# Quickstart

## Overview

The official Perplexity SDKs provide convenient access to the Perplexity APIs from Python 3.8+ and Node.js applications. Both SDKs include type definitions for all request parameters and response fields, with both synchronous and asynchronous clients.

Access three APIs: **Agent API** for third-party models with web search tools and presets, **Search** for ranked web search results, and **Embeddings** for generating text embeddings.

## Available APIs

::::card-grid
:::card{title="Agent API" href="/guides/agent-api-quickstart" icon="code-circle"}
Third-party models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more with presets and web search tools.
:::

:::card{title="Search" href="/guides/agent-api-search-quickstart" icon="search"}
Ranked web search results with filtering, multi-query support, and domain controls.
:::

:::card{title="Embeddings" href="/guides/embeddings-api-quickstart" icon="cube"}
Generate high-quality text embeddings for semantic search and RAG.
:::
::::

## Installation

Install the SDK for your preferred language:

:::code-group
```bash Python theme={null}
pip install perplexityai
```

```bash TypeScript theme={null}
npm install @perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai
```
:::

## Authentication

:::card{title="Get your Perplexity API Key" href="https://console.perplexity.ai/project/keys" icon="key" cta="Click here" horizontal="true" arrow="true"}
Generate a new key on the **API Keys** page in the API Console.
:::

After generating the key, set it as an environment variable in your terminal:

::::tabs
:::tab{title="Windows"}
```bash theme={null}
setx PERPLEXITY_API_KEY "your_api_key_here"
```
:::

:::tab{title="MacOS/Linux"}
```bash theme={null}
export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
```
:::
::::

### Using Environment Variables

You can use the environment variable directly:

:::code-group
```python Python theme={null}
import os
from perplexity import Perplexity

client = Perplexity() # Automatically uses PERPLEXITY_API_KEY
```

```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';

const client = new Perplexity({
  apiKey: process.env['PERPLEXITY_API_KEY'], // This is the default and can be omitted
});
```
:::

Or use [python-dotenv](https://pypi.org/project/python-dotenv/) (Python) or [dotenv](https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv) (Node.js) to load the environment variable from a `.env` file:

:::code-group
```python Python theme={null}
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from perplexity import Perplexity

load_dotenv()

client = Perplexity() # Uses PERPLEXITY_API_KEY from .env file
```

```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
import Perplexity from '@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';

dotenv.config();

const client = new Perplexity(); // Uses PERPLEXITY_API_KEY from .env file
```
:::

:::callout{intent="tip"}
Now you're ready to start using the Perplexity APIs! Choose your API below for step-by-step usage guides.
:::

::::card-grid
:::card{title="Agent API" href="/guides/agent-api-quickstart" icon="code-circle"}
Get started with third-party models
:::

:::card{title="Search" href="/guides/agent-api-search-quickstart" icon="search"}
Get started with web search
:::

:::card{title="Embeddings" href="/guides/embeddings-api-quickstart" icon="cube"}
Get started with text embeddings
:::
::::

## Resources

::::card-grid
:::card{title="Python Package" href="https://pypi.org/project/perplexityai/" icon="brand-python"}
Install from PyPI with pip
:::

:::card{title="Node.js and TypeScript Package" href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai" icon="brand-npm"}
Install from npm registry
:::
::::

## Related pages

- [Admin & Management](./admin-management-index.md)
- [Agent API](./agent-api-2-index.md)
- [Agent API](./agent-api-index.md)
- [Analytics API](./analytics-api-index.md)
- [Authentication](./authentication-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)
- [Cookbook](./cookbook-2-index.md)
- [Embeddings API](./embeddings-api-2-index.md)
- [Embeddings API](./embeddings-api-index.md)
- [Getting Started](./getting-started-index.md)

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