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Quick Start

This guide will help you get Ground up and running with your first indexed source.

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1. Get an API Key

Sign up at app.trygroundai.com to get your API key. Ground uses bearer token authentication for all API requests. 
export GROUND_API_KEY="gnd_your_api_key"

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2. Add Your First Source

Ground can index Git repositories, documentation sites, and packages (npm/PyPI).

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Via UI

  1. Navigate to Sources → Add Source in the Dashboard
  2. Select source type (Repository, Documentation, or Package)
  3. Enter the URL and configuration
  4. Click Create

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Via API

# Add a Git repository
curl -X POST https://api.trygroundai.com/sources \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My Repo",
    "source_type": "repo",
    "url": "https://github.com/groundai/ground",
    "branch": "main"
  }'

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3. Sync the Source

Once created, tell Ground to start indexing your content. 
# Replace SOURCE_ID with the ID from the create response
curl -X POST https://api.trygroundai.com/sources/SOURCE_ID/sync \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROUND_API_KEY"
Or click Sync in the Dashboard.

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4. Search Your Content

As soon as the sync job finishes (or while it’s in progress), you can start querying your grounded context.

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Via UI

Navigate to the Playground in the Dashboard and enter a search query.

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Via API

curl "https://api.trygroundai.com/search?query=how+to+authenticate" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROUND_API_KEY"

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Next Steps

Concepts

Learn about sources, jobs, citations, and freshness

SDKs

Integrate Ground into your app using our official SDKs

Trust Policy

Configure staleness budgets and refusal thresholds

API Reference

Complete API documentation