Developers · Quick start

Start building on the Internet Computer.

Choose your infrastructure, create an app, and get to know the network.

Sovereign infrastructure

Create a cloud engine, a sovereign Internet Computer subnet that you control.

If you want absolute control over where your apps are hosted, create a sovereign “cloud engine.” This will allow you to choose the underlying hardware, who operates it, where it is located (for example to address GDPR or sovereignty concerns), and the level at which the ICP protocol replicates compute for security, resilience and performance purposes. To skip this step, just use the Internet Computer's default low cost shared hosting.

Experience the future of cloud

Configure a sovereign cloud engine, experience on-demand fluid apps.

Start at opencloud.org

Globally distributed🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇩🇪 🇿🇦 🇮🇳 🇸🇬 🇦🇺

Example configuration · 1/5

Build · primary path

Give your agent ICP skills.

Create fluid on-demand apps, websites and SaaS using AI agents.

Start with a prompt

Use these ICP skills to build my app. Write the backend in Motoko and help me deploy it.

https://skills.internetcomputer.org/llms.txt

Bring the skills into your coding agent, then describe what you want to build. The prompt includes AI fluidity and help updating your production app.

Works with Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, and Perplexity.

Browse the library

Other ways to build

Caffeine

Build sophisticated apps, SaaS, and websites through conversation. Use Caffeine directly or through MCP.

ICP Ninja

Experiment with Motoko or Rust in your browser. No setup or sign-in required.

SDK quick start

Set up the dfx toolchain and build against a local replica. Deploy the same code to the public network.

Read the work

Understand
the platform.

From the first explanation to the underlying research. All available as plain Markdown for agents.

In a nutshell

Online presentations

Technical papers

The economy

Get involved with ICP tokenomics.

Holders direct the network through neuron-based governance, earn voting rewards, and pay for compute on behalf of hosted apps.

Network economics

Cycles, ICP, neurons, and node-provider rewards — the closed-loop model that pays for compute and incentivizes the network.

Network governance

The Network Nervous System: stake ICP into a neuron and vote on protocol upgrades, subnet creation, and treasury motions.

Buy ICP tokens

ICP trades on major centralized and decentralized exchanges. Listings, pairs, and bridges are catalogued in the economics page.