Quick Start
This guide walks you through everything you need to go from signing up for Carbon Arc, to purchasing your first framework, and analyzing data with AI.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Get started by selecting a plan, creating your account, verifying your identity, and adding a payment method. Once complete, you'll be logged into the platform and ready to go.
Follow the Account Setup guide →
Step 2: Explore the User Portal
The User Portal is your home base for managing your profile, team members, billing, and API access. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the available settings and features.
Step 3: Get Your API Key
Your API key enables programmatic access to Carbon Arc through the SDK and API. You can find and copy it from your profile page.
Learn how to access your API key →
Step 4: Understand Frameworks
Frameworks are Carbon Arc's core building blocks. Each one pairs an entity (eg. a brand or company) with an insight (eg. credit card spend or website traffic) to answer a specific business question.
Read the Frameworks overview →
Step 5: Build and Buy a Framework
Use Builder to search for entities and insights, create pairings, configure spatial and temporal filters, and purchase your framework — all from a single workflow.
Step 6: Analyze with AI
Carbon Arc offers two ways to interact with your data using AI:
- Lenses — Query data with natural language directly in the platform using specialized AI personas. No external subscription required.
- MCP Server — Connect Carbon Arc to AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT for natural language analysis outside the platform.
Learn more about Carbon Arc MCP →
Questions?
If you need help at any point, reach out to our support team at support@carbonarc.co.