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Getting started

Plain is an API-first customer service platform for modern tools.

We want to bring engineering and customer service teams together by creating a modern opinionated platform that's built to be built with.

We are currently in open beta, and you can get started today at www.plain.com.

What does API-first mean?​

Being built API-first is a key principle of Plain. It means:

  • That we will always use the same API to build Plain that you have access to. This means that you will never be given a simplified API or be restricted in what you can and can't do programmatically via Plain. This enables you to build powerful workflows.

  • That we consider API users of new features on the same level as users of our Support App. This means that we will avoid building features which overly rely on logic in the UI layer and instead build APIs to access the logic.

Where should I start?​

First we recommend you familiarise yourself with Plain's data model. This will help you orient yourself in the rest of the docs.

After that you can:

  1. Learn about Custom Timeline Entries and Customer Cards as tools that allow you to add context to your customer support interactions.
  2. Learn how to make your first API call.
  3. Browse one of our recipes to see how you can start building on top of Plain.

If you have any feedback on our docs we'd love to hear it! You can drop us an email at help@plain.com.