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

# Quickstart

> Get started with Octen in under 5 minutes.

## Get Your API Key

Head to the [Octen API Platform](https://octen.ai/platform) to create an account. Then copy your API key from the console.

<Note>
  A payment method is required to use the API.
</Note>

## Make Your First Search Request

Octen provides a simple REST API for web search. No SDK installation required - you can start searching immediately with HTTP requests.

### Using cURL

```bash theme={null}
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.octen.ai/search \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{
    "query": "latest AI developments",
    "count": 5
  }'
```

### Using Python

```python theme={null}
import requests

url = "https://api.octen.ai/search"
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
payload = {
    "query": "latest AI developments",
    "count": 5
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
data = response.json()
print(data)
```

## Response Example

```json theme={null}
{
  "code": 0,
  "msg": "success",
  "data": {
    "query": "latest AI developments",
    "results": [
      {
        "title": "Latest AI Breakthroughs in 2026",
        "url": "https://example.com/ai-news",
        "highlight": "Recent developments in artificial intelligence...",
        "authors": "example",
        "time_published": "2024-10-15T00:00:00Z",
        "time_last_crawled": "2026-01-20T02:12:34Z"
      }
      // ... more results
    ]
  }
}
```

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/search">
    View all API parameters and options
  </Card>

  <Card title="Examples" icon="lightbulb" href="/examples/guides/search-optimization">
    Explore more use cases
  </Card>

  <Card title="Support" icon="life-ring" href="mailto:support@octen.ai">
    Get help from our team
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Platform" icon="key" href="https://octen.ai/platform">
    Manage your API keys
  </Card>
</CardGroup>