# Quickstart

Go from sign-up to your first outreach in under 5 minutes.

#### 1. Create your account

Go to [joinstarlight.com/sign-up](https://joinstarlight.com/sign-up) and sign up with Google or enter your email for a magic link. No password needed.

You'll start on the **Free plan** with 200 credits per month — enough to run your first searches and send outreach.

#### 2. Configure your AI settings

Navigate to **Settings → AI** and fill in:

- **Product or service description** — What you sell and who it's for
- **Ideal Customer Profile** — The type of prospect you want to reach
- **Your LinkedIn URL** — So AI can reference your background
- **Writing samples** — So AI can match your natural voice

> **Tip:** The more context you provide, the better your AI-generated messages will be. Include specific details about your value proposition and target market.

#### 3. Connect your email

Go to **Connectors** in the sidebar and connect your Gmail or Outlook account. This allows Starlight to send outreach on your behalf and track replies.

See [Gmail setup](/docs/integrations/gmail) or [Outlook setup](/docs/integrations/outlook) for details. To send LinkedIn and X messages too, install the [Starlight Chrome extension](/docs/integrations/chrome-extension).

#### 4. Run your first search

Click **Search** in the sidebar and type a natural language query like:

> "VP of Marketing at SaaS companies with 50-200 employees in New York"

Starlight's AI parses your query into filters and searches 250M+ contacts to find matching prospects. Review the results and their match scores.

#### 5. Draft and send messages

From your search results, select leads and click **Draft Messages with AI**. The Outbound builder opens — write a brief, pick how the campaign sounds, and preview a personalized draft for every recipient before approving.

Approved drafts land in the **Messages**tab, where you can still edit each one before it goes out. Nothing sends without your approval, and sends are automatically scheduled during business hours in each recipient's timezone.

## What's Next?

- [Build Sequences](/docs/features/sequences) — Create multi-step outreach campaigns
- [Connect HubSpot](/docs/integrations/hubspot) — Sync your pipeline with your CRM
- [Understand Credits](/docs/billing/credits) — Learn how the credit system works
- [AI Configuration](/docs/settings/ai-config) — Fine-tune your AI output