# Quickstart

Set up Elios once, for you and your coding agent, then pick a product. It takes
about five minutes.

## Prerequisites

* An Elios account. Sign up in the [dashboard](https://app.elios.ai).
* Node.js 20 or later, or Bun 1.2 or later.

::::steps
### Get an API key

In the [dashboard](https://app.elios.ai), open **API keys** and create a key.
Copy it now: Elios shows a key only once.

### Install the CLI

:::code-group
```bash [bun]
bun add -g @elios/cli
```

```bash [npm]
npm install -g @elios/cli
```
:::

Check the install with `elios --version`.

### Sign in

```bash
elios login
```

This opens the dashboard to approve this machine. In CI and other shells where
no one can approve it, set the key instead:

```bash
export ELIOS_API_KEY="your-api-key"
```

### Add Elios skills to your coding agent

```bash
bunx skills add eliosai/skills
```

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other agents on this machine now know how to use
Elios. See [Skills](/skills) for what each one teaches.

### Check your setup

```bash
elios whoami
```

It prints your account, your project and the key in use.
::::

## Let your agent set it up

Paste this into your coding agent to run the same steps:

```text
Set up Elios in this project. Install the Elios CLI with `bun add -g @elios/cli`,
run `elios login`, add the Elios skills with `bunx skills add eliosai/skills`,
then run `elios whoami` and tell me the result. The Elios docs for agents are at
https://elios.ai/docs/llms.txt.
```

## Pick a product

<Cards>
  <Card title="Computer quickstart" description="Create your first computer with the SDK." icon="monitor" to="/computer/quickstart" />

  <Card title="Phone quickstart" description="Get your first phone number with the SDK." icon="smartphone" to="/phone/quickstart" />
</Cards>

## CLI commands

| Command                   | What it does                               |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `elios login`             | Signs in this machine.                     |
| `elios whoami`            | Shows the account, project and key in use. |
| `elios computer create`   | Creates a computer and prints its ID.      |
| `elios computer list`     | Lists the computers in your project.       |
| `elios phone numbers buy` | Gets a new phone number.                   |
| `elios logs <id>`         | Follows the logs of a computer or a call.  |

Add `--json` to any command for output an agent can parse, and run
`elios help <command>` for every flag. Commands never prompt while
`ELIOS_API_KEY` is set, so agents can run them unattended.