# # Quickstart Guide

> This quickstart guide is designed to get you up and running with a Directus Cloud Project in a snap. Along the way, you will better understand what Directus is, setup your free Directus Cloud Account, get a hands-on introduction to the App and API, and find more resources to deep-dive into.

## # 1. Create Cloud Account and Login

First, you'll need to create an Account and log in on Directus Cloud
(opens new window)

Your Directus Cloud Account allows you to create and manage any number of Community and Standard Projects. We've made life easier by giving you the option to create and log in to your free Cloud Account automatically with GitHub. If you don't have a GitHub account or prefer not to use this login method, email-and-password login is available as well.

The very first time you log in to your cloud account, you will be prompted to create a Team. Teams are totally free to create. Each Directus Cloud Project exists within the scope of one Team. They allow you to organize Team Members, Projects and Project Billing as desired.

Once your Team is created, it's time to create your free Community Cloud Project!

Learn More About Cloud

- Overview
- Cloud Accounts
- Cloud Teams

## # 2. Create and Access Project

To create a Community Project, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Team Menu in the Dashboard Header and select or create the desired Team.
2. Navigate to "Projects" and click "Create Project".
3. Set the Project Name.
4. Select the Community tier.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and choose the "Empty Project" Starting Template.
   Note: The "Demo Project" adds in dummy data for in-depth feature demonstrations.
6. Click "Create Project".

It should take around 90 seconds for the Cloud Project to build out. During this time, a link will be sent to the email associated with your Cloud Account. The email will contain your Project URL as well as an email and password to login. If you used GitHub to create your account, this will be your GitHub email. Once the build is complete, it's time log in!

7. You can access a Project from within the Cloud Dashboard or type the URL into your browser.
8. Log in with your username and password from the email.

Check All Inbox Folders

Due to the algorithms used by some email providers, it is possible the email containing your Project login information will end up in another folder like "Social" or "Promotions".

Learn More About Cloud Projects

- Overview
- Cloud Projects

## # 3. Create a Collection

Once logged in, you're greeted with the option to create your first Collection.

1. Navigate into the Content Module.
2. Click "Create Collection" and a side menu will appear.
3. Fill in a Name.
   For the sake of this demo, we'll call ours `articles`, but feel free to make it your own!
4. Leave the other options at default. Click arrow_forward and the "Optional System Fields" menu will open.
   Keep the values in this menu at the default, toggled off, for now. You can adjust them later.
5. Click check in the menu header.

Learn More About Collections

- The Content Module
- Create and Manage a Collection
- Build Relationships Between Collections

## # 4. Create a Field

With your first Collection created, it's time to start adding some Fields.

1. Navigate to Settings Module > Data Model > `Collection-Name`.
2. Click the "Create Field" button and select the "Input" Field type.
3. Fill in a Field name under Key. We'll be calling our Field `title`.
   Directus offers powerful Field customization options, but let's stick to the defaults for now.
4. Select "Save".

Learn More About Fields

- Create and Manage Fields in the App

## # 5. Create an Item

Now that we have a Collection with a Field configured, it's time to add an Item.

1. Navigate to the Content Module.
2. Click add in the page header to open the Item Page.
3. Fill in the Field Value(s) as desired.
4. Click check in the top-right to save your Item.

Learn More About Items

- The Content Module
- The Item Page

## # 6. Set Roles & Permissions

Directus comes with two built-in roles: Public and Admin. The Public Role determines what data is returned to non-authenticated users. Public comes with all permissions turned off and can be reconfigured with fully granular control to expose exactly what you want unauthenticated Users to see. The Admin role has full permissions and this cannot be changed. Aside from these built-in Roles, any number of new Roles can be created, all with fully customized, granular permissions.

By Default, content entered into Directus will be considered private. So permissions always start off set to the default of block No Access, with full ability to reconfigure as desired. So, in order to have the API return our Items, let's add some read permissions. For simplicity's sake, we'll do this on the Public Role, instead of creating a new Role.

1. Navigate to Settings Module > Roles & Permissions > Public.
2. Click block under the visibility icon on the desired Collection.
   In our case, the Collection name is `article`.
3. Click "All Access" to give the Public Role full read permissions to the Items in this Collection.

Learn More About Roles & Permissions

- Users, Roles and Permissions.

## # 7. Connect to the API

Now that your Project has some content in it which is exposed to the Public, it's time to start using this content externally! Data can be accessed in a number of ways, including the REST and GraphQL API Enpoints. In this case, we'll use the `/items/` REST API endpoint to retrieve the Item we just created.

1. Open `http://your-project-url.directus.app/items/articles`.
   You can use the browser or an API tool like Postman
   (opens new window) or Paw
   (opens new window)

And there it is! The Article Item you just created is being served in beautiful JSON, ready to be used anywhere and everywhere!

    {
    	"data": [
    		{
    			"id": 1,
    			"title": "Hello World!"
    		}
    	]
    }

In this example, we made a super-simple read request with the API, but there's more! The REST and GraphQL APIs provide exhaustive endpoints for the data model and every single action that you can do in the App can be done via the API. In fact, the App is just a GUI powered by the API.

Learn More About The API

- Intro to the API
- JS SDK