> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.decktalk.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quickstart > Install DeckTalk with uv, pipx, or pip, build the scaffold video without an API key, then add an ElevenLabs voice and build the narrated mp4. DeckTalk needs Python 3.12 or later. Everything else arrives through Python packages and one download. Playwright's package carries its own browser driver, and `static-ffmpeg` carries ffmpeg and ffprobe for your platform. You do not need Node. ```console theme={null} uv tool install decktalk ``` `uv` is a Python package manager from Astral. The command `uv tool install` puts a command-line tool in its own environment and on your PATH. ```console theme={null} pipx install decktalk ``` ```console theme={null} python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate pip install decktalk ``` Then fetch the tools DeckTalk drives, once per machine, and confirm that they work. ```console theme={null} decktalk setup # headless Chromium, ffmpeg, and KaTeX, into a per-user cache decktalk doctor # reports each tool and exits 1 when one is missing ``` ```text theme={null} python ok 3.13 (.venv/bin/python3) chromium ok ffmpeg ok .venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages/static_ffmpeg/bin/darwin/ffmpeg ffprobe ok .venv/lib/python3.13/site-packages/static_ffmpeg/bin/darwin/ffprobe katex ok ~/Library/Caches/decktalk/katex/ ``` Run `setup` before `init`, because `init` copies the cached KaTeX into the project so that equations render with no network. ```console theme={null} decktalk init my-lesson && cd my-lesson decktalk build --silent # every stage with placeholder narration, no key ``` The `--silent` flag runs every stage with a silent placeholder track and estimated word times. It needs no account and costs nothing, so use it to prove that a project builds before you spend credits. Each stage prints a table, and the build ends with the path of the video. ```text theme={null} sec start probe YAVG YMAX result 01 0.00 0.20 29 206 ok 02 10.16 10.36 28 166 ok 03 32.08 32.28 28 155 ok 04 69.56 69.76 28 162 ok total 113.92s; 0 black section start(s) built build/out/my-lesson.mp4 ``` ```console theme={null} open build/out/my-lesson.mp4 ``` ```console theme={null} xdg-open build/out/my-lesson.mp4 ``` ```console theme={null} start build\out\my-lesson.mp4 ``` The scaffold is a short lesson in four sections: a title, three labeled lines, a derivation that reveals line by line, and a prompt before-and-after. All four are page sections, which DeckTalk records from `deck/index.html` and cuts to the narration. A commented-out section 0 shows how to open with a clip of your own, and [Add a clip section](/guides/clip-section) walks through it. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and replace the two placeholders. ```dotenv .env theme={null} ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=sk_... # Profile, then API keys, on elevenlabs.io ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID=... # the id on a voice's card under Voices ``` Both values can also come from the environment. A value left as `` counts as unset. DeckTalk never prints the key and never writes it under `build/`. Then build the project again. ```console theme={null} decktalk build ``` You need an ElevenLabs plan with API access. The [FAQ](/help/faq#what-does-it-cost) names the plan and gives the arithmetic. Edit any sentence in `script.md` and run `decktalk build` again. DeckTalk hashes each section by its text, so only the section you touched is synthesized and recorded again. The rest comes from the cache. [Rebuild one section](/guides/rebuild-one-section) explains what is reused. Open `deck/index.html` in any browser with no query string. The page shows an index of every scene and step. Add `?scene=2` to play a scene, `?step=2.1` to freeze one step with everything revealed, or `&hud=1` to overlay the clock. ```console theme={null} decktalk shots # one PNG per step, under build/shots/ decktalk shots --section 3 --at 4.5 # a frame from section 3 as it plays with its real cues decktalk verify 3:3.1c # measures when the cue changed the picture in the mp4 decktalk status # the timeline and what is built ``` ## What is in a project | Path | What it holds | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `decktalk.toml` | The plan. One `[[section]]` per script section, the voice, the transitions, the mix, the soundscape prompts, and any tuning. [Reference](/reference/decktalk-toml). | | `script.md` | The narration. Each `## N. Title` heading starts a section, and text in square brackets is a stage direction that is not spoken. [Reference](/reference/script-md). | | `cues.json` | The phrase that each visual lands on. [Reference](/reference/cues-json). | | `deck/` | Your pages, with `decktalk-runtime.js` and a vendored copy of KaTeX beside them. [Runtime reference](/reference/runtime). | | `media/` | Your own clips and the underscore markers. | | `.env` | The ElevenLabs key and voice id. Git ignores it. | | `build/` | Everything DeckTalk generates, including the video, captions, and chapters. Git ignores it. [Artifacts](/reference/artifacts). | Write numbers and symbols in the script the way you want them spoken. A cue matches the spoken words "two x", while the slide shows the symbols. ## Next [Your first deck](/guides/first-deck) writes one section from scratch and shows how the four files refer to each other. [Writing for the ear](/guides/writing-for-the-ear) is the craft of a script that cues well.