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

# Getting Started with Validio Developer Tools

> Install the Validio CLI and SDK, configure your API credentials, and start interacting with the Validio platform programmatically.

The Validio CLI, SDK, and API let you interact with the Validio platform programmatically. This guide covers how to:

* Install the Validio CLI and SDK.
* Configure the API key credentials that the CLI and SDK use by default.
* Confirm that the CLI can reach your Validio instance.

## Install the Validio CLI and SDK

The Validio CLI and SDK are published as Python packages on PyPI as `validio-cli` and `validio-sdk`. You can use a Python package installer, such as `pip`, to install them in your desired environment.

The CLI depends on the SDK, so installing `validio-cli` installs both:

```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
pip install validio-cli
```

To install only the SDK:

```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
pip install validio-sdk
```

## Configure default API credentials

All requests to the Validio platform require authorization with an API key. To create one, see [Authentication](https://docs.validio.io/v10.3/developer/getting-started/authentication.md).

With an API key, you can configure the CLI and SDK to always use the same endpoint, access key, and access secret. Run `validio config init` and enter the endpoint URI, API access key, and API access secret.

The endpoint URI is the base URL of your Validio instance, the URL you use to access Validio. For example, `https://your-validio-instance`. Enter it without a path: the CLI and SDK add the `/api` path themselves.

```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
validio config init
Validio endpoint URI:           https://validio.company.com
API access key:                 APK_fxJmKsKjyVarmzdovac7gw
API access secret:              **************************
```

The credentials are stored locally on your disk and used whenever you access the Validio platform. Use `validio config get` to show the current configuration and where the configuration file is located:

```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
validio config get
KEY                VALUE
Config path        /Users/<user>/Library/Application Support/validio/config.json
Default namespace  default
Endpoint           https://validio.company.com
Access key         APK_mVboIkAd4rXdxHYnQP2uog
Access secret      *****
```

To keep credentials off your disk, set them as environment variables or, with the SDK, pass them directly to the client. See [How the CLI and SDK find credentials](https://docs.validio.io/v10.3/developer/getting-started/authentication.md#how-the-cli-and-sdk-find-credentials).

## Use the Validio CLI

You can now use the Validio CLI to interact with the Validio platform directly from the command line.

In this example, the CLI prints a short summary of your credentials:

```bash title="Bash" theme={null}
validio credentials get
NAME                     TYPE      AGE
my_gcp_credentials       GCP       7d
my_demo_credentials      DEMO      7d
```

For more information and examples, see [Validio CLI](https://docs.validio.io/v10.3/developer/validio-cli.md).