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Messages/First steps

Get started with Claude

Make your first API call to Claude and build a simple web search assistant.

Prerequisites

  • An Anthropic Console account
  • An API key

Call the API

Next steps

You made your first API call. Next, learn the Messages API patterns you'll use in every Claude integration.

Working with the Messages API

Learn multi-turn conversations, system prompts, stop reasons, and other core patterns.

Once you're comfortable with the basics, explore further:

Models overview

Compare Claude models by capability and cost.

Features overview

Browse all Claude capabilities: tools, context management, structured outputs, and more.

Client SDKs

Reference documentation for Python, TypeScript, Java, and other client libraries.

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  • Prerequisites
  • Call the API
  • Next steps