# Get started

CountWatch watches your orders, sign-ups, payments and jobs, and tells you and your agent when one drops, stops or spikes. Three steps.

## 1. Make an account

Sign up at [https://countwatch.com/login](https://countwatch.com/login). Free: 50 watches, no credit card.

## 2. Connect your first number

Pick the way that fits. The first count starts the watch.

| Where the number comes from | What to do |
|---|---|
| You use Claude, Cursor or Codex | Add `https://countwatch.com/mcp` to your agent app (Claude: Customize → Connectors → Add → Add custom connector; Cursor: the Add to Cursor link in the app, or .cursor/mcp.json; Codex: codex mcp add). Then tell your agent: "Set up CountWatch for this project." It runs `npx countwatch init` when the project needs a key; you approve it in your browser. In a terminal: `claude mcp add --transport http countwatch https://countwatch.com/mcp`. |
| Stripe, GitHub, n8n or another tool that can call a URL | Paste a Webhook URL from the dashboard (Senders (Connect)) into the tool. Each call counts one. See [Connect your data](/docs/recipes). |
| Your own code | Count where it happens. See [Your app's code](/docs/recipes/app-counter). |
| A database or a nightly job | Send its count on a schedule. See [Any other source](/docs/methods). |

## 3. Turn on alerts

Add Slack, a webhook, e-mail or PagerDuty (Pro) under **Destinations (Connect)** and press **Send a test**. Then choose it under **Alerts go to** on a group's or a watch's page; until then alerts stay in the app.

## Skip the learning time

A new watch first gets to know its pattern; starter rules alert meanwhile. Import past counts and full alerts start the same day. See [Bring in past data](/docs/import-history).

Next: [What CountWatch does](/docs/how-it-works).