# Get started

> Where to begin with Nodaro, by goal. Make videos in the editor, build with the Copilot, drive Nodaro from an AI assistant, build on the API, or self-host it.

Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started

**Get started** shows the fastest path to what you want to do with Nodaro. Nodaro is a visual workflow editor for AI video, image, audio and text: you connect nodes on a canvas, and Nodaro runs them in order. Choose your goal below: the editor, the Copilot, an AI assistant, code, or your own server.

## Make videos and images in the editor

The editor is where most people start. Sign in to Nodaro Cloud, copy a template or a tutorial, and run it with the free credits of a new account. Then build your own workflow from an empty canvas, one node at a time.

  - [Quickstart](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/quickstart): 
Sign in, copy a template, run it and download the result.
  
  - [Build your first workflow](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/first-workflow): 
A prompt, an image, a video and a voiceover, step by step.
  
  - [Tour of the editor](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/editor-tour): 
The home screen, the canvas, the node picker, the settings panel and runs.
  
  - [Tutorials and templates](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/tutorials-and-templates): 
Learn from guided workflows, and copy ready-made ones for free.
  

## Build with the Copilot

On Nodaro Cloud, the Copilot builds a workflow from a description. You describe what you want, and it adds and connects the nodes while you watch. It proposes a run with its credit estimate, and it runs nothing without your OK.

  - [Build a workflow with the Copilot](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/workflow-copilot): 
Describe a workflow, then edit, run and fix it in conversation.
  

## Drive Nodaro from an AI assistant

Nodaro has an MCP server. Through it, assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code can create images, videos and audio, build workflows and run them for you, with your Nodaro credits.

  - [AI agents (MCP)](https://nodaro.ai/docs/mcp): 
What an assistant can do with Nodaro, and how it works.
  
  - [Connect a client](https://nodaro.ai/docs/mcp/connect): 
Step-by-step setup for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other clients.
  

## Build on the API

Developers reach the same workflows, nodes and models from code. The REST API runs workflows and single nodes, the TypeScript SDK wraps the API, and the CLI works from a terminal and in scripts.

  - [Developers](https://nodaro.ai/docs/developers): 
An overview of the API, the SDK, the CLI, OAuth and embeds.
  
  - [REST API](https://nodaro.ai/docs/developers/api): 
Authentication, workflows, jobs, uploads and webhooks.
  
  - [TypeScript SDK](https://nodaro.ai/docs/developers/sdk): 
A typed client for every part of the API.
  
  - [CLI](https://nodaro.ai/docs/developers/cli): 
Run Nodaro from the terminal.
  

## Self-host Nodaro

The Community Edition is the Nodaro editor on your own server, free to self-host under the Nodaro Sustainable Use License. It runs models with your own provider keys, and it can also connect to Nodaro Cloud to use its models and credits.

  - [Self-hosting quickstart](https://nodaro.ai/docs/self-hosting/quickstart): 
Install the Community Edition and make a first run.
  
  - [Self-hosting](https://nodaro.ai/docs/self-hosting): 
Requirements, configuration, updates and backups.
  

## Learn the basics

  - [Core concepts](https://nodaro.ai/docs/concepts): 
Workflows, nodes, connections, runs, lists, credits and editions.
  
  - [Free credits](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/free-credits): 
The 1,500 credits of every new Nodaro Cloud account.
  
  - [Glossary](https://nodaro.ai/docs/get-started/glossary): 
Every Nodaro term, in one or two plain sentences.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where should I start if I have never used Nodaro?

Start with the Quickstart. You sign in to Nodaro Cloud with Google, copy a template into your account, run it with your free credits and download the result.

### Do I need to install anything to use Nodaro?

No. Nodaro Cloud runs in the browser at app.nodaro.ai. You install something only when you run Nodaro on your own server, or when you use the CLI.

### Is Nodaro free to try?

Yes. A new Nodaro Cloud account starts with a one-time grant of 1,500 free credits. The Community Edition is free to self-host under the Nodaro Sustainable Use License.

### Can I use Nodaro without the editor?

Yes. AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor can use Nodaro through its MCP server, and developers can use the REST API, the TypeScript SDK and the CLI.