# Getting started

Pick the AI agent or environment where you want to use Slideshot. Each setup page covers the installation path that matches that agent, including plugin marketplace, MCP, CLI, or API-based setup where supported.

## Choose your agent

- [Claude Code & Cowork](/docs/getting-started/claude-code) - Install the Slideshot plugin in Claude Code or Cowork and authorize Slideshot MCP.
- [Codex](/docs/getting-started/codex) - Connect the Slideshot MCP server or CLI to the OpenAI Codex terminal agent.
- [ChatGPT](/docs/getting-started/chatgpt) - Use the Slideshot skill or call the API directly from custom GPTs and Projects.
- [Cursor](/docs/getting-started/cursor) - Install and authorize the Slideshot MCP server with Cursor's deeplink flow.
- [Other agents](/docs/getting-started/other-agents) - Connect any MCP-capable agent to Slideshot and install the raw skill files.

## What you will set up

Each setup page covers up to three pieces. You usually only need one: pick the path that fits the agent you chose above.

- **MCP server**: Connect the agent to `https://api.slideshot.ai/mcp`. The agent can then call Slideshot tools like `create_run`, `get_run`, `list_run_artifacts`, and `submit_run_input` directly from the conversation.
- **Skill**: A short instruction file that teaches the agent how to plan a Slideshot recording: when to ask for credentials, how to choose run options, and how to handle paused runs that ask for OTP input.
- **CLI**: The `slideshot` npm package. Useful for terminal-driven workflows, scripts, and CI jobs even when the agent also has MCP access.

## Before you start

- A Slideshot account and an [API key](/docs/api).
- The URL of the web app you want to record.
- Any login credentials the target app needs. Save them up front with [credentials](/docs/api/credentials) so the agent does not have to handle them mid-run.

## Not sure which path to choose

- Use **MCP** when you want the agent to drive recording from natural-language conversation. It is the lowest-friction path inside Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any other MCP-capable agent.
- Use the **CLI** when you want a scriptable command for CI jobs, release automation, or scheduled product marketing workflows.
- Use the **skill** alongside either path so the agent makes good defaults. For example, knowing when to set `artifacts.gif=true` for a social clip or when to enable `video.blur_emails` for a public demo.

See [MCP versus CLI](/docs/mcp-vs-cli) for a longer comparison.