# Quickstart Log a simulated training run to hosted InstantML — no ML frameworks or datasets required — and see it charted in the dashboard. You need Python 3.11 or newer and an [InstantML](https://instantml.ai) account. ## Install the SDK Install the package into your environment: ```bash python -m pip install instantml ``` ## Log in Authenticate once from the terminal: ```bash instantml login ``` The CLI opens a browser device-code page, then stores an SDK credential in `~/.instantml/credentials`. The Python SDK picks it up automatically. Confirm with `instantml whoami`. > **Note:** For CI and remote jobs where browser login is not possible, set the `INSTANTML_API_KEY` environment variable to an API key instead. See [Install and authenticate the SDK](/docs/sdk/installation-auth.md). ## Log your first run Create `train.py`. It simulates a 50-step training loop with synthetic metrics, so it runs in seconds: ```python import math import random import sys import instantml as im seed = int(sys.argv[1]) if len(sys.argv) > 1 else 42 random.seed(seed) run = im.init( project="quickstart", name=f"baseline-seed-{seed}", config={"seed": seed, "model": "tiny-mlp", "learning_rate": 3e-4}, tags=["quickstart"], ) for step in range(1, 51): loss = math.exp(-step / 18) + random.random() * 0.02 accuracy = min(0.98, 0.5 + step / 120 + random.random() * 0.01) run.log({"train/loss": loss, "eval/accuracy": accuracy}, step=step) run.finish() print(f"Finished run {run.run_id}") ``` Run it: ```bash python train.py ``` You should see: ```text Finished run ``` ## Open the dashboard Open [instantml.ai](https://instantml.ai) and select the `quickstart` project. Your run appears in the Runs workspace with live summary values, and the Run Detail view charts `train/loss` and `eval/accuracy` over all 50 steps. ![Runs workspace showing the quickstart run with its logged metrics](/docs/assets/images/product/dashboard-runs.png) ## Compare runs The real payoff is comparison. Launch three more runs with different seeds: ```bash python train.py 7 python train.py 21 python train.py 99 ``` Back in the Runs workspace, switch the **Panels ⇄ Table** toggle to **Table** and select all four runs. A side-by-side comparison renders above the table — metric values and config rows lined up, so the effect of `seed` is visible at a glance. See [Compare runs](/docs/dashboard/compare-runs.md) for goal-aware deltas and reference runs. > **Tip:** Already on Weights & Biases? You can mirror or shadow your existing W&B logging into InstantML without changing your training code — see the [W&B integration](/docs/integrations/wandb.md). ## Next steps - [Install and authenticate the SDK](/docs/sdk/installation-auth.md) — API keys, scopes, and CI setup - [Metrics and steps](/docs/sdk/metrics-steps.md) — metric naming and step semantics - [Configs, tags, and notes](/docs/sdk/config-tags-notes.md) — make runs searchable and comparable - [Query runs and metrics](/docs/sdk/querying-data.md) — load existing runs from scripts and notebooks - [W&B integration](/docs/integrations/wandb.md) — shadow or mirror W&B runs during migration - [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting.md) — first checks when a run does not appear ## Agent navigation - [Docs index](/llms.txt) - [Full docs bundle](/llms-full.txt) ### Get Started - [Overview](/docs/index.md) - [Quickstart](/docs/quickstart.md) (current page) - [Core Concepts](/docs/concepts/core-concepts.md) - [Pricing](/docs/pricing.md) - [Benchmarks](/docs/benchmarks.md) - [Examples](/docs/guides/examples.md) - [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting.md) ### SDK - [Installation Auth](/docs/sdk/installation-auth.md) - [Logging](/docs/sdk/logging.md) - [Tracing](/docs/sdk/tracing.md) - [Metrics Steps](/docs/sdk/metrics-steps.md) - [Config Tags Notes](/docs/sdk/config-tags-notes.md) - [Artifacts Checkpoints](/docs/sdk/artifacts-checkpoints.md) - [Rich Objects](/docs/sdk/rich-objects.md) - [Distributed Training](/docs/sdk/distributed-training.md) - [Console System Integrations](/docs/sdk/console-system-integrations.md) - [Reliability](/docs/sdk/reliability.md) - [Cli Login](/docs/sdk/cli-login.md) - [Querying Data](/docs/sdk/querying-data.md) - [Agent Mcp](/docs/sdk/agent-mcp.md) - [Examples Patterns](/docs/sdk/examples-patterns.md) ### Integrations - [Overview](/docs/integrations/overview.md) - [Pytorch Lightning](/docs/integrations/pytorch-lightning.md) - [Huggingface Transformers](/docs/integrations/huggingface-transformers.md) - [Keras](/docs/integrations/keras.md) - [Wandb](/docs/integrations/wandb.md) ### Dashboard - [Tour](/docs/dashboard/tour.md) - [Organizations Workspaces](/docs/dashboard/organizations-workspaces.md) - [Runs Workspace](/docs/dashboard/runs-workspace.md) - [Metrics Charts](/docs/dashboard/metrics-charts.md) - [Run Detail](/docs/dashboard/run-detail.md) - [Traces](/docs/dashboard/traces.md) - [Compare Runs](/docs/dashboard/compare-runs.md) - [Research Dashboards](/docs/dashboard/research-dashboards.md) - [Artifacts Files](/docs/dashboard/artifacts-files.md) - [Run Health](/docs/dashboard/alerts.md) - [Datasets](/docs/dashboard/datasets.md) - [Checkpoints](/docs/dashboard/checkpoints.md) - [Reports](/docs/dashboard/reports.md) - [Settings Api Keys](/docs/dashboard/settings-api-keys.md) - [Api Tab](/docs/dashboard/api-tab.md) - [Onboarding Team Billing](/docs/dashboard/onboarding-team-billing.md) ### Data - [Imports](/docs/guides/imports.md) - [W&B alternative](/docs/guides/wandb-alternative.md) - [InstantML vs MLflow](/docs/guides/instantml-vs-mlflow.md) - [W&B import guide](/docs/guides/wandb-import-guide.md) - [W&B and Neptune imports](/docs/guides/wandb-neptune-imports.md) - [Export Usage Limits](/docs/guides/export-usage-limits.md) - [Pricing Limits Billing](/docs/guides/pricing-limits-billing.md) - [Auth Billing Storage](/docs/guides/auth-billing-storage.md) - [Customer Owned Clickhouse](/docs/guides/customer-owned-clickhouse.md) - [Observability](/docs/guides/observability.md) ### API **Practical API guides** - [Authentication](/docs/api/authentication.md) - [Errors And Limits](/docs/api/errors-and-limits.md) - [Health Observability](/docs/api/health-observability.md) - [Projects Runs](/docs/api/projects-runs.md) - [Metrics Series](/docs/api/metrics-series.md) - [Attributes Objects](/docs/api/attributes-objects.md) - [Artifacts](/docs/api/artifacts.md) - [Reports](/docs/api/reports.md) - [Iframe Embeds](/docs/api/iframe-embeds.md) - [Import Export Usage](/docs/api/import-export-usage.md) - [Dashboard Control State](/docs/api/dashboard-control-state.md) **Architecture** - [System Overview](/docs/architecture/system-overview.md) - [Service Planes](/docs/architecture/service-planes.md) - [Storage Model](/docs/architecture/storage-model.md) - [Google Clickhouse](/docs/architecture/google-clickhouse.md) - [Auth Tenancy](/docs/architecture/auth-tenancy.md) - [Schema Reference](/docs/architecture/schema-reference.md) ### API Reference - [API Reference](/docs/api-reference.md)