# Quickstart

> Create a Curriculo Developer Console account, issue an API key and parse your first CV into structured JSON in three steps.

**Source:** /docs/quickstart/ (Curriculo Docs)  
**Updated:** 12 October 2026  
**Contact:** hello@curriculo.me

Go from sign-up to a working API call in three steps. No sales call is needed to begin.

## 1. Create an account

Sign in at [console.curriculo.me](https://console.curriculo.me). Your account and its API identity are provisioned on first sign-in, and a one-time $5.00 free credit is added.

> [!NOTE]
> Until provisioning completes, keys can be issued but cannot serve traffic: calls return `403` with "Account provisioning incomplete".

## 2. Create an API key

In the Console, open **API keys** and choose **Create key**. You can give the key a name and an optional expiry. The key looks like `key_<id>_<secret>` and is shown once. Only its prefix and a hash are stored, so it cannot be recovered later. Store it somewhere safe.

A new key works immediately for every operation. There is nothing to enable per capability.

> [!WARNING]
> Never commit a key to source control or paste it into an untrusted client. If a key is lost or exposed, revoke it in the Console (revocation is immediate) and create a new one.

## 3. Call an endpoint

Send the key as a bearer token. Every call is visible in **Console → Usage**.

Parse a CV into structured JSON:

```bash
# POST /parse/ (multipart, one document or up to 10)
curl -X POST https://api.curriculo.me/public/parse/ \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer key_abc123_yoursecret' \
  -F 'files=@/path/to/candidate.pdf'
```

Response (single document):

```json
{
  "name": "Jordan Rivera",
  "title": "Lead Software Engineer",
  "email": "jordan.rivera@example.com",
  "experience": [ … ],
  "skills": [ … ]
}
```

This call costs $0.01, drawn from your free credit. See [Pricing and billing](/docs/pricing/).

> [!TIP]
> CV parsing takes 40 to 90 seconds per document. Set your HTTP client timeout above five minutes, because a 30-second timeout will abandon calls that would have succeeded. For backlogs, use [background processing](/docs/background-processing/).

## Try it without code

The synchronous operations are runnable from the [interactive documentation](https://api.curriculo.me/public/docs) (Swagger UI): press **Authorize**, paste your key, attach a real CV and read the response. The same specification is published as [ReDoc](https://api.curriculo.me/public/redoc) and as [OpenAPI JSON](https://api.curriculo.me/public/openapi.json). To use Postman, import the OpenAPI JSON, or a cURL request copied from the Console's documentation page.

## Next steps

- [API overview](/docs/api-overview/): endpoints, authentication, limits and errors on one page.
- [Batching](/docs/batching/): send up to 10 CVs in one request.
- [Evaluate a candidate](/docs/api/evaluate/): score CVs against a job.