> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cowboy.lat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart Guide

> High-level overview of the Cowboy actor lifecycle (non-normative)

## Introduction

This page provides a high-level, non-normative overview of the Cowboy actor development lifecycle, aligned with the whitepaper and CIP-1/2/3. It intentionally avoids prescriptive SDK/CLI commands, network specifics, token faucets, performance claims, or unfinalized APIs.

## What you'll learn

* Actor lifecycle at a glance
* Determinism constraints of the Python VM
* Dual-metered fees (Cycles and Cells)
* When to use timers (CIP-1) and off-chain compute (CIP-2)

## Actor lifecycle (conceptual)

1. Author an Actor in Python that complies with determinism and the module whitelist.
2. Prepare a deployable artifact and submit a deployment transaction.
3. On inclusion, the VM executes your code deterministically; fees are charged per CIP-3 (Cycles/Cells, basefee burn, tip to proposer).
4. Interact with the Actor by sending messages; use timers for scheduled actions (CIP-1) and off-chain compute for external tasks (CIP-2).

See also:

* [Actor VM & Determinism](/architecture/actor-vm/determinism-and-sandbox)
* [Fee Model](/architecture/fees/overview)
* [Timers & Scheduler](/architecture/scheduler/overview)
* [Off-Chain Compute](/architecture/offchain/overview)

## Coming soon

* SDK/CLI installation and commands
* Local devnet and public testnet details
* End-to-end examples with code and receipts