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

# Quickstart

> Get Persona running in 5 minutes

## Prerequisites

* Python 3.12+
* Docker & Docker Compose
* An LLM API key (OpenAI recommended for quickstart)

## Installation

```bash theme={null}
git clone https://github.com/saxenauts/persona.git
cd persona
```

## Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example environment file:

```bash theme={null}
cp .env.example .env
```

Edit `.env` with your API key:

```env theme={null}
# LLM Services
LLM_SERVICE=openai/gpt-5.2
EMBEDDING_SERVICE=openai/text-embedding-3-small
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here

# Neo4j Database
# Use bolt://neo4j:7687 for Docker (default)
# Use bolt://localhost:7687 if running server locally
URI_NEO4J=bolt://neo4j:7687
USER_NEO4J=neo4j
PASSWORD_NEO4J=password
```

See `.env.example` for the full list of supported providers (OpenAI, Azure, Foundry, Anthropic, Gemini).

## Run the Docker Containers

```bash theme={null}
docker compose up -d
```

This starts:

* **Neo4j** graph database on `localhost:7474` (browser) and `localhost:7687` (bolt)
* **Persona API** on `localhost:8000`

Explore the API at `http://localhost:8000/docs`.

## Interact with the API

### Create a New User

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/users/alice
```

### Ingest User Data

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/users/alice/ingest \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Had a great meeting with Sarah about the Q4 roadmap. I prefer morning meetings and want to finish the project by Friday.",
    "source_type": "conversation"
  }'
```

### Perform a RAG Query

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/users/alice/rag/query \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "What are my current priorities?"}'
```

## Local Development (without Docker)

For development, you can run the API locally with Poetry:

```bash theme={null}
# Install dependencies
poetry install

# Start Neo4j in Docker only
docker compose up -d neo4j

# Update .env to use localhost
# URI_NEO4J=bolt://localhost:7687

# Run the API
poetry run uvicorn server.main:app --reload
```

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Memory Model" icon="brain" href="memory-model">
    Understand Episode, Psyche, and Goal
  </Card>

  <Card title="LLM Providers" icon="microchip" href="llm-providers">
    Configure Azure, Foundry, Anthropic, and more
  </Card>
</CardGroup>