# Quickstart

Install ittybit and process your first file

## Install

Pick your preferred method:

```bash
# npm
npm i -g @ittybit/cli

# homebrew
brew install ittybit/tap/ittybit

# shell
curl -fsSL https://ittybit.com/install.sh | sh
```

## Authenticate

Create an account and set your API key:

```bash
ittybit login
```

This opens your browser to create an account (or log in), generates an API key, and saves it to your environment.

You can also set it manually:

```bash
export ITTYBIT_API_KEY=your_api_key
```

## Process your first file

```bash
ittybit video -i https://ittyb.it/sample.mp4 --quality high
```

That's it. The file is sent to ittybit's cloud infrastructure, processed on distributed GPUs, and the result is returned.

Try other media types:

```bash
# Extract a thumbnail
ittybit image -i https://ittyb.it/sample.mp4 --format webp

# Extract audio
ittybit audio -i https://ittyb.it/sample.mp4 --format mp3

# Create adaptive bitrate stream
ittybit adaptive -i https://ittyb.it/sample.mp4
```

## Local processing

If you have FFmpeg installed, you can process files locally without an API key:

```bash
ittybit video -i input.mov -o output.mp4 --quality high --local
```

Check your local setup with:

```bash
ittybit health
```

## Next steps

- [CLI Reference](/cli) for the full list of commands and flags
- [API Reference](/api) for REST endpoints
- [Guides](/guides) for common workflows and integration examples
- [Contact us](/support) if you have questions