# Quickstart
URL: /overview/sessions-api/quickstart

---
title: Quickstart
sidebarTitle: Quickstart
description: Get up a running with your first Steel Session in a few minutes.
---

### Overview

This guide will walk you through setting up your Steel account, creating your first browser session in the cloud, and driving it using Typescript/Playwright. In just a few minutes, you'll be up and programmatically controlling a Steel browser Session.

### Initial Setup

#### 1\. Create a Steel Account

1.  Sign up for a free account at steel.dev

2.  The free plan includes 100 browser hours to get you started

3.  No credit card required


#### 2\. Get Your API Key

1.  After signing up, navigate to Settings > API Keys

2.  Create an API key and save it somewhere safe. You will not be able to generate the same key again.


#### 3\. Set Up Environment Variables

1.  Create a `.env` file in your project root (if you don't have one)

2.  Add your Steel API key:


Make sure to add `.env` to your `.gitignore` file to keep your key secure

### Installing Dependencies

Install the Steel SDK and Playwright:

```package-install
steel-sdk playwright
```


### Create Your First Session

Let's create a simple script that launches and then releases a Steel session:

```typescript Typescript -wcn -f steel-client.ts
import Steel from 'steel-sdk';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';

dotenv.config();

const client = new Steel({
  steelAPIKey: process.env.STEEL_API_KEY,
});

async function main() {
  // Create a session
  const session = await client.sessions.create();
  console.log('Session created:', session.id);
  console.log(`View live session at: ${session.sessionViewerUrl}`);

  // Your session is now ready to use!
  // When done, release the session
  await client.sessions.release(session.id);
  console.log('Session released');
}

main().catch(console.error);
```

### Connecting to Your Session

Now that you have a session, you can connect to it using your preferred automation tool.


```typescript Typescript -wcn -f puppeteer.ts
import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';

const browser = await puppeteer.connect({
    browserWSEndpoint: `wss://connect.steel.dev?apiKey=${process.env.STEEL_API_KEY}&sessionId=${session.id}`,
});

const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
```


### Session Features

Want to do more with your session? Here are some common options you can add when creating:

```typescript Typescript -wcn
const session = await client.sessions.create({
    useProxy: true,           // Use Steel's residential proxy network
    solveCaptcha: true,       // Enable automatic CAPTCHA solving
    timeout: 1800000,      // Set 30-minute timeout (default is 5 minutes)
    inactivityTimeout: 300000, // Release after 5 minutes of inactivity
    userAgent: 'custom-ua'    // Set a custom user agent
});
```

You've now created your first Steel session and learned the basics of session management. With these fundamentals, you can start building more complex automations using Steel's cloud browser infrastructure.

:::callout
type: help
### Need help building with the Sessions API?
Reach out to us on the <span className="font-bold">#help</span> channel on [Discord](https://discord.gg/steel-dev) under the ⭐ community section.
:::

### FAQ

### How long does a Steel session last by default?

The default session timeout is 5 minutes. You can extend it with the `timeout` option on session create (e.g. `timeout: 1800000` for 30 minutes) and set `inactivityTimeout` to release after a period of inactivity.

### Can I enable proxies and CAPTCHA solving on a session?

Yes. Pass `useProxy: true` to route through Steel's residential proxy network and `solveCaptcha: true` to enable automatic CAPTCHA solving when creating the session. You can also set a custom user agent with `userAgent`.