# Quickstart

## Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have:

- A Lettermint account ([sign up here](https://dash.lettermint.co/register) if needed)
- A [verified sending domain](/platform/domains/introduction)
- Your API token from the Lettermint dashboard

## Step 1: Get Your API Token

1. Log into your [Lettermint dashboard](https://dash.lettermint.co)
2. Navigate to **Projects** → **[Your Project]** → **API Token**
3. Copy your API token

:::warning
Your API token grants full access to send emails on your behalf. Never expose it in client-side code, public repositories, or logs. Store it securely as an environment variable.
:::

<Frame>
  <img src="/docs/images/api-token-location.png" alt="API token location in the Lettermint dashboard" />
</Frame>

## Step 2: Send Your First Email

Choose your preferred method:

<CodeTabs>

```typescript title="Node.js"
import { Lettermint } from "lettermint";

const email = Lettermint.email(process.env.LETTERMINT_PROJECT_TOKEN!);

const response = await email
  .from("You <you@yourdomain.com>")
  .to("recipient@example.com")
  .subject("Hello from Lettermint!")
  .text("This is my first email sent via Lettermint.")
  .send();

console.log(`Email sent with ID: ${response.message_id}`);
```

```php title="PHP"
<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

$email = Lettermint\Lettermint::email(getenv('LETTERMINT_PROJECT_TOKEN'));

$response = $email
    ->from('You <you@yourdomain.com>')
    ->to('recipient@example.com')
    ->subject('Hello from Lettermint!')
    ->text('This is my first email sent via Lettermint.')
    ->send();

echo "Email sent with ID: " . $response->message_id;
```

```python title="Python"
from lettermint import Lettermint
import os

lettermint = Lettermint(api_token=os.environ["LETTERMINT_PROJECT_TOKEN"])

response = lettermint.email \
    .from_("You <you@yourdomain.com>") \
    .to("recipient@example.com") \
    .subject("Hello from Lettermint!") \
    .text("This is my first email sent via Lettermint.") \
    .send()

print(f"Email sent with ID: {response.message_id}")
```

```bash title="cURL"
curl -X POST "https://api.lettermint.co/v1/send" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "x-lettermint-token: $LETTERMINT_PROJECT_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "from": "You <you@yourdomain.com>",
    "to": ["recipient@example.com"],
    "subject": "Hello from Lettermint!",
    "text": "This is my first email sent via Lettermint."
  }'
```

</CodeTabs>

:::tip
Install the SDK first: `npm install lettermint` (Node.js), `composer require lettermint/lettermint-php` (PHP), or `pip install lettermint` (Python).
:::

### Expected Response

A successful request returns a `202 Accepted` response:

```json
{
  "message_id": "f47ac10b-58cc-4372-a567-0e02b2c3d479",
  "status": "pending"
}
```

:::info
Lettermint does not have a rate limit on its sending API. Send as many emails as you need without worrying about throttling.
:::

## Step 3: Check Your Emails

Go to the [Emails overview](https://dash.lettermint.co/emails) in your dashboard to see your email's delivery status.

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Explore SDKs" icon="code" href="/sdks">
    Official libraries for Node.js, PHP, Python, and more.
  </Card>
  <Card title="API Reference" icon="book" href="/api-reference">
    Complete endpoint documentation with request/response examples.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Set Up Webhooks" icon="webhook" href="/platform/webhooks/introduction">
    Receive real-time notifications for delivery events.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Domain Configuration" icon="globe" href="/platform/domains/introduction">
    Configure DNS records for optimal deliverability.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Going Further

Once you're comfortable with the basics, explore advanced features:

- [**Idempotency**](/platform/emails/idempotency) — Prevent duplicate sends with idempotency keys
- [**Tags**](/platform/emails/tags) — Organize and filter emails with custom tags
- [**HTML Content**](/api-reference/sending/send-email) — Send rich HTML emails alongside plain text
- [**Tracking**](/platform/emails/tracking/introduction) — Monitor opens and clicks with built-in tracking

Need help? Create a support ticket on your [support page](https://dash.lettermint.co/support/tickets).