---
title: First steps
slug: /getting-started
description: New to ClikaRT? Start here. What the runtime is, how to install it, and the tutorial series.
---

New to ClikaRT? This section is where to start. It gives enough orientation to hold the whole library in your head, an install you can verify in minutes, and a first program that grows into a real pipeline. Read it in order:

1. **[ClikaRT at a glance](overview.mdx)**: what the runtime is and is not, who it is for, and the five-minute mental model.
2. **[Get ClikaRT](get-clikart.mdx)**: pick your platform, get the download and verify commands.
3. **[Quick install](installation.md)**: prerequisites, the bundle, and two ways to prove it works.
4. **Tutorial series**: six parts, each a complete step, with core concepts explained where they first appear. [Your first program](first-program/01-your-first-program.mdx), [tensors and operators](first-program/02-tensors-and-operators.mdx), [devices and the async model](first-program/03-devices-and-async.mdx), [your first pipeline](first-program/04-your-first-pipeline.mdx) (weights from disk, compute on the best device, results back), [serve it](first-program/05-serve-it.mdx) (the same model behind the serving runtime, answering requests), and [deploy to mobile](first-program/06-deploy-to-mobile.mdx) (the part 4 program on a real phone, unchanged).
5. **[What to read next](next-steps.md)**: where to go once it runs.

## How the ClikaRT docs are layered

- **This section** orients: condensed, in reading order, concepts woven in.
- **[How-to guides](/how-to/index.md)**: problem-oriented recipes, one per "how do I X", with [additional examples](/examples.md) as the end-to-end reading inside it.
- **[API reference](/api/index.md)**: the full reference per language: C++, Python and Kotlin.

[System requirements](/system-requirements.md) sits alongside, for the platform and hardware tables.