> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://polargrid.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Quickstart
> Get your first API call working in 5 minutes
# Quickstart
This guide will get you from zero to your first PolarGrid API call in under 5 minutes.
## 1. Get an API Key
Create an account at app.polargrid.ai
Go to Settings → API Keys and click **Generate New Key**
Your key starts with `pg_`. Keep it secure — you won't see it again.
## 2. Make Your First Request
```bash cURL theme={null}
# Set your API key
export API_KEY="pg_your_api_key"
# Ask the autorouter which edge is fastest for the caller — it returns
# {region, name, endpoint, ttl}. The endpoint is the actual base URL for
# inference. Autorouter only serves /v1/route; it does NOT proxy inference.
EDGE=$(curl -s https://autorouter.polargrid.ai/v1/route | jq -r .endpoint)
# List available models on that edge — send the API key directly.
curl -s "$EDGE/v1/models" -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" | jq '.data[].id'
# Run a chat completion against the same edge
curl -s -X POST "$EDGE/v1/chat/completions" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "qwen-3.5-27b",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
}' | jq
```
```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
import { PolarGrid } from '@polargrid/polargrid-sdk';
// Auto-select fastest region and handle auth automatically
const client = await PolarGrid.create({
apiKey: 'pg_your_api_key',
});
const response = await client.chatCompletion({
model: 'qwen-3.5-27b',
messages: [
{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }
]
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
```
```python Python theme={null}
from polargrid import PolarGrid
# Auto-select fastest region and handle auth automatically
client = await PolarGrid.create(api_key="pg_your_api_key")
response = await client.chat_completion({
"model": "qwen-3.5-27b",
"messages": [
{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}
]
})
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```
The edge accepts your `pg_*` API key directly. The SDKs additionally handle region selection automatically. See [Authentication](/authentication) for details.
## 3. Choose Your Region
PolarGrid automatically routes to the fastest region when you use `PolarGrid.create()`. You can also specify one explicitly:
```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
// Auto-select best region (recommended)
const client = await PolarGrid.create({ apiKey: 'pg_...' });
console.log(`Connected to: ${client.getRegionName()}`); // e.g., "Toronto"
// Or specify a region explicitly
const client = new PolarGrid({
apiKey: 'pg_...',
region: 'toronto' // aliases: 'yto-01', 'yto'
});
```
```python Python theme={null}
# Auto-select best region (recommended)
client = await PolarGrid.create(api_key="pg_...")
print(f"Connected to: {client.get_region_name()}") # e.g., "Toronto"
# Or specify a region explicitly
client = PolarGrid(api_key="pg_...", region="toronto")
```
## Next Steps
Stream tokens as they're generated
Text-to-speech and speech-to-text
Full endpoint documentation
Handle errors gracefully