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

# Quick Start

> Experience AI memory in five minutes — chat, upload, retrieve, and connect your tools

This guide takes you from sign-up to a working memory in about five minutes, then points you at the integration path that fits how you work.

## Step 1: Sign Up

Create an account at [app.memorylake.ai](https://app.memorylake.ai). MemoryLake automatically provisions your personal workspace and assistant — there is nothing to configure before your first conversation.

## Step 2: Experience Memory in the Playground

Open the **Playground** from the sidebar (new accounts land there with a short guided tour):

<Steps>
  <Step title="Tell it something worth remembering">
    Try: *"Remember that my name is Ming and I prefer answers in bullet points."*

    Behind the scenes, MemoryLake extracts a durable memory from the conversation — not a transcript, a fact.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add Open Data (optional)">
    Subscribe your project to a curated industry dataset — research papers, financial data, clinical trials, and more — so the assistant can search authoritative external sources alongside your own content.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload a file">
    Attach a PDF, Word, Excel, or Markdown file directly in the chat. Its content is parsed, indexed, and becomes retrievable context.
  </Step>

  <Step title="See the difference">
    Start a **new** conversation and ask: *"What's my name and how do I like my answers?"* The assistant recalls it — that's memory persisting across sessions. The Home page's Memory On/Off comparison shows the same effect side by side.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Visit **Memories** in the sidebar to see what was extracted — each memory shows its content and a **source trace** back to the conversation or document it came from.
</Tip>

## Step 3: Create an API Key

For anything programmatic — the REST API, Model Router, or agent plugins — create an API key:

1. Open **API Keys** in the console sidebar
2. Click create, give the key a name, and pick an expiry (defaults to 30 days; "Never" is available)
3. Copy the `sk-…` key when it is revealed — it is shown only once

See [Authentication](/authentication) for header formats and key management.

## Step 4: Put Memory Where You Work

Pick the path that matches your workflow:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Coding agents (OpenClaw)" icon="terminal" href="/features/memorylake/mcp-servers/overview">
    Install the MemoryLake plugin — your agent automatically recalls context, captures new memories, and uploads files you share with it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="REST API" icon="code" href="/features/memorylake/api-reference/overview">
    Full programmatic control: projects, documents, memory add/search/trace, and conflict resolution at `https://app.memorylake.ai/openapi/memorylake`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Memory Router" icon="route" href="/features/memory-router/overview">
    Add memory to your existing OpenAI/Anthropic calls with a base-URL change. Private preview.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Model Router" icon="globe" href="/features/model-router/overview">
    Call mainstream LLMs through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint with the same API key.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What Just Happened?

Your conversation and file were distilled into **memories** inside a **project** in your **workspace** — retrievable by any assistant or API client you connect, forever scoped and private to you. When you're ready to share memory with a team, see [Team Collaboration](/features/team-collaboration/overview); to understand the full model, read [Core Concepts](/concepts).

## Next Steps

* [Core Concepts](/concepts) — workspaces, projects, memories, actors, agents
* [Scenarios](/scenarios/personal-ai-memory) — personal memory, team knowledge bases, coding agents, and product integration walkthroughs
* [MemoryLake feature guide](/features/memorylake/overview) — documents, memories, conflicts, connectors, and more