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

# Create an Account

> Sign up for Cognee Cloud, start a free trial, and generate your first API key

Cognee Cloud uses OAuth for authentication. No passwords to manage.

<Info>
  Cognee Cloud supports **Google** and **GitHub** sign-in. A 14-day free trial starts automatically — no payment information required to sign up. If you do not add a payment method before the trial ends, your trial subscription is cancelled automatically.
</Info>

## Sign up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the console">
    Go to [platform.cognee.ai](https://platform.cognee.ai/) and select **Sign up with Google** or **Sign up with GitHub**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Authorize access">
    Approve the OAuth prompt. Cognee uses the provider for identity only.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Free trial starts">
    Your account is created with a 14-day free trial. No credit card is required to start. If no payment method is added before the trial ends, the trial is cancelled automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Generate an API key

API keys authenticate requests from the [Cloud SDK](/cognee-cloud/connections/cloud-sdk), the [REST API](/api-reference/introduction), and [agent connections](/cognee-cloud/connections/connecting-an-agent).

1. In the sidebar, open **API Keys**.
2. Click **Create API key**.
3. Copy the key and store it securely. It is shown only once.

<Warning>
  Treat API keys like passwords. Do not commit them to version control. Use environment variables (`COGNEE_API_KEY`) instead.
</Warning>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Onboarding walkthrough" href="/cognee-cloud/quickstart" icon="play">
    Upload your first file, build a knowledge graph, and run a search.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloud SDK" href="/cognee-cloud/connections/cloud-sdk" icon="terminal">
    Interact with Cognee Cloud programmatically using the Python SDK.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>