/docs/pricing): The rate card, and what an idle or stopped machine costs.
## Reference

- [API](https://ix.dev/docs/api): The address, the credential and the operations behind the CLI and the SDKs.
- [SDK](https://ix.dev/docs/sdk): TypeScript, Python and Rust, generated from one core.
- [SDK reference](https://ix.dev/docs/sdk-reference): Every object, method and record, generated from the source the SDKs are built from.
- [CLI](https://ix.dev/docs/cli): Every command and flag, generated from the binary.
## Examples

- [Start a server in a machine](https://ix.dev/docs/examples/start-a-server): A machine boots from a plain systemd image with one extra program, an exec service. You call it from TypeScript over RPC v3 to start a web server, then open the machine's public URL.

The CLI has one page per command, 50 in all, under https://ix.dev/docs/cli/<command> (ix 2026-09-17T02:30:25Z (85a51b417d)).