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

# Quickstart

> Connect GitHub, send your first deployment event, and see your DORA metrics in under 10 minutes.

## Prerequisites

* A GitHub organization with at least one repository
* A CI/CD pipeline that can send HTTP requests (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, etc.)

## Step 1: Create your organization

<Steps>
  <Step title="Join the waitlist">
    [Join the waitlist](https://tally.so/r/MeAqPM) to get early access. Once you receive your invite, sign in with your work email. Periscope uses WorkOS for authentication — you can sign in with email, Google, or your company's SSO provider.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create an organization">
    After signing in, create a new organization. This is the top-level container for your team's data. You can invite team members later from **Settings**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step 2: Connect GitHub

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the GitHub App">
    Navigate to **Settings > Connections** and click **Connect GitHub**. This installs the Periscope GitHub App on your organization. You can scope it to specific repositories or grant access to all repos.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select repositories to monitor">
    After installation, go to **Settings > Repositories** and toggle on the repositories you want Periscope to track. Only monitored repositories contribute to your metrics.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify PR data">
    Merge a pull request in one of your monitored repositories. Within a few seconds, you should see it appear in the **Insights** dashboard under PR activity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  Periscope captures PR merge events from GitHub going forward. Historical PR data is not backfilled — metrics begin from the moment you connect.
</Info>

## Step 3: Send deployment events

Deployment data is what unlocks DORA metrics. You send deployment events to Periscope from your CI/CD pipeline via a simple webhook.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Generate an API key">
    Go to **Settings > Deployments** and click **Generate API Key**. This creates an API key scoped to your organization. Copy the key — you will not be able to see it again.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the webhook to your pipeline">
    Add an HTTP POST request to your CI/CD pipeline that fires after each deployment. Here is a minimal example:

    ```bash theme={"system"}
    curl -X POST https://app.periscope.sh/api/webhooks/deployments \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "deploymentId": "run-12345",
        "commitSha": "a1b2c3d4e5f60ab2c3d4e5f60ab2c3d4e5f60ab2",
        "environment": "production",
        "status": "success",
        "startedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
        "completedAt": "2024-01-15T10:35:00Z"
      }'
    ```

    See the [deployment webhook reference](/integrations/deployment-webhook) for the full payload schema and CI/CD-specific examples.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify in the dashboard">
    After sending a deployment, go to the **Insights** dashboard. You should see your deployment appear in the activity feed, and if the `commitSha` matches a merged PR, Periscope automatically computes lead time.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step 4: Explore your metrics

With GitHub connected and deployments flowing, Periscope computes all metrics automatically:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="DORA metrics" icon="gauge-high" href="/concepts/dora-metrics">
    Deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, and MTTR.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SPACE metrics" icon="users" href="/concepts/space-metrics">
    Throughput, cycle time, and size vs time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Insights" icon="brain" href="/metrics/contributor-activity">
    Contributor activity, service health, and risk signals.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP integration" icon="plug" href="/integrations/mcp">
    Query metrics from your AI coding assistant.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Next steps

* [Understand DORA metrics](/concepts/dora-metrics) and what the benchmarks mean for your team
* [Learn about the MCP server](/integrations/mcp) for querying metrics from AI coding assistants
* [Explore the OpenCode plugin](/integrations/opencode) for AI coding analytics