> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://infisical.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deliver Your First Secret

> Store a secret in Infisical and inject it into an application in under 10 minutes.

This quickstart walks you through the core secrets management workflow. You'll create a [project](/documentation/platform/secrets-mgmt/project), add a secret to an environment, and inject it into an application with the [Infisical CLI](/cli/overview), replacing your `.env` file.

## Prerequisites

* An Infisical account on [Infisical Cloud](https://app.infisical.com) or a [self-hosted instance](/self-hosting/overview)
* An application or script you run locally

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a Project">
    A project holds all secrets for one application or service, split across environments.

    1. Log in to [Infisical](https://app.infisical.com)
    2. Click **Create Project** and give it a name (e.g., `orders-service`)

    Every new project starts with three environments: **Development**, **Staging**, and **Production**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a Secret">
    1. On the **Secrets Overview** page, click into the **Development** environment
    2. Click **Add Secret** and enter a key and value (e.g., `DB_PASSWORD`)

    <Tip>
      Migrating an existing app? Drag and drop your `.env` file onto the dashboard to import all of its secrets at once.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install the CLI and Log In">
    Install the [Infisical CLI](/cli/overview) for your platform, then authenticate:

    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    infisical login
    ```

    Your browser opens to complete the login.

    <Note>
      In a containerized environment such as WSL 2 or Codespaces, run `infisical login -i` to avoid browser-based login.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect Your Project">
    In your application's directory, link it to the Infisical project you created:

    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    infisical init
    ```

    This writes a `.infisical.json` file with [local project settings](/cli/project-config). It contains no secrets and is safe to commit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Inject Secrets into Your App">
    Start your application through the CLI. Infisical fetches the secrets for the environment and injects them as environment variables:

    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    # e.g., npm run dev, flask run, go run main.go
    infisical run --env=dev -- <your start command>
    ```

    Your application reads `DB_PASSWORD` from its environment like any other variable. No `.env` file needed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Core Concepts" icon="book" href="/documentation/platform/secrets-mgmt/concepts/secrets-mgmt">
    Understand how projects, environments, folders, and secrets fit together.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Secrets Delivery" icon="truck-fast" href="/documentation/platform/secrets-mgmt/concepts/secrets-delivery">
    Deliver secrets to production with SDKs, agents, Kubernetes, and CI/CD.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Local Development Guide" icon="laptop-code" href="/documentation/guides/local-development">
    Set up a secure local development workflow for your whole team.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Access Control" icon="shield-halved" href="/documentation/platform/secrets-mgmt/concepts/access-control">
    Scope who can access which environments and paths.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>