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url: /topics/get-started.md
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# Get started

Quarzo APIs accept and return JSON. The APIs use standard HTTP status codes.
You can call the APIs with an HTTP client or the Quarzo SDK. See [Use the Quarzo SDK](/guides/use-the-quarzo-sdk).

## Select an authentication method

For a Broker backend, follow [Call Quarzo from a Broker backend](/guides/call-quarzo-from-a-broker-backend).
The guide covers the Service Key, access token, first API request, and key rotation.
The Broker Administrator creates the Service Account and downloads the Service Key in `broker-front`.

For access to `broker-front`, follow [Sign in to Quarzo](/guides/sign-in-to-quarzo).

For the differences between direct login, machine access, delegation, and federation, see [Authentication](/topics/authentication).

## Select an environment

Use the credentials and URLs for your target environment.
See [Environments](/topics/environments) for the URLs of each environment.
To get access to an environment, contact your Quarzo integration contact.

## Next steps

* [API reference](/api/): find endpoints and request formats.
* [Idempotent requests](/topics/idempotent-requests): retry supported commands safely.
* [Glossary](/glossary): find insurance terms.