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

# Quickstart: Deploy Your First Application on Varo Cloud

> Create your first Varo Cloud project, generate an API key, and trigger your first deployment in under 10 minutes with this step-by-step guide.

By the end of this guide you will have a Varo Cloud account, a live project, a working API key, and a successful deployment under your belt. Every step is designed to be completed in sequence — the whole thing should take less than 10 minutes, even if this is your first time using the platform.

<Note>
  **Before you begin, make sure you have:**

  * A Varo Cloud account. If you don't have one yet, sign up for free at [varo.cloud/auth](https://varo.cloud/auth).
  * A working terminal with `curl` available if you want to follow along with the API examples.
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create your account">
    Navigate to [varo.cloud/auth](https://varo.cloud/auth) and click **Sign Up**. Enter your email address and choose a password, then check your inbox for a verification email. Click the confirmation link to activate your account and land on the Varo Cloud dashboard for the first time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a project">
    From the dashboard, click **New Project** in the top-right corner. Give your project a name that reflects your application or service — for example, `my-first-app`. Next, choose the deployment region closest to your primary users, then click **Create**. Varo Cloud provisions your project in seconds and redirects you to its overview page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Generate an API key">
    Open **Settings** from the left-hand navigation, then select **API Keys**. Click **New Key**, give it a descriptive label (for example, `local-dev`), and click **Generate**. Copy the key immediately and store it somewhere safe — Varo Cloud will not display it again after you close this dialog.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your first API call">
    With your API key in hand, confirm everything is wired up correctly by listing your projects. Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with the key you just generated:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl https://inference.varo.cloud/v1/projects \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
    ```

    You should receive a response similar to this, showing the project you created in Step 2:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "projects": [
        {
          "id": "proj_abc123",
          "name": "my-first-app",
          "region": "us-east-1",
          "status": "active",
          "created_at": "2024-06-01T10:00:00Z"
        }
      ]
    }
    ```

    If you see your project in the response, your API key is working correctly and you're ready to deploy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Trigger a deployment">
    Now trigger your first deployment by sending a `POST` request to the deployments endpoint. Use the `id` returned in the previous step as your `project_id`:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -X POST https://inference.varo.cloud/v1/deployments \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"project_id": "proj_abc123", "environment": "production"}'
    ```

    Varo Cloud queues the deployment immediately and returns a deployment object:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "id": "dep_xyz789",
      "project_id": "proj_abc123",
      "environment": "production",
      "status": "queued",
      "created_at": "2024-06-01T10:05:00Z"
    }
    ```

    The `status` field starts as `queued` and progresses through `building` → `deploying` → `active`. You can poll the same deployment ID or watch the status update live in the dashboard.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  You've completed your first end-to-end deployment on Varo Cloud. Next, read the [Core Concepts](/core-concepts) guide to understand how projects, environments, and deployments relate to each other — or jump straight into the full [API Reference](/api-reference) to explore everything the platform can do.
</Tip>