Get started with the Quickstart

A quick introduction to building with Plaid

Want more video tutorials? The full getting started guide for the Quickstart app is available on YouTube.

Don’t want to write code? Check out the Plaid Postman Collection for a no-code way to get started with Plaid’s API.

Looking to get started with Identity Verification or Income Verification? For Identity Verification, check out the Identity Verification Quickstart. For Income, try the Income Verification Starter app.

Introduction

Let's test out running Plaid locally by cloning the Quickstart app. You'll need API keys, which you can receive by signing up in the Dashboard.

You'll have two different API keys, and there are three different Plaid environments. Today we'll start in the Sandbox environment. View the API Keys section of the Dashboard to find your Sandbox secret.

API Key

View Keys in Dashboard

client_id
Private identifier for your team

secret
Private key, one for each of the three environments

Environment

Sandbox
Get started with test credentials and life-like data

Production
Test or launch your app with unlimited live credentials

If you get stuck at any point in the Quickstart, help is just a click away! Check the Quickstart troubleshooting guide or ask other developers in our Stack Overflow community.

Quickstart setup

Once you have your API keys, it's time to run the Plaid Quickstart locally! The instructions below will guide you through the process of cloning the Quickstart repository, customizing the .env file with your own Plaid client ID and Sandbox secret, and finally, building and running the app.

Plaid offers both Docker and non-Docker options for the Quickstart. If you don't have Docker installed, you may wish use the non-Docker version; this path is especially recommended for Windows users who do not have Docker installations. However, if you already have Docker installed, we recommend the Docker option because it is simpler and easier to run the Quickstart.

Setting up without Docker

Make sure you have npm installed before following along. If you’re using Windows, ensure you have a terminal capable of running basic Unix shell commands.

1. Clone the Quickstart and run the backend

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/plaid/quickstart.git
cd quickstart

# Add your API keys to the .env file
cp .env.example .env
# Open .env in your favorite editor and update with your keys

# Install backend dependencies and start the server
cd backend
npm install
npm start

2. Run the Quickstart frontend

Open a new shell and start the frontend app. Your app will be running at http://localhost:3000.

# Install dependencies
cd quickstart/frontend
npm install

# Start the frontend
npm start

Your Quickstart app should now be running! Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000 to see it in action.