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

# Quickstart

> Start testing your app with Arga in minutes

Get Arga running against your app in three steps. The CLI is the fastest way in — once you're set up, [connect your integrations](/integrations) so Arga can generate tests grounded in your real stack instead of just the prompt you give it.

## Validate a URL

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the CLI">
    ```bash theme={null}
    uv tool install arga-cli
    ```

    You can authenticate in two ways:

    * **Email signup (quickstart):** Sign up at [app.argalabs.com/get-started](https://app.argalabs.com/get-started) with your email to get a quickstart API key. This key is good for 5 twin provisions — enough to try Arga out. The wizard will prompt you for the key.
    * **Full login:** Run `arga login` to authenticate via GitHub. This gives you a full-access key with no provision limit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run your first validation">
    Point Arga at any deployed URL and tell it what to test:

    ```bash theme={null}
    arga test-runner runs url \
      --url https://your-app.com \
      --prompt "test ..."
    ```

    Arga spins up a browser, follows your prompt, and reports back with step-by-step results including screenshots.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check your results">
    The CLI prints a **run ID** when the validation starts. Track progress with:

    ```bash theme={null}
    arga runs status <run_id>
    ```

    If a run stalls or fails, inspect the current logs snapshot with:

    ```bash theme={null}
    arga runs logs <run_id> --errors-only
    ```

    Or open [app.argalabs.com](https://app.argalabs.com) to see results in the dashboard with screenshots and step details.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Testing flows that require sign-in

If the flow you want to test involves signing up, logging in, or any authenticated area of your app, pass the credentials Arga should use. Arga's browser will use these to sign in before executing the test:

```bash theme={null}
arga test-runner runs url \
  --url https://your-app.com \
  --prompt "sign up for a new account and complete onboarding" \
  --email testuser@example.com \
  --password your-test-password
```

Both `--email` and `--password` must be provided together. These are the credentials for **your app** (not your Arga account) — use a test account you've set up on your staging environment, or provide new credentials if you're testing the signup flow itself.

<Tip>
  When testing signup, create credentials that don't already exist in your app so Arga can register a fresh account. When testing login or authenticated flows, use credentials for an account that already exists.
</Tip>

***

## Go further: deterministic sandboxes with API twins

Once you've run a basic URL validation, you can spin up a fresh sandbox with [API twins](/concepts/digital-twins): stateful replicas of Stripe, Slack, GitHub, Notion, and more that reset between runs so your tests are fully deterministic.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Provision twins for your project">
    From your project directory, run the wizard using the CLI or npx:

    ```bash theme={null}
    arga wizard
    ```

    ```bash theme={null}
    npx arga-wizard
    ```

    <Info>`arga wizard` is the current CLI entrypoint. `arga wizard init` still works as a compatibility alias. If you do not have the CLI installed, use `npx arga-wizard` instead.</Info>

    `arga wizard` automatically passes your saved API key if you've run `arga login`. Otherwise, the wizard prompts you for a key — paste the quickstart key from email signup or any API key from your [settings](https://app.argalabs.com/settings/api-keys).

    <Note>Quickstart keys are limited to 5 twin provisions. Run `arga login` for full access when you're ready.</Note>

    The wizard will:

    1. Ask which services your app integrates with (Stripe, Slack, Discord, etc.)
    2. Back up your `.env` to `.env.arga-backup` and rewrite API keys to point at twins
    3. Provision ephemeral twin instances (typically under a minute)

    Start your app normally — API calls to selected services now route through twins. Sessions last **10 minutes** by default. Restore your original environment with `cp .env.arga-backup .env`.

    See the [twins quickstart](/features/twins-quickstart) for details on available twins and session management.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a browser test">
    Open [app.argalabs.com/demo\_runner](https://app.argalabs.com/demo_runner) or choose **Runs** from the **Test Runner** section:

    1. Enter the URL where your app is running — this should be the staging or local URL that the wizard already configured to talk to twins (your `.env` was rewritten in step 1)
    2. Optionally describe what to focus on
    3. Arga opens a live browser, plans the flow, and generates editable blocks
    4. Watch the browser frame and event stream, then rerun or save the result as a reusable test

    See [Validate modes](/features/validate-modes) for the full Previews and Test Runner layout.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Testing AI agents?

If your team is building AI agents and you want to validate their behaviour — including prompt injection resistance, tool-use boundaries, and graceful degradation — Arga can test agents in sandboxed environments backed by digital twins.

Agent testing is currently in **private beta**. See [Agent & security testing](/features/agent-security-testing) for details on what Arga covers and why agent behaviour requires a different testing approach.

<Card title="Discuss agent testing" icon="calendar" href="https://cal.com/akiratong/30min?overlayCalendar=true" horizontal>
  Book a 30-minute session to discuss agent testing for your use case.
</Card>

***

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Validate modes" icon="list-check" href="/features/validate-modes">
    Learn when to use Runs, Tests, Scenarios, PR Checks, Sandboxes, and Twins.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI" icon="terminal" href="/cli-and-mcp">
    Full CLI reference for terminal validation workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP" icon="plug" href="/mcp">
    Set up Arga context and validation tools in your IDE agent.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How Arga works" icon="gears" href="/concepts/how-it-works">
    Understand the architecture behind Arga's testing pipeline.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect integrations" icon="plug" href="/integrations">
    Connect GitHub, Slack, Jira, Sentry, Notion, and other context sources.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>