---
title: "Getting started at CARC"
description: "Create a CARC account, join a project in ColdFront, and find support."
type: Guide
tags:
  - Accounts
  - New users
generated:
  by: "claude/fable-5"
  at: "2026-08-29T00:00:00Z"
sources:
  - id: carc-web
    resource: "https://carc.unm.edu/new-users/getting-started-at-carc1.html"
    title: "Getting started at CARC (carc.unm.edu)"
    author: "team:unm-carc"
---

# Getting started at CARC

The UNM Center for Advanced Research Computing provides high-performance
computing resources to facilitate UNM research — free of charge to faculty,
staff, and student researchers, with support from the UNM Office of the Vice
President for Research.

Access is organized around **CARC accounts** (people) and **CARC projects**
(resources). Every user needs an active account, and that account must belong
to a project that holds the compute and storage resources you want to use.

!!! note "Good Neighbor Use Policy"

    By creating a CARC account you agree to abide by the
    [Good Neighbor Use Policy](good-neighbor-policy.md). Please read it first.

## 1. Create your account

=== "UNM affiliates"

    If you have a UNM email address, use the self-service account portal:

    [:material-account-plus: Request an account](https://mokey.alliance.unm.edu){ .md-button .md-button--primary target=_blank }

=== "External collaborators"

    If you do not have a UNM email address, ask your UNM project PI to request
    an account for you:

    [:material-account-arrow-right: Collaborator account request form](https://forms.office.com/r/FJ46nKbPvV){ .md-button target=_blank }

## 2. Join a CARC project

Resources (compute time, storage) are attached to projects, managed through
**ColdFront** at [coldfront.alliance.unm.edu](https://coldfront.alliance.unm.edu/){ target=_blank }.

Ask the project's Principal Investigator — typically your research advisor or
UNM collaborator — to add your account to their project. Once you are on a
project, you can use every resource allocated to it.

## For Principal Investigators

1. **Create a project** in [ColdFront](https://coldfront.alliance.unm.edu){ target=_blank }.
   PI eligibility follows the
   [UNM criteria for Principal Investigator status](https://osp.unm.edu/pi-resources/pi-eligibility.html){ target=_blank }.
2. **Request resources** (compute and storage allocations) for the project
   through ColdFront.
3. **Add accounts** — the PI is responsible for adding collaborators' and
   students' accounts to the project.

For walkthroughs of project management and the annual review process, see the
[video tutorials](../training/videos.md).

## Data access and stewardship

CARC follows the data stewardship policies defined by the University for data
ownership and succession for all data stored on CARC systems. Review the
restrictions on regulated data (HIPAA, PHI, PCI, FERPA, CUI) in the
[Good Neighbor Use Policy](good-neighbor-policy.md).

## Next steps

* [Log in to a cluster](logging-in.md) with SSH.
* [Transfer your data](transferring-data.md) onto CARC storage.
* [Run your first Slurm job](../running-jobs/slurm-intro.md).
* New to the command line? Start with the [introduction to Linux](linux-intro.md).

## Video walkthroughs

**Creating an Account** — from the [CARC video tutorials](../training/videos.md):

<iframe class="carc-video" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ewyqLP-Eo_4" title="Creating an Account" loading="lazy" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**CARC Project Management with ColdFront** — for PIs and project managers:

<iframe class="carc-video" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HJcjOSNWp1U" title="CARC Project Management with ColdFront" loading="lazy" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More episodes — including the [Annual Project Review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxMfmShVWk){target=_blank}
walkthrough — are on the [video tutorials page](../training/videos.md).

## Questions?

Submit a help request to <help@carc.unm.edu>, open a ticket at
[support.alliance.unm.edu](https://support.alliance.unm.edu/){ target=_blank },
or visit [office and consultation hours](../support/help.md).