Quick Start Guide


Hud helps your team ship with confidence by connecting your code, reviews, and production behavior.

Here's how to get started in minutes:


1. Create an Account

Start by setting up your Hud workspace (Signup is required to generate your workspace's API keys).

  • Sign up on the web
    Create your account at hud.io using your business Gmail account.
  • Name your account
    Choose a name which will appear in your team’s workspace.

2. Integrate Hud SDK

Install Hud’s SDK in your codebase to start collecting runtime signals and enable Hud's MCP with delivering runtime context while writing code.

  • Works with Node.js
  • Lightweight, production-safe
  • Surfaces runtime behavior directly in your IDE and Web

Node.js installation guide →


3. Install Hud IDE extension

Bring runtime context directly into your development workflow.

  • Install the Hud extension for Cursor, VS Code or JetBrains IDEs.
  • Enable Hud's MCP to surface real-world signals as you write and review code
  • It delivers real-time context - endpoint behavior, failure patterns, and function-level performance


4. Move to Production

Hud provides actionable insights when operating in your production environment.

  • Automatically detect and understand failures, with root causes and behavior trends surfaced instantly - no logs or metrics required.
  • Production-grounded insights into function behavior, helping you fix issues accurately based on how your system actually runs.
  • Validates your changes against live production patterns to prevent regressions and ensure alignment with real-world usage.
  • With Hud in production, every step of your workflow - from debugging to shipping - is backed by live, structured runtime data that keeps your team in sync with reality.

You can find your production key in the Hud API Keys page.