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

# Quickstart

> Get a working Neural Draft integration — key, SDK, first API call — in under five minutes.

You'll go from zero to a real, server-acknowledged blog post in five steps. The
last step is optional but unlocks the part our customers love most: AI codegen
tools that generate Neural Draft-native code without you teaching them.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a project">
    Sign up at [app.neuraldraft.io/register](https://app.neuraldraft.io/register).
    The form takes \~90 seconds and asks for the bare minimum: project name,
    industry, brand voice, brand colors, target languages, and target audience.
    These six fields populate your **brand context** — the canonical resource
    every AI tool reads before it generates anything.

    <Tip>
      Already have a project? Skip ahead to step 2.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get your API key">
    From the dashboard, open **Settings → API keys → Create key**. Pick a name
    (e.g. `dev-laptop`) and the scopes you need.

    Your key looks like this:

    ```
    ndsk_live_2NgcaXxFqLPo7K3vR8zHwT5sE9bM1nDc
    ```

    The prefix tells you the environment: `ndsk_live_` is production,
    `ndsk_test_` is the sandbox. Keys are shown **once** — copy them straight
    into your secret manager.

    <Warning>
      Never commit a key to git. Use environment variables, a secret manager,
      or your platform's encrypted env (Vercel, Fly, Render). Compromised keys
      can be rotated from the dashboard at any time.
    </Warning>

    Now export it for the rest of this guide:

    ```bash theme={null}
    export NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY=ndsk_live_2NgcaXxFqLPo7K3vR8zHwT5sE9bM1nDc
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install the SDK (recommended)">
    Every endpoint is also a plain HTTP call — `fetch`, `axios`, `cURL` all
    work — but the official TypeScript SDK gives you typed inputs, typed
    responses, and a `jobs.poll()` helper for the async pipelines.

    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install @neuraldraft/sdk
    ```

    <Tip>
      The SDK targets Node 20+, Bun, and modern browsers (server-side; never
      ship the API key to the client). Python and PHP SDKs are on the roadmap —
      until they land, use cURL or `requests` against the OpenAPI spec at
      `https://api.neuraldraft.io/v1/openapi.yaml`.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your first call">
    A round trip: verify the key, then create a draft blog post.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```ts SDK theme={null}
      import { NeuralDraftClient } from "@neuraldraft/sdk";

      const nd = new NeuralDraftClient({
        apiKey: process.env.NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY!,
      });

      // Verify the key
      const me = await nd.projects.me();
      console.log(`Hello, ${me.name}`);

      // Create a draft blog post
      const post = await nd.blogPosts.create({
        title: "Five things we shipped this week",
        content: "<p>It was a busy week.</p>",
        language_code: "en",
        status: "draft",
      });

      console.log(`Draft created: /blog/${post.slug}`);
      ```

      ```bash cURL theme={null}
      # Verify the key
      curl https://api.neuraldraft.io/v1/projects/me \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY"

      # Create a draft blog post — note the discriminator: type=manual
      curl https://api.neuraldraft.io/v1/blog-posts \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -d '{
          "type": "manual",
          "title": "Five things we shipped this week",
          "content": "<p>It was a busy week.</p>",
          "language_code": "en",
          "status": "draft"
        }'
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    Expected response:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "id": 4711,
      "slug": "five-things-we-shipped-this-week",
      "status": "draft",
      "title": "Five things we shipped this week",
      "language_code": "en",
      "category": null,
      "tags": [],
      "featured_image": null,
      "published_at": null,
      "scheduled_at": null,
      "created_at": "2026-04-19T10:14:22Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-04-19T10:14:22Z"
    }
    ```

    Open `app.neuraldraft.io` and your draft is already there, ready to edit
    or publish. **You're done with the API quickstart.**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Optional — install the MCP server">
    This is the part that unlocks the magic: your editor's AI starts generating
    Neural Draft-native code automatically.

    Add the MCP server to Claude Code in one command:

    ```bash theme={null}
    claude mcp add neural-draft --env NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY=$NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY -- npx -y @neuraldraft/mcp
    ```

    Or paste the snippet into `.cursor/mcp.json` for Cursor:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "neural-draft": {
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@neuraldraft/mcp"],
          "env": { "NEURALDRAFT_API_KEY": "ndsk_live_..." }
        }
      }
    }
    ```

    Restart your editor. Now ask the AI:

    > *"Generate a hero section for this site and register it with Neural Draft."*

    Watch it read `brand://current` for your colors and voice, generate the
    HTML with `data-translate` keys baked in, and call `register_component` so
    the section appears in your admin as editable. No glue code.

    Full setup (Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, plus the Lovable / v0 / Bolt
    workaround) is on the [MCP setup](/mcp/setup) page.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/authentication">
    Scopes, rotation, environment separation, and the full list of
    `401`/`403` failure modes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pricing & credits" icon="credit-card" href="/pricing-and-credits">
    What every operation costs and what happens when you hit zero.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The five pillars" icon="layer-group" href="/pillars/cms">
    CMS, blog, social, booking, commerce — what each one gives you and the
    workflows we see most often.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Webhooks" icon="webhook" href="/webhooks">
    Skip polling. Get an HTTP POST every time something changes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>