# Welcome to Nuvolos

Nuvolos is a cloud platform that brings computation, data management, and collaboration together in a single browser-based environment. Everything runs in containerised [applications](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/applications) inside your own [instance](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/organisational-hierarchy#instances), so there is nothing to install locally.

<div data-full-width="false"><figure><img src="https://3097191622-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fy9sSCUnZ9BmXDBQ0LeSP%2Fuploads%2FmkAv0n3ygYdRkD2WDbZk%2Fnuvolos-layer%20v13.png?alt=media&#x26;token=6c7cf798-f4fa-44f3-b14e-ad841f5726df" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Get started

Pick the guide that matches your role:

* [**Instructors**](https://docs.nuvolos.com/getting-started/instructors) — set up a course, distribute materials, manage assignments, and invite students.
* [**Students**](https://docs.nuvolos.com/getting-started/students) — join a course, start applications, and snapshot your work.
* [**Researchers**](https://docs.nuvolos.com/getting-started/researchers) — create projects, manage data, run applications, and collaborate with colleagues.

## What you can do on Nuvolos

| Capability                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Run applications**           | Launch [RStudio, JupyterLab, MATLAB, VS Code, and more](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/applications) — any Linux-compatible tool runs on Nuvolos. [Scale resources](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/applications/application-resources) from 1 CU to dedicated GPU nodes as your workload demands.                                                                                 |
| **Manage data**                | Store files on a high-performance [file system](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/file-system-and-storage), query structured data in the [Scientific Data Warehouse](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/database-integration), or attach [add-on databases](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/applications/add-ons) like PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Neo4j.                                 |
| **Version your work**          | Take [snapshots](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/snapshots) to create immutable, point-in-time records of files, tables, and application configurations. Restore or compare any previous state.                                                                                                                                                                |
| **Distribute and collaborate** | [Distribute](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/distribution) materials to students or collaborators in one step. Work in parallel [instances](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts/organisational-hierarchy#instances) and merge results when ready.                                                                                         |
| **Automate workflows**         | Use the [CLI and Python API](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-cli-and-python-api) to script application runs, schedule jobs, and build reproducible pipelines.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| **Control costs**              | Track compute and storage usage through [resource pools](https://docs.nuvolos.com/pricing-and-billing/resource-pools-and-budgets), [right-size applications](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/applications/application-resources#changing-application-resources), and [rest unused spaces](https://docs.nuvolos.com/administration/space-management/resting-spaces) to optimise spend. |

## Learn more

* [Basic concepts](https://docs.nuvolos.com/features/nuvolos-basic-concepts) — understand the organisational hierarchy, snapshots, distribution, and applications.
* [Administration](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-docs/blob/main/administration/README.md) — manage roles, spaces, instances, and resource usage.
* [Pricing and billing](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-docs/blob/main/pricing-and-billing/README.md) — learn about subscriptions, credits, and cost control.
* [User guides](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-docs/blob/main/user-guides/README.md) — step-by-step guides for education, research, and application-specific workflows.
* [Help and reference](https://github.com/nuvolos-cloud/nuvolos-docs/blob/main/help-and-reference/README.md) — FAQs, glossary, and troubleshooting.