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

# Quick Start

> Install the harmstack CLI and run your first benchmark with a single non-interactive command.

This guide gets you from zero to a submitted benchmark run. For command and flag details, see the [CLI overview](/cli/overview).

## Prerequisites

* A **Harmstack API key** (`HARMSTACK_API_KEY`) from Vetted Medical
* **macOS (Apple Silicon)**, **Linux (amd64)**, or **Windows (amd64)**

## Install the CLI

Binaries and checksums live on GitHub:

<a href="https://github.com/vettedmedical/harmstack-install-v0/releases/latest">vettedmedical/harmstack-install-v0 — latest release</a>

### macOS (Apple Silicon) and Linux (amd64) with Homebrew

```bash theme={null}
brew tap vettedmedical/harmstack-install-v0 https://github.com/vettedmedical/harmstack-install-v0
brew install harmstack
harmstack --help
```

### Manual install from a release archive

Download the asset that matches your OS (version numbers differ per release):

* **macOS Apple Silicon:** `harmstack_<version>_darwin_arm64.tar.gz`
* **Linux amd64:** `harmstack_<version>_linux_amd64.tar.gz`
* **Windows amd64:** `harmstack_<version>_windows_amd64.zip` (contains `harmstack.exe`)

**macOS or Linux** — extract and put `harmstack` on your `PATH`:

```bash theme={null}
tar -xzf harmstack_*_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
# Linux amd64: use harmstack_*_linux_amd64.tar.gz
chmod +x ./harmstack
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
mv ./harmstack "$HOME/.local/bin/harmstack"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
harmstack --help
```

**Windows** — unzip the file, move `harmstack.exe` to a folder on your `PATH`, open a new terminal, then run `harmstack --help`.

Optional: verify downloads using `checksums.txt` from the same release.

More detail, upgrade paths, and platform notes: [CLI overview — Installation](/cli/overview#installation).

## Set your Harmstack API key

```bash theme={null}
export HARMSTACK_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
```

For a persistent shell setup (example: zsh):

```bash theme={null}
echo 'export HARMSTACK_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
```

## Configure your model endpoint (non-interactive)

Export the URL and API key for the model you are benchmarking:

```bash theme={null}
export TARGET_MODEL_ENDPOINT_URL="https://api.openai.com/v1/responses"
export TARGET_MODEL_API_KEY="sk-proj-1234567"
```

Harmstack supports multiple provider shapes, including `openai`, `openai_responses`, `gemini`, and `raw`.

## Run your first benchmark

This example skips the interactive wizard and submits a Haystack run from the root command:

```bash theme={null}
harmstack --haystack --consentandskip \
  --provider openai_responses \
  --benchmark-id 2 \
  --unit-count 1
```

Adjust `--benchmark-id`, `--unit-count`, and `--provider` to match your setup. See [Flags](/cli/flags) for all options.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="CLI overview" icon="terminal" href="/cli/overview">
    Installation depth, authentication, and links to platform guides.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI commands" icon="list" href="/cli/commands">
    Command inventory and where to find generated metadata.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>