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

# Quickstart

> Start sending cold emails in under 5 minutes

## Get Your API Key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign up for SmartLead">
    If you haven't already, create an account at [app.smartlead.ai](https://app.smartlead.ai/signup)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate to Settings">
    Go to your dashboard and click on Settings → API
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate API Key">
    Click "Generate New API Key" and copy it securely
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Keep your API key secure! Never commit it to version control or expose it in client-side code.
</Warning>

## Make Your First Request

Let's fetch all your campaigns:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY"
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
  url = "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/"

  response = requests.get(url, params={"api_key": api_key})
  campaigns = response.json()

  print(f"Total campaigns: {len(campaigns.get('campaigns', []))}")
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
  const BASE_URL = 'https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1';

  async function getCampaigns() {
    const response = await fetch(
      `${BASE_URL}/campaigns/?api_key=${API_KEY}`
    );
    const data = await response.json();
    
    console.log(`Total campaigns: ${data.campaigns.length}`);
    return data.campaigns;
  }

  getCampaigns();
  ```

  ```php PHP theme={null}
  <?php
  $api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
  $base_url = 'https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1';

  $ch = curl_init();
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "$base_url/campaigns/?api_key=$api_key");
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

  $response = curl_exec($ch);
  curl_close($ch);

  $data = json_decode($response, true);
  echo "Total campaigns: " . count($data['campaigns']);
  ?>
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Create Your First Campaign

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/new?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "name": "My First Campaign",
      "track_settings": {
        "track_open": true,
        "track_click": true
      }
    }'
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
  url = "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/new"

  payload = {
      "name": "My First Campaign",
      "track_settings": {
          "track_open": True,
          "track_click": True
      }
  }

  response = requests.post(
      url, 
      params={"api_key": api_key},
      json=payload
  )

  campaign = response.json()
  print(f"Campaign created with ID: {campaign['campaign']['id']}")
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
  const BASE_URL = 'https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1';

  async function createCampaign() {
    const response = await fetch(
      `${BASE_URL}/campaigns/new?api_key=${API_KEY}`,
      {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: {
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        },
        body: JSON.stringify({
          name: 'My First Campaign',
          track_settings: {
            track_open: true,
            track_click: true,
          },
        }),
      }
    );
    
    const data = await response.json();
    console.log(`Campaign created with ID: ${data.campaign.id}`);
    return data.campaign;
  }

  createCampaign();
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Add Email Account

Before sending emails, you need to add at least one email account:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/email-accounts/save?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "from_name": "John Doe",
      "from_email": "john@example.com",
      "user_name": "john@example.com",
      "password": "your_email_password",
      "smtp_host": "smtp.example.com",
      "smtp_port": 587,
      "imap_host": "imap.example.com",
      "imap_port": 993,
      "max_email_per_day": 50,
      "warmup_enabled": true,
      "total_warmup_per_day": 20,
      "daily_rampup": 2,
      "reply_rate_percentage": 30
    }'
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
  url = "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/email-accounts/save"

  payload = {
      "from_name": "John Doe",
      "from_email": "john@example.com",
      "user_name": "john@example.com",
      "password": "your_email_password",
      "smtp_host": "smtp.example.com",
      "smtp_port": 587,
      "imap_host": "imap.example.com",
      "imap_port": 993,
      "max_email_per_day": 50,
      "warmup_enabled": True,
      "total_warmup_per_day": 20,
      "daily_rampup": 2,
      "reply_rate_percentage": 30
  }

  response = requests.post(
      url,
      params={"api_key": api_key},
      json=payload
  )

  account = response.json()
  print(f"Email account added with ID: {account['email_account']['id']}")
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Add Leads to Campaign

Now add some leads to your campaign:

```python Python theme={null}
import requests

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
campaign_id = 123  # Replace with your campaign ID
url = f"https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/{campaign_id}/leads"

leads = [
    {
        "first_name": "Jane",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "email": "jane.doe@example.com",
        "company_name": "Acme Corp",
        "custom_fields": {
            "job_title": "CEO",
            "industry": "Technology"
        }
    },
    {
        "first_name": "John",
        "last_name": "Smith",
        "email": "john.smith@techco.com",
        "company_name": "Tech Co",
        "custom_fields": {
            "job_title": "CTO"
        }
    }
]

response = requests.post(
    url,
    params={"api_key": api_key},
    json={"lead_list": leads}
)

result = response.json()
print(f"Added {result['added_count']} leads successfully")
```

## Create Email Sequences

Add email sequences to your campaign:

```python Python theme={null}
import requests

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
campaign_id = 123
url = f"https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/{campaign_id}/sequences"

sequences = [
    {
        "seq_number": 1,
        "subject": "Quick question about {{company_name}}",
        "email_body": "Hi {{first_name}},\n\nI noticed {{company_name}} is...",
        "seq_delay_details": {
            "delay_in_days": 0
        }
    },
    {
        "seq_number": 2,
        "subject": "Following up - {{company_name}}",
        "email_body": "Hi {{first_name}},\n\nFollowing up on my previous email...",
        "seq_delay_details": {
            "delay_in_days": 3
        }
    }
]

response = requests.post(
    url,
    params={"api_key": api_key},
    json={"sequences": sequences}
)

print("Sequences created successfully!")
```

## Start Your Campaign

Finally, start your campaign:

```bash theme={null}
curl -X PATCH "https://server.smartlead.ai/api/v1/campaigns/123/status?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"status": "ACTIVE"}'
```

<Check>
  Congratulations! Your first campaign is now running. You can monitor its performance in the dashboard or via the analytics API.
</Check>

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Set Up Webhooks" icon="webhook" href="/core/webhooks">
    Receive real-time notifications when leads reply
  </Card>

  <Card title="Master Inbox" icon="inbox" href="/api-reference/inbox/get-messages">
    Manage all your campaign replies in one place
  </Card>

  <Card title="Advanced Sequences" icon="list" href="/core/sequences">
    Learn about A/B testing and conditional logic
  </Card>

  <Card title="Analytics" icon="chart-line" href="/api-reference/analytics/overview">
    Track your campaign performance in detail
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Need Help?

* Check out our [comprehensive guides](/guides/getting-started)
* Join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/smartlead)
* Email us at [support@smartlead.ai](mailto:support@smartlead.ai)