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

# Quickstart

> Get started with DGrid in under five minutes — create an account, generate an API key, and make your first call to a model through the AI Gateway.

DGrid is the decentralized smart network for AI — a single ecosystem that spans model access, model discovery, evaluation, and on-chain incentives. Whichever product you start with, every part of DGrid is reachable through one API key.

## Explore the DGrid ecosystem

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="DGrid AI Gateway" icon="network" href="/ai-gateway/overview">
    One OpenAI-, Claude-, and Gemini-compatible API for 200+ leading AI models, with Web3-native payments and intelligent routing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI Arena" icon="trophy" href="/ai-arena/overview">
    Blind model battles where community votes earn \$DGAI airdrop points and feed DGrid's routing intelligence.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dori Find Models" icon="compass" href="/dori">
    A natural-language advisor that turns your requirements into a shortlist of models, tested and compared for you.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Model Marketplace" icon="store" href="/api-reference/models/list-models">
    The open catalog of 200+ models and providers behind DGrid AI Gateway, browsable and callable through one API.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Get started with DGrid AI Gateway

DGrid AI Gateway gives you a single, OpenAI-compatible API for 200+ leading models. This section takes you from zero to your first chat completion.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get your API key">
    Obtain a valid `DGRID_API_KEY` by following the [key creation guide](https://blog.dgrid.ai/posts/2026-01-04/).

    <Note>
      Your key secret is shown only once at creation time. Copy it immediately and store it in a secure location such as a secrets manager. Never expose it in client-side code or public repositories.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your first request">
    Send a chat completion request to the DGrid AI Gateway endpoint. The `model` parameter uses the `provider/model-name` format (for example `openai/gpt-4o`), consistent across all DGrid-supported models.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash cURL theme={null}
      curl https://api.dgrid.ai/v1/chat/completions \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer $DGRID_API_KEY" \
        -d '{
          "model": "openai/gpt-4o",
          "messages": [
            {
              "role": "user",
              "content": "What is the meaning of life?"
            }
          ]
        }'
      ```

      ```python Python theme={null}
      from openai import OpenAI

      client = OpenAI(
          base_url="https://api.dgrid.ai/v1",
          api_key="<DGRID_API_KEY>",
      )

      completion = client.chat.completions.create(
          model="openai/gpt-4o",
          messages=[
              {
                  "role": "user",
                  "content": "What is the meaning of life?"
              }
          ]
      )

      print(completion.choices[0].message.content)
      ```

      ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
      import OpenAI from 'openai';

      const openai = new OpenAI({
        baseURL: 'https://api.dgrid.ai/v1',
        apiKey: '<DGRID_API_KEY>',
      });

      const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: 'openai/gpt-4o',
        messages: [
          {
            role: 'user',
            content: 'What is the meaning of life?',
          },
        ],
      });

      console.log(completion.choices[0].message.content);
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    <Tip>
      DGrid is fully compatible with the OpenAI SDK — point `baseURL` at `https://api.dgrid.ai/v1` and your existing code works unchanged. Install it with `pip install openai` or `npm install openai`.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Explore what's next">
    <CardGroup cols={3}>
      <Card title="Model API Reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/introduction">
        Endpoint-level reference for chat, images, audio, embeddings, and more.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Integrations" icon="plug" href="/ai-gateway/integrations">
        Connect DGrid to Claude Code, Cursor, Moltbot, and other tools.
      </Card>

      <Card title="x402 Payments" icon="credit-card" href="/x402/overview">
        Pay per inference with the x402 protocol — no account balance required.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>
</Steps>