Automate Infrastructure with the Nodepick Python SDK

The Nodepick Python SDK gives you a clean, Pythonic interface for provisioning and managing isolated Linux kernel nodes directly from your code. Whether you’re spinning up ephemeral compute for a CI pipeline, a data processing job, or an AI workload, the SDK handles the API calls so you can focus on what runs on the node.

Installation

Install the nodepick package from PyPI using pip:

pip install nodepick

Initialization

Import the nodepick class and instantiate a client with your API key:

from nodepick import nodepick

client = nodepick(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

Avoid hardcoding your API key in source files. Instead, read it from an environment variable:

import os
from nodepick import nodepick

client = nodepick(api_key=os.environ["NODEPICK_API_KEY"])

Set the variable in your shell before running your script:

export NODEPICK_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"

Core Operations

Create a Node

Call create_node() to provision a new Linux kernel node. The method returns a dictionary containing the node’s id, status, and other metadata:

node = client.create_node()
node_id = node["id"]
print(f"Node created: {node_id}")
print(f"Status: {node['status']}")

Get Node Details

Once provisioning is complete, retrieve the node’s full details — including its IP address and SSH connection info — using get_node_details():

details = client.get_node_details(node_id)
print(f"IP Address: {details['ip_address']}")
print(f"SSH: ssh root@{details['ip_address']}")

Delete a Node

When you’re finished with a node, delete it to immediately stop billing:

client.delete_node(node_id)
print("Node deleted")

Using the Context Manager

The nodepick client supports Python’s context manager protocol, which automatically calls client.close() when the with block exits — even if an exception is raised.

from nodepick import nodepick

with nodepick(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY") as client:
    node = client.create_node()
    node_id = node["id"]

    details = client.get_node_details(node_id)
    print(f"SSH: ssh root@{details['ip_address']}")

    # Cleanup
    client.delete_node(node_id)
# Client is automatically closed

The context manager calls client.close() automatically when the with block exits. You do not need to call it manually when using this pattern.

Complete Workflow Example

The following script demonstrates a full end-to-end lifecycle: creating a node, waiting for it to be ready, retrieving its connection details, performing work, and then cleaning up.

import os
from nodepick import nodepick

# Initialize the client using an environment variable
with nodepick(api_key=os.environ["NODEPICK_API_KEY"]) as client:

    # Step 1: Provision a new node
    print("Creating node...")
    node = client.create_node()
    node_id = node["id"]
    print(f"Node created: {node_id} (status: {node['status']})")

    # Step 2: Retrieve connection details once the node is running
    details = client.get_node_details(node_id)
    ip = details["ip_address"]
    print(f"Node is running at {ip}")
    print(f"Connect with: ssh root@{ip}")

    # Step 3: Do your work here
    # e.g. run remote commands via paramiko, subprocess, or fabric

    # Step 4: Delete the node to stop billing
    client.delete_node(node_id)
    print(f"Node {node_id} deleted. Billing stopped.")

# client.close() is called automatically here

Always delete nodes as soon as your workload completes. Nodepick bills per second from the moment a node is created until it is deleted. Leaving nodes running unnecessarily will result in unexpected charges.

Get Started

Nodes

Guides

Automate Infrastructure with the Nodepick Python SDK

Installation

Initialization

Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

Core Operations

Using the Context Manager

Complete Workflow Example

​Installation

​Initialization

​Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

​Core Operations

​Using the Context Manager

​Complete Workflow Example

Installation

Initialization

Using Environment Variables (Recommended)

Core Operations

Using the Context Manager

Complete Workflow Example