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

# 5-Minute Quickstart

> Build, configure, and execute your first visual API orchestration flow in Quixa.

Follow this guide to create and run an end-to-end API workflow from scratch.

### Step 1: Create a New Flow

1. Open the [Quixa Platform](https://app.quixa.io).
2. In the left sidebar, click the **`+ New Flow`** button or use the header toolbar icon.
3. Give your workflow a descriptive name (e.g. `User Authentication & Profile Retrieval`).
4. Click anywhere on the empty canvas to set your starting focus.

<Note>
  You can organize flows into folders by dragging and dropping them directly in the sidebar tree.
</Note>

***

### Step 2: Add an HTTP Request Node

You can add endpoints to the canvas in two ways:

* **From an API Collection**: Drag an endpoint directly from the Collections sidebar tab onto the canvas.
* **Standalone Component**: Drag the **`[ ⚡ qComponent ]`** (Standalone HTTP) block from the component palette.

Double-click the placed node to open the **Unified Request Configuration Dialog**:

1. Select the **HTTP Method** (e.g. `POST`).
2. Enter the **Endpoint URL** (e.g. `https://api.example.com/auth/login`).
3. Under the **Body** tab, provide your payload:

```json theme={null}
{
  "username": "demo_user",
  "password": "{{env.DEFAULT_PASSWORD}}"
}
```

4. Click **Save Configuration**.

***

### Step 3: Connect a Downstream Step & Bind Variables

1. Add a second HTTP node to the canvas: `GET https://api.example.com/user/profile`.
2. Connect the output handle of the Login node to the input handle of the Profile node.
3. Open the Profile node configuration and navigate to the **Headers** tab.
4. Set the `Authorization` header to use the upstream token:

```text theme={null}
Bearer {{Login.response.body.accessToken}}
```

<Tip>
  The dynamic binding helper will automatically suggest predecessor outputs as you type `{{`.
</Tip>

***

### Step 4: Run the Flow & Inspect Results

1. Click the **Run Flow** button (`▶`) in the top-right header toolbar.
2. Observe real-time visual progress as nodes transition from Pending (dashed outline) to Running (spinning pulse) to Completed (green badge).
3. The **Execution Results** drawer will open automatically, displaying:
   * **Step-by-step HTTP Traces**: Exact request headers, URLs, and response bodies.
   * **Latency Timings**: Round-trip millisecond latencies per hop.
   * **Assertions & Status Codes**: Validated response contracts.

***

### Step 5: Next Steps

Now that you've run your first workflow, explore advanced orchestration patterns:

* [Multi-Branch Logic (Switch Router)](/components/switch-router): Route requests dynamically based on status codes or response attributes.
* [Looping Engine (For, Repeat, Collect)](/components/loops): Iterate through arrays and collect batch outputs.
* [Test Suites Pipeline](/testing/flow-suites): Bundle flows into sequential or parallel regression suites.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.