# Quickstart

> From signup to a live flag in under five minutes.

This guide takes you from nothing to a live feature flag your app reads from the
edge — in about five minutes. The dashboard steps are the same for every
language; the last step is to drop in the SDK for your stack.

## 1. Create your account

Sign in at [switchbox.dev](https://switchbox.dev/login) with GitHub or Google. A
personal team is created for you automatically — no setup, no credit card.

## 2. Create a project

A **project** is a container for your flags (usually one per application). On
first login, create a project and give it a name like `web-app`.

Every new project comes with two **environments** — `development` and
`production` — created for you. Each environment has its own SDK key and its own
flag values, so a flag can be on in development and off in production.

## 3. Create a flag

Inside your project, open **Flags** and create one. A flag needs:

- A **key** in `lowercase_snake_case` — for example `new_checkout`. This is the
  string you'll reference in code, so pick something descriptive.
- A **type** — start with **boolean** (on/off). String, number, and JSON flags are
  covered in [Flags & flag types](/docs/concepts/flags).

Toggle the flag **on** in your `development` environment and click **Save**.
(Switchbox uses an explicit save, not auto-save — see
[Creating & editing flags](/docs/dashboard/flags).)

## 4. Copy your SDK key

Open the **Environments** tab and copy the **SDK key** for `development`. It's a
long opaque string, unique to that environment. The SDK uses it both to find your
config on the CDN and as the credential to read it.

> Keep production and development keys separate. The key *is* the environment —
> there's no other configuration to point an SDK at the right place.

## 5. Install the SDK and read the flag

Now pick your language and follow the three-line setup:

- **[Python](/docs/quickstart/python)** — `pip install switchbox-flags`
- **[JavaScript](/docs/quickstart/javascript)** — `npm install switchbox-js`
- **[React](/docs/quickstart/react)** — `npm install switchbox-js @switchbox/react`

Each quickstart ends on the same payoff: run your app, and watch the environment's
badge in the dashboard flip to **Connected ✓**. That's your app successfully
reading its config from the edge.