---
title: Send your first API request
sidebar_label: Send your first API request
sidebar_position: 1
description: Send your first request to the Mistral API and get a model response in ~5 minutes.
---
import {
Table,
TableHeader,
TableBody,
TableRow,
TableHead,
TableCell,
} from '@/components/ui/table';
# Send your first API request
Create an API key, install the SDK, and send a chat completion request.
- Install the Python or TypeScript SDK
- Send a request to a Mistral model
- Print the model's response
Everything here is the foundation for the agent and RAG quickstarts that follow.
**Time to complete:** ~5 minutes
Prerequisites
- Python 3.9+ **or** Node.js 18+ installed on your machine.
- A Mistral AI account. Create account
- A Mistral API key. Studio is enabled in Free mode by default, with no credit card required. Follow the [Activate Studio and generate an API key](/getting-started/quickstarts/studio/activate-and-generate-api-key) quickstart if you don't have one yet.
Step 1: Get your API key
1. Open API keys.
2. Click **Create new key**.
3. Give the key a name (for example, `quickstart`) and click **Create**.
4. Copy the key to your clipboard. The key appears only once; if you lose it, generate a new one.
5. Set the key as an environment variable in your terminal:
```bash
export MISTRAL_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
```
```powershell
$env:MISTRAL_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
```
Step 2: Install the SDK
```bash
pip install mistralai
```
```bash
npm install @mistralai/mistralai
```
Step 3: Send your first request
Create a file and add the following code:
```python
# quickstart.py
import os
from mistralai.client import Mistral
client = Mistral(api_key=os.environ["MISTRAL_API_KEY"])
response = client.chat.complete(
model="mistral-large-latest",
messages=[
{"role": "user", "content": "What is Mistral AI?"}
],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```
```typescript
// quickstart.ts
const client = new Mistral({ apiKey: process.env.MISTRAL_API_KEY });
const response = await client.chat.complete({
model: 'mistral-large-latest',
messages: [
{ role: 'user', content: 'What is Mistral AI?' }
],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
```
```bash
curl https://api.mistral.ai/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MISTRAL_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"model": "mistral-large-latest",
"messages": [
{"role": "user", "content": "What is Mistral AI?"}
]
}'
```
Step 4: Run it
```bash
python quickstart.py
```
```bash
npx tsx quickstart.ts
```
Verify
The terminal prints a short description of Mistral AI. If it doesn't, check the error table below.
Error
Cause
Fix
`401 Unauthorized`
API key is incorrect or not set
Run `echo $MISTRAL_API_KEY` to confirm the variable is set
`402 Payment Required`
No payment method on account
Add one at
`429 Too Many Requests`
Rate limit hit
Wait and retry with exponential backoff
What's next