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

# Quick Start

> Create your scaling.cloud account, get an API key, and trigger your first incident in a few minutes.

This guide walks you through creating an account, generating an API key, and making your first API calls.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create your account and organization">
    Go to [scaling.cloud](https://scaling.cloud) and sign up. During onboarding you'll create an **organization** — this is the workspace that holds your incidents, schedules, and team members.

    All API keys and resources are scoped to your organization.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get your API key">
    In the scaling.cloud dashboard, navigate to **Settings → API Access** and generate a new API key.

    Your key will look like this:

    ```
    scl_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ```

    Copy it now — you won't be able to see the full key again after leaving the page.

    <Note>
      Keep your API key secure. Anyone with this key can create and manage incidents in your organization.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create your first incident">
    Send a `POST` request to `/v1/incidents` with your API key in the `Authorization` header.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash cURL theme={null}
      curl -X POST https://api.scaling.cloud/v1/incidents \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer scl_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -d '{
          "title": "Payment service latency spike",
          "description": "P99 latency above 2s for the past 10 minutes.",
          "severity": "high"
        }'
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    A successful response returns the created incident:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "data": {
        "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
        "orgId": "org_2abc123def456",
        "title": "Payment service latency spike",
        "description": "P99 latency above 2s for the past 10 minutes.",
        "severity": "high",
        "status": "investigating",
        "escalationPolicyId": null,
        "createdBy": "user_2xyz789",
        "createdAt": "2026-04-07T10:00:00.000Z",
        "updatedAt": "2026-04-07T10:00:00.000Z"
      }
    }
    ```

    The `id` field is the incident's unique identifier — save it to reference the incident in later requests.

    **Severity levels:** `critical`, `high`, `medium`, `low`

    **Initial status:** All new incidents start with status `investigating`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check your incidents">
    Retrieve the list of incidents for your organization with a `GET` request:

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash cURL theme={null}
      curl https://api.scaling.cloud/v1/incidents \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer scl_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    The response includes your incidents and a pagination cursor:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "data": {
        "incidents": [
          {
            "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
            "orgId": "org_2abc123def456",
            "title": "Payment service latency spike",
            "description": "P99 latency above 2s for the past 10 minutes.",
            "severity": "high",
            "status": "investigating",
            "escalationPolicyId": null,
            "createdBy": "user_2xyz789",
            "createdAt": "2026-04-07T10:00:00.000Z",
            "updatedAt": "2026-04-07T10:00:00.000Z"
          }
        ],
        "nextCursor": null
      }
    }
    ```

    When `nextCursor` is a string value, pass it as a query parameter to retrieve the next page of results.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

* [Authentication](/authentication) — Learn more about API keys and how to handle auth errors.
* [API Reference](https://api.scaling.cloud/v1/docs) — Explore all available endpoints.