Quick Start
Use npx to create a new Motia project. This single command will scaffold a new application and install all necessary dependencies.
npx motia@latest create
The installer will guide you through a few questions to set up your project. Once it's done, you will have a new project directory ready to go.
Navigate into your new project directory and start the Motia development server.
cd <your-project-name> # If you've created a new folder for the project, navigate into it
npx motia dev

This command starts the Motia runtime and the Workbench, a powerful UI for developing and debugging your workflows. By default, it's available at http://localhost:3000.
The starter project comes with a pre-built default flow. Let's run it.
- Open the Workbench in your browser at
http://localhost:3000. - Select the
defaultflow from the left top panel. - Run the flow. You'll see a visual diagram of the workflow. Find the first node (the API Step) and click the Start button on it. This will trigger the flow.
- Observe the execution. Watch the trace unfold in real-time in the bottom panel. You can inspect the logs, traces and state for each step as it completes.
- Explore the Workbench. You can also read your files directly from the Workbench.

Congratulations! You've successfully created, run, and observed your first Motia workflow.
- To build a multi-language application from scratch, follow our Multi-Language Data Processing guide.
- To learn how to build REST APIs with Motia, check out our Creating Your First REST API guide.
- To learn about Motia, dive into our Welcome to Motia.