> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.buildwithchirp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Send your first SMS message in under 5 minutes

export const Button = ({children, href, className = ''}) => {
  const classes = `inline-flex items-center justify-center gap-2 whitespace-nowrap rounded-full text-sm font-medium transition-all disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50 outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-offset-2 h-10 px-6 bg-primary text-white hover:bg-primary/90 shadow-sm ${className}`;
  if (href) {
    return <a href={href} className={classes}>
        {children}
      </a>;
  }
  return <button className={classes}>
      {children}
    </button>;
};

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

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create an account">
    <Button href="https://dashboard.chirp.com">Create Free Account</Button>

    Sign 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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](https://dashboard.chirp.com/redirect/keys) in the dashboard.

    <Note>
      Use test keys for development. They're free and won't send real messages.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Playground">
    Go to the [Playground](https://dashboard.chirp.com/redirect/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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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:

    ```bash icon="terminal" title="Send SMS" highlight={2} theme={null}
    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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next Steps

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

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Playground" icon="flask" href="/concepts/playground">
    Understand how to use the Playground to test your integration
  </Card>

  <Card title="SMS Overview" icon="message" href="/sms/overview">
    Learn about SMS and MMS messaging with Chirp
  </Card>
</CardGroup>