# Alchemist: Getting Started

Create your first project on the Alchemist autonomous development platform and ship your first ticket.

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Alchemist generates and operates a full-stack web app for you. You describe what you want, an agent writes the code, and the platform hosts the result at a live URL. There is no IDE to install and no CI to configure. The agent runs in a sandbox, commits to your project's repo, and the platform rebuilds and rolls out the running app on every successful merge.

## The lifecycle

1. **Create a project.** Each project is backed by a git repo cloned from the platform template. The repo is private and owned by the platform org. You can eject it to your own org at any time.
2. **Open a ticket.** Tickets are how you ask for work: "add a login page," "fix the bug where the quote export 500s," "switch the homepage hero to a video." The platform routes each ticket to an agent.
3. **The agent runs.** Inside an isolated build sandbox, the agent plans, implements, reviews, security-checks, and documents its diff. You can follow along in the Jobs view, or close the tab and come back later. Every step is durable.
4. **The platform deploys.** When the agent's branch merges, a fresh build kicks off automatically. The new image rolls out behind the same Live URL, with a few seconds of crossover.

## Where things live

- **Jobs.** Every agent run, in progress and historical.
- **Projects.** Your repos, live URLs, and per-project settings.
- **Domains.** Custom domains attached to a project.
- **Billing.** Credit balance, plan, and invoices.
- **Settings.** Account-level preferences (email notifications, API keys).

## A good first ticket

Start small and concrete. Something like "add a page at /rooms that lists every room record in the database with name, building, and last service date, sorted by last service date" gives the agent a clear target and gives you a clean result to judge.

Avoid opening with something vague like "build the proposal tool." Break it into outcomes and let the tickets stack.

## Next steps

- Read [Working with Tickets](/docs/guides/alchemist-working-with-tickets) to learn the five-pass agent pipeline and how to reply when an agent asks you a question.
- Read [Environment Variables](/docs/guides/alchemist-environment-variables) to see what the platform pre-injects (storage, email, JWT secret) and how to add your own.
- Read [Deploys and Domains](/docs/guides/alchemist-deploys-and-domains) to learn the difference between the Live URL and a custom domain, and how to force a redeploy.
- Read [API Keys](/docs/guides/alchemist-api-keys) and the [MCP Server](/docs/guides/alchemist-mcp-server) to drive the platform programmatically or from an AI client.

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