# 🚀 Quick Start Guide
Get Crawl4AI MCP Server running in under 3 minutes!
## 📋 Prerequisites
- Docker Desktop installed ([Download here](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/))
- 4GB RAM minimum
- 10GB free disk space
## 🎯 3-Step Installation
### Step 1: Install
```bash
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/krashnicov/crawl4ai-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
```
### Step 2: Configure API Keys
Edit the `.env` file in `~/crawl4ai-mcp/`:
```bash
cd ~/crawl4ai-mcp
nano .env # or use your favorite editor
```
Add your API keys:
```env
OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key_here # Optional
```
### Step 3: Start Services
```bash
make start
```
That's it! 🎉
## 🌐 Access Points
- **MCP Server**: <http://localhost:8051>
- **Qdrant Dashboard**: <http://localhost:6333/dashboard>
- **API Documentation**: <http://localhost:8051/docs>
## 🛠️ Basic Commands
```bash
make logs # View logs
make status # Check service health
make stop # Stop services
make restart # Restart services
```
## 🔧 MCP Client Configuration
### Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"crawl4ai": {
"command": "docker",
"args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "--network", "host", "krashnicov/crawl4ai-mcp:latest"]
}
}
}
```
### Generic MCP Client
```bash
# Connect to the server
mcp connect http://localhost:8051
```
## 📝 Example Usage
### Search and Crawl
```python
# Search for content
results = search(query="AI web crawling tools")
# Crawl a specific URL
content = scrape_urls(url="https://example.com")
# Smart crawl with RAG
data = smart_crawl_url(
url="https://docs.example.com",
query="installation guide"
)
```
### RAG Queries
```python
# Perform RAG query on stored content
answer = perform_rag_query(
query="How to install Docker?",
source="docs.docker.com"
)
```
## 🚨 Troubleshooting
### Services won't start
```bash
# Check Docker is running
docker --version
# Check ports are free
lsof -i :8051
lsof -i :6333
# View detailed logs
make logs
```
### Memory issues
```bash
# Increase Docker memory allocation
# Docker Desktop → Settings → Resources → Memory: 6GB+
```
### Permission errors
```bash
# Fix directory permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/crawl4ai-mcp
```
## 📚 Next Steps
- Read the full [Installation Guide](INSTALLATION.md)
- Configure advanced settings in [Configuration Guide](CONFIGURATION.md)
- Explore the [API Documentation](http://localhost:8051/docs)
- Join our [Discord Community](https://discord.gg/crawl4ai)
## 💡 Pro Tips
1. **Use profiles for different environments:**
```bash
make start # Minimal setup (core profile)
docker compose --profile full up -d # Full features
docker compose --profile dev up -d # Development mode
```
2. **Monitor resource usage:**
```bash
docker stats
```
3. **Quick aliases (after restart):**
```bash
crawl4ai-start # Start services
crawl4ai-stop # Stop services
crawl4ai-logs # View logs
crawl4ai-status # Check status
```
---
Need help? Check our [Troubleshooting Guide](../README.md#troubleshooting) or [open an issue](https://github.com/krashnicov/crawl4ai-mcp/issues).
