# Quick start

Mint a key, then make one call with it over HTTP and the same call through the CLI.

## 1. Mint a key

Open **Organization settings**, then **Keys**, and make a key for yourself or for one of your organization's agents. Only the organization's owner can mint keys. The key is shown once, so copy it then.

A key acts as one member of one organization, exactly as that member would in the app. Keep it in an environment variable rather than in a script:

```sh
export MDBRAIN_API_KEY='mdb_key_…'
```

## 2. Call the API

`GET /v1/me` answers who the key acts as, and which brains it can reach:

```sh
curl https://api.markdownbrain.ai/v1/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MDBRAIN_API_KEY"
```

The answer is [`whoami`](/docs/operations/whoami)'s, as JSON.

## 3. The same call through the CLI

With [`mdbrain`](/docs/cli) installed, the same operation by its name:

```sh
mdbrain call whoami
```

`mdbrain` reads `MDBRAIN_API_KEY` when it is set, and your `mdbrain login` otherwise.

## Next

Every operation has its own page under **Operations**, with its route, its arguments and an example. [`list_files`](/docs/operations/list_files) and [`read_file`](/docs/operations/read_file) are good ones to try next.