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Get started with Chirp by sending your first test message. This guide uses test mode, so everything is completely free.
1

Create an account

Create Free AccountSign up for a Chirp account to get started. When you create an account, we automatically create your first application with both test and live API keys.
2

Copy your test API key

During onboarding, you’ll be prompted to create an application and you’ll be provided with a test API key (starts with sk_test_app_). Otherwise, you can find it in your application’s App Keys in the dashboard.
Use test keys for development. They’re free and won’t send real messages.
3

Open the Playground

Go to the Playground in your dashboard. This is where your test messages will be sent without sending real SMS or incurring charges.The Playground provides simulated phone numbers for testing both inbound and outbound messages.
4

Send a test message

Use the following curl command to send your first message. Replace YOUR_TEST_API_KEY with your test key from step 2:
Send SMS
curl -X POST https://api.buildwithchirp.com/v1/sms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TEST_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "from": "+15551234567",
    "to": ["+15559876543"],
    "text": "Hello from Chirp!"
  }'
You’ll see the message appear in the Playground in real-time.

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Next Steps

Now that you’ve sent your first message, you can explore what else is possible:

Playground

Understand how to use the Playground to test your integration

SMS Overview

Learn about SMS and MMS messaging with Chirp