One of the most common questions we get from students discovering Chameleon for the first time is some version of: "I created an account — now how do I actually get access?" If you've tried to apply for a project and hit a wall, or simply aren't sure where to start, this guide is for you.
Why you "probably" can't create your own project
Chameleon resources are accessed through projects, and each project requires a Principal Investigator (PI) who is responsible for the allocation. PI status is limited to faculty and research staff at US-based academic institutions — see the full PI eligibility requirements. Most students — undergraduate through PhD — aren't eligible to apply as PI on their own.
There is one notable exception: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipients can apply for a Startup allocation as PI. If you hold an NSF GRF award, you can include your grant number or award letter as part of a project application to qualify.
For everyone else, the options below are the right paths forward.
Option 1: Join a PI's existing project
This is the most common way students access Chameleon. If you're working with an advisor, professor, or research mentor who already has a Chameleon allocation, ask them to add you to their project or create a new one for you. There's no separate approval process — once your PI adds you, you have full access to the system under their allocation.
If your advisor isn't already on Chameleon, it may be worth bringing it up with them. They'll need to request PI status and then apply for a project — both are straightforward, and decisions typically come within one business day.
Your PI has a few ways to add you:
- Direct add: They can add you by your Chameleon username or email address from the Project Members section of their project dashboard.
- Join link: They can generate a shareable join link. When you click it and sign in, you're automatically added to the project — useful for adding multiple people at once.
- Email invitation: If you haven't created a Chameleon account yet, your PI can invite you by email. You'll receive a link to create an account and be added to the project in one step.
If you don't have a Chameleon account yet, create one first — account creation uses federated identity through Globus, so you can likely sign in directly with your institutional credentials. Once logged in, your username appears in the top-right corner of the portal and on your profile page. Full details on the project membership process are in the Project Management documentation.
This same path applies if you're taking a course that requires cloud resources. Chameleon regularly supports large classes across a wide range of CS topics — from introductory cloud computing to advanced subjects like MLOps and distributed storage systems. If your course might benefit from system access, it's worth encouraging your instructor to set up a project for the class. They follow the same process as any other PI, and once the project is in place, they can add all enrolled students at once.
Option 2: Daypass
If you want to explore Chameleon without an allocation — or just reproduce a published experiment — Daypass is the easiest path. It lets anyone request temporary access to system resources for the purpose of reproducing an experiment published on Trovi, our experiment sharing platform. No allocation, no project membership, no approval from a PI required.
This is a great option if you're evaluating whether Chameleon is the right fit for your research, or if you want to run through an experiment from a paper before committing to a full project. Learn more in our Daypass blog post.
Still not sure what applies to you?
If you've read through the options above and none of them quite fit your situation, the best next step is to check our FAQ or submit a help desk ticket — you don't need an active allocation to do so. We're happy to help you figure out the right path — student access questions are some of our most common tickets, and we'd rather help you get started than have you give up before you've had a chance to use the system.