First connection workflow

From choosing a plan to connecting to your Cloud Mac, complete every task on this checklist

OakVPS provides dedicated physical Cloud Macs for development workloads. Start by confirming your Apple Silicon workload, memory, storage, and location, then complete the order, payment, SSH connection, and environment checks. All three configurations use dedicated physical hardware, not virtual machines.

With everything ready, plan selection, term confirmation, payment confirmation, and first connection take about 4 minutes; actual provisioning status is shown in real time in the console.

Checklist Order → Confirm → Connect → Verify
About 4 minutes
01
Choose resources Model, location, and term
About 1 minute
02
Review order Add-ons and USD price
About 1 minute
03
Complete payment Wait for order confirmation
About 1 minute
04
Start connection Save the fingerprint and verify the system
About 1 minute
3 Apple Silicon configurations 5 physical locations Day, week, month, and quarter terms
Before you begin

Clarify these five inputs before opening the configuration page

Choose a configuration based on peak workload, data volume, access location, and usage duration—not just the model name. Decide these conditions in advance to reduce post-order environment changes.

Workload

Confirm the workload requires Apple Silicon

List the Xcode, fastlane, Homebrew, MLX, and other macOS tools you will use, and note the system version and architecture required by the project. If the workload needs a graphical interface, confirm local network and remote-session requirements in advance.

Memory and storage

Choose for peak usage, not idle usage

Running simulators, installing dependencies, and building in parallel can use more memory than an idle project. Storage planning should include source code, dependency caches, DerivedData, archives, model files, and final artifacts, with working room left for cleanup.

Location

Choose a location based on access and team time zones

Available locations are Singapore, Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), Hong Kong, and the Western United States. Prefer a location near the main operator or build dependencies; standard combinations are available in the catalog, while real-time availability is shown in the console.

Rental term

Choose a day, week, month, or quarter based on the task

For a single release check, start by considering a daily term; for focused iteration, compare weekly billing; for continuous builds and team environments, compare monthly or quarterly terms. Review the total price, task duration, and artifact export plan—not just the term name.

Local tools

Prepare an SSH client and local key

Confirm that your local terminal can run ssh, prepare a separately managed key, and know where the private-key file is stored. Before connecting, never submit private keys, certificate passwords, or complete payment details to a marketing site or in ordinary email text.

From order to ready

A four-step timeline, with one key confirmation per step

The approximately 4 minutes refers to the time needed to configure and make the first connection; it does not represent a fixed provisioning time. Payment confirmation and device status are based on real-time console results.

01

Choose one of three models and one of five locations

Choose Oak M4, Oak M4 Plus, or Oak M4 Pro for the workload, then select a physical location from Singapore, Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), Hong Kong, and the Western United States.

About 1 minute
02

Confirm the term, storage, and add-ons

Choose daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly billing; check whether you need +1TB SSD, +2TB SSD, or Thunderbolt 5 connectivity; then review the order's total USD price again.

About 1 minute
03

Complete payment and read the order confirmation

Use USDT-TRC20, or pay through Stripe with Visa, Mastercard, or Amex. Both methods are settled in USD; available payment gateways are determined by the real-time backend response.

About 1 minute
04

Read the connection details and make your first SSH connection

Get the host address, username, and port from the console. Verify and save the host fingerprint, then run system-information and disk-space checks.

About 1 minute
Ordering steps

Lock in your configuration using memory, storage, and duration

All three models are available in all five locations. Prices are shown for the selected term, and add-ons are added separately; before submitting, review the model, location, term, and final USD amount item by item.

Light development and short tasks

Oak M4

$19.1/day

Suitable for projects with manageable dependencies, single-task builds, and short-term macOS environment use.

ChipM4
Memory16GB
Storage256GB
Choose Oak M4
High-memory experiments and large caches

Oak M4 Pro

$59.8/day

Suitable for workloads that need 64GB of unified memory, large model files, parallel tasks, or larger local datasets.

ChipM4 Pro
Memory64GB
Storage2TB
Choose Oak M4 Pro
Final pre-order check

Confirm that the order shows the target model, correct location, required term, and add-ons. If the workload will generate large caches or model files, estimate total project usage first rather than choosing storage based only on the source directory size.

Payment and billing

Two payment methods, all settled in USD

The marketing site does not collect payment information. Payment is completed during checkout, and available gateways are determined by the real-time backend response.

On-chain payment

USDT-TRC20

Follow the amount and recipient details shown on the order page. Verify the network, address, and amount before submitting. Never send wallet private keys, seed phrases, or complete payment credentials by email.

Settlement currency USD
Card payment

Visa / Mastercard / Amex

Card payments are processed through Stripe. Check the order amount and term before paying, then return to the console to view the order status. Do not resubmit the same payment while it is still processing.

Settlement currency USD
First SSH connection

Verify the fingerprint first, then verify the machine and disk

The goal of the first connection is not to start building immediately. Establish a trusted connection record, confirm that the ordered configuration matches the system information, and save the basic details needed for later troubleshooting.

01 Gather connection fields

Read the host address, username, port, and host fingerprint from the console. Do not guess the address from an old order or paste connection credentials into public questions or shared documents.

02 Restrict private-key permissions

In your local terminal, confirm that the private key is readable only by the current user, preventing SSH from rejecting it because its permissions are too broad.

03 Verify the host fingerprint

During the first connection, compare the fingerprint shown in the terminal character by character with the console information. Save it only after confirming a match; never accept an unknown fingerprint unconditionally.

04 Verify system status

After signing in, record the system version, hardware architecture, available disk space, and current user. Confirm that they match the order and project requirements.

First connection commands Run in the local terminal
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/oakvps_ed25519

ssh -i ~/.ssh/oakvps_ed25519 \
  -p <port> <username>@<host>

sw_vers
uname -m
df -h /
whoami
Expected architecture:arm64 Save:System version, free disk space, first connection time
Development environment setup

Build a reproducible environment in a fixed order

Pin tool versions first, then install project dependencies. Reversing the order can cause caches, command-line tool paths, and project scripts to interfere with one another and makes reproduction harder.

01 Confirm Xcode

Record the current Xcode version and active developer directory, and confirm that the SDK and build target required by the project are available. If the team has a version baseline, add the check command and result to the handoff record.

02 Check command-line tools

Confirm that xcode-select, Git, Shell, and the basic commands required by the project scripts run successfully. Do not overwrite system tools in bulk before confirming their versions.

03 Install dependency managers

Restore dependencies using the tools actually used by the project, such as Swift Package Manager, CocoaPods, or Ruby Bundler, and record the lockfile and tool versions.

04 Clone the project repository

Use least-privilege repository credentials and place the project in the agreed working directory. Import sensitive tokens only when needed, and avoid writing them to shell history, repository files, or shared logs.

Version record Xcode, system, dependency tools
Directory convention Source, cache, logs, artifacts
Credential boundaries Least privilege, import as needed
First task validation

Run a lightweight check before the full build

The first task should be short, repeatable, and produce clear output. The goal is to validate the toolchain, directory permissions, log location, and exit method—not to immediately run the longest pipeline.

First task validation items and pass criteria
Validation item Action Pass criteria Record
Toolchain Read the Xcode, Swift, and project dependency-tool versions Versions match the project baseline and the active path is clear Version numbers and command output
Lightweight build Run a single target, test target, or environment-check script The command exits normally and error output is traceable Command, exit code, and duration
Artifact directory Generate an identifiable test artifact The file can be read, packaged, and exported Absolute path and naming convention
Log path Confirm where build logs and diagnostic information are written Redacted logs can be extracted on failure Log path and retention method
Free disk space Check usage on the system disk, caches, and project directory Sufficient working space remains before the full task Total, used, and available space
Exit method End foreground tasks and safely exit the SSH session The task state is clear and no interactive process is left behind Stop command and handoff notes
Preserve context first when validation fails

Record the order ID, location, time, command, exit code, and redacted logs, then troubleshoot in this order: Xcode version, dependency cache, credentials, disk space, and network conditions.

Handoff and ongoing management

Hand the order status, environment record, and artifact locations to the next operator

A Cloud development task does not end when the terminal closes. The next operator should be able to understand the machine's current state, continue the task, or complete cleanup safely.

Order and status

View and manage everything in the console

Check the order ID, model, location, rental term, and current status. Renewals, order management, and support tickets are all accessed through the console; do not submit payment details or connection credentials on the marketing site.

Open console
Handoff record

Keep the minimum information needed for reproducibility

Record the system and Xcode versions, project commit, dependency-tool versions, artifact directory, log path, and free disk space. Record only how credentials are managed; never put private keys, tokens, or certificate passwords in the handoff document.

View security baseline
Incident handling

Submit reproducible, redacted information

For connection, build, or order issues, prepare the order ID, location, time, reproduction steps, exit code, and redacted logs, then submit a ticket through the console. Do not attach private keys or complete payment credentials.

View troubleshooting guide
Ready to begin

Enter configuration with a task checklist instead of choosing a machine by instinct

Confirm the workload, memory, storage, location, and term first, then choose one of the three dedicated physical machines. All charges are settled in USD; only USDT-TRC20 and Visa / Mastercard / Amex (through Stripe) are supported.