# Quickstart

> Run your first Context in about a minute, from the web, an MCP client, the command line or the API.

Page: https://scribiz.com/docs/quickstart

Pick one way in. The web tool and the MCP server are open today, the command-line tool installs from npm, and the API has a status check you can run without a key. Accounts are open: you sign in with an email link, and API keys are made in the dashboard.

## Web

1. Open [scribiz.com](https://scribiz.com).
2. Paste a link, or drop a file.
3. Leave the mode on Auto and press the button.

The result page opens at once and fills in as the job runs. Results are kept for 24 hours.

## MCP

Add the server to Claude Code. No key is needed to start. Without one, the server uses a video's captions when it can read them, answers at once for videos Scribiz has already processed, and otherwise has a model read the link, inside about 10 minutes of reading a day. It never looks at the picture.

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http scribiz https://scribiz.com/mcp
```

Then ask your agent something that needs a video. This is a 19 second public video. It takes a few seconds, and when a model read the link, the result says its times are approximate:

```text title="Prompt"
Summarize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw in three lines.
```

Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop and the rest are in [MCP install](https://scribiz.com/docs/mcp/install.md).

## CLI

The command-line tool runs on your machine. Sign in to a free Scribiz account, or use your own Gemini API key. It needs Node.js 24 or newer and `ffmpeg`, and `yt-dlp` for most links. Only macOS has been tested.

```bash
npm install -g scribiz
scribiz login                  # once: confirm the code in your browser (or: scribiz setup, for your own Gemini key)
scribiz "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" -f context
```

`npx scribiz --help` runs it without installing. Put a link that has a `?` in quotes. The tools, the two ways to start and `scribiz doctor` are on [Install the CLI](https://scribiz.com/docs/cli.md). A free account has 30 minutes a month.

## API

The API is at `https://scribiz.com/api`. This check needs no key and shows the queue and how each source is doing:

```bash
curl https://scribiz.com/api/v1/status
```

To create a job you need an API key. Keys are made in the dashboard, after you sign in. See [API authentication](https://scribiz.com/docs/api/authentication.md). The call returns at once with a job id and a quote.

```bash
curl https://scribiz.com/api/v1/context \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRIBIZ_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw", "mode": "auto"}'
```

```json title="202 Accepted"
{
  "estimate": { "cached": false, "charges_as": "captions", "media_seconds": 19, "minutes": 0.031667, "tiers": ["captions", "synthesis"] },
  "events_url": "/api/v1/jobs/job_2DUafpGltJTqVKlAYlIREm/events",
  "job_id": "job_2DUafpGltJTqVKlAYlIREm",
  "mode": "auto",
  "queue_position": 1,
  "result_url": "/api/v1/jobs/job_2DUafpGltJTqVKlAYlIREm",
  "status": "queued"
}
```

Poll the job until `status` is `succeeded`. Its `result` field is the Context.

```bash
curl https://scribiz.com/api/v1/jobs/job_2DUafpGltJTqVKlAYlIREm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SCRIBIZ_API_KEY"
```

The full walkthrough, with TypeScript and Python, is in the [API quickstart](https://scribiz.com/docs/api/quickstart.md).

## Mac app

There is no Mac download yet. The [Mac app page](https://scribiz.com/docs/apps/mac.md) describes how the app will work.

---

Checked against the Scribiz build on 2026-10-05.