# Quickstart

Give agents access to PostgreSQL or MySQL so they work from real tables and
columns for more accurate results, without sharing the password. Or proxy an
HTTPS origin through the same pool. For Cursor or Claude, add
`https://swarmvia.com/mcp` and follow [Agents](/docs/agents). The steps
below walk an HTTPS origin with curl.

## Prerequisites

- A swarmvia account (sign up at [swarmvia.com](https://swarmvia.com))
- An upstream API URL you are allowed to call
- A tool that can send HTTP requests (`curl` is enough)

## Create a pool

1. Open the dashboard and select **Pools → Create pool**.
2. Choose a subdomain (this becomes `‹subdomain›.swarmvia.cloud`).
3. Add at least one **origin** (the upstream base URL).
4. Pick **Pass-through** if your client already authenticates to the upstream, or
   **Managed** if swarmvia should attach credentials for you.
5. Save. The pool goes live within a few seconds.

## Create a pool key

1. Open the pool → **Access**.
2. Select **Create key**, name it, and copy the secret once.
3. Store it as an environment variable. It is not shown again.

## Send a request

Replace the placeholders and call your pool hostname. The path after the host is
forwarded to the selected origin.

```bash
export POOL_KEY='nb_live_…'
export POOL_HOST='https://your-pool.swarmvia.cloud'

curl -sS "$POOL_HOST/your/api/path" \
  -H "X-Swarmvia-Key: $POOL_KEY"
```

On a **managed** pool you may also send `Authorization: Bearer $POOL_KEY`.
On a **pass-through** pool, keep the pool key in `X-Swarmvia-Key` and put the
upstream credential in `Authorization` (or whatever the upstream expects).

If the pool has multiple origins, pick one explicitly:

```bash
curl -sS "$POOL_HOST/your/api/path" \
  -H "X-Swarmvia-Key: $POOL_KEY" \
  -H "X-Swarmvia-Origin: https://api.example.com"
```

## Confirm admission

A successful response includes headers such as
`x-swarmvia-remaining-slots` and `x-swarmvia-effective-limit`. Open the pool's
**Logs** page to see the request in access logs, or **Metrics** for
admit/queue/reject proof (not the same as Billing allowance).

## Next steps

- [Access](/docs/pools/access) (HMAC, JWT, Cloudflare Access)
- [Concurrency](/docs/pools/concurrency) (concurrency limits, adaptive mode)
- [Agents](/docs/agents) (`https://swarmvia.com/mcp`)
- [Concurrency locks API](/docs/api/locks) (same concurrency limit without proxying)
- [Knowledge base: NetSuite](/docs/knowledge-base/netsuite-rest)