# Access & manage instances

You can see the status of all your reservations, spot bids, and individual instances on the **Instances** page.

<figure><img src="/files/IaM8yuvn5rFMFhl4U9Wd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Accessing instances

All of your instances are accessible using the instance IP address and your selected SSH key:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Prepare your key

Before connecting, make sure you have the correct permissions on your private key file. You can do this with the following command:

```bash
chmod 600 /path/to/your/private/key
```

Replace **/path/to/your/private/key** with the path to your actual private key file.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Connect to the instance

Use the following command to connect to your instance:

```bash
ssh -i /path/to/your/private/key ubuntu@<ip>
```

Again, replace **/path/to/your/private/key** with the path to your actual private key file.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### (Optional) Add additional users and keys

Once you are connected, you can add additional users and keys. Here's an example of how you can do this:

```bash
# Create a new user

sudo adduser new_user

# Switch to the new user

sudo su - new_user

# Create .ssh directory for the new user

mkdir ~/.ssh

# Change the directory permissions

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

# Create authorized_keys file

touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

# Add the public key to the authorized_keys file

echo "new_user_public_key" >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

# Change the file permissions

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
```

Replace **new\_user** with the username of the new user, and **new\_user\_public\_key** with the new user's public SSH key.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.mithril.ai/compute-and-storage/access-and-manage-instances.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.