# Accessing NCShare for Research

<span>Your App State username and password are used to access NCShare. </span>[Watch a video of the NCShare Account Claim Process](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJUBFfbDrk).

**If you have not yet accessed the NCShare cluster before**, you must first register using this link:

[https://ncshare-com-01.ncshare.org/registry/co\_petitions/start/coef:1](https://ncshare-com-01.ncshare.org/registry/co_petitions/start/coef:1)

<span>Then you can use the </span>**cluster management center** using this link:

[https://ood.ncshare.org/](https://ood.ncshare.org/)

<span>Be sure to type in </span>**Appalachian State University** as the institution.

<span>Once you are logged into the </span>**Open OnDemand dashboard**<span>, navigate to </span>**Interactive Apps**<span> and then click on </span>**Shell**<span>. You can create a Shell instance with your chosen specifications. </span>**It will take a few minutes**<span> for the connection to be created, but then you will see a </span>**Connect button**<span> that launches your Shell session.</span>

<span>For help with NCShare, </span>[visit their documentation here](https://userguide.ncshare.org/)<span> or </span>[contact Systems and Research Computing](https://res-wiki.appstate.edu/shelves/help-access).