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

# Quickstart

> Install the SDK, authenticate, and send your first request.

## Prerequisites

* Python 3.8+
* An ARIS API key from [Registry Dashboard](https://aris-api-production.up.railway.app/)
* Outbound access to your registry URL

## 1. Install the SDK

```bash theme={null}
pip install aris-sdk
```

## 2. Set environment variables

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash macOS / Linux theme={null}
  export ARIS_API_KEY="sk-aris-your-key"
  export ARIS_REGISTRY_URL="https://aris-api-production.up.railway.app/"
  ```

  ```powershell Windows PowerShell theme={null}
  $env:ARIS_API_KEY="sk-aris-your-key"
  $env:ARIS_REGISTRY_URL="https://aris-api-production.up.railway.app/"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## 3. Send your first request

```python theme={null}
from aris.client import Aris

client = Aris()

response = client.generate(
    prompt="Explain decentralized AI in one sentence.",
    max_tokens=120,
)

print(response["output"])
```

## 4. Validate the response

You should receive:

* `output`: generated text
* `usage`: token and credit usage
* `node`: node identifier

<Accordion title="Common quickstart issues">
  <Warning>
    `401` usually means your API key is missing, malformed, or expired.
  </Warning>

  <Warning>
    `402` indicates low credits. Top up balance in the registry dashboard.
  </Warning>

  <Warning>
    `503` often indicates no eligible nodes are available for your request.
  </Warning>
</Accordion>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="SDK reference" icon="python" href="/python-sdk">
    Explore full client configuration and runtime options.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Generate endpoint" icon="code" href="/api-reference/generate">
    See argument and response details.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>