Quickstart
Five minutes from "where do I start" to "here's a real ticket I just created." Pick your stack below — each path lands on a working example you can copy.
Developer Quest
0 / 400 XPPrerequisites
- A cStar account with a team created
- An API key (get one from team settings or the CLI)
- Node.js 18+ (for server-side usage)
1. Grab an API key
Fastest path: the cStar CLI. One command and you're authenticated.
# Install the CLI
npm install -g @cstar.help/cli
# Login and create a key
cstar login --api-key sk_test_your_key_here
cstar statusYou can also create keys from your team settings page or via the API.
2. Install the SDK
npm install @cstar.help/jsReact or Svelte? Grab the matching package instead:
# React
npm install @cstar.help/react
# Svelte
npm install @cstar.help/svelte3. Seed sample data
Empty workspaces are no fun to test against. cstar seed populates your team with realistic
help-center content so the next steps have something to read:
# Make sure you're logged in first (step 1 above)
cstar seedYou should see output like this:
Seeding help center for team "acme"
Environment: test
Template: helpdesk
────────────────────────────
✨ Categories: 5 created
✨ Articles: 12 created (11 published, 1 draft)
✨ Customers: 3 created
✨ Tickets: 5 created (with 13 messages)
────────────────────────────
✨ Seed complete!This creates 5 categories, 12 articles, 3 sample customers, and 5 tickets with messages. The
data goes into your test or live environment depending on
which API key you used with cstar login — test keys (sk_test_*) create
test data, live keys (sk_live_*) create live data.
4. Make your first request
import { CStarClient } from '@cstar.help/js';
const cstar = new CStarClient({
apiKey: 'sk_test_your_key_here',
teamId: 'your-team-id' // from cstar status
});
// List the articles you just seeded
const { data: articles } = await cstar.articles.list({
status: 'published'
});
console.log(`Found ${articles.length} published articles`);
// → Found 11 published articles
// List categories with article counts
const { data: categories } = await cstar.categories.list();
for (const cat of categories) {
console.log(`${cat.name}: ${cat.articleCount || 0} articles`);
}
// → Getting Started: 3 articles
// → Account & Billing: 2 articles
// → ...Don't know your team ID? Run cstar status or call GET /api/v1/auth/whoami.
5. Build a help center
Got data, got a working call. Pick a framework and follow the walkthrough to wire categories, articles, search, and chat into a real UI.