# Beacon Documentation

Beacon is the SMS API built for AI agents. These docs describe what ships in `0.3.3-beta` — the public, currently-implemented surface.

You install Beacon from your [license portal](https://apexcode.dev/beacon): a Docker Compose bundle, or Composer from `packages.apexcode.dev`. No GitHub clone is required. Docs live at [apexcode.dev/beacon/docs](https://apexcode.dev/beacon/docs). Agents should start at [llms.txt](./llms.txt). There is no AI chat on these docs.

## Start here

- [Product overview](./product-overview.md) — what Beacon is, who it is for, and how it is positioned
- [Quickstart](./quickstart.md) — license portal to your first text in 5 minutes

## Install

- [Self-hosted Docker](./self-hosted-docker.md) — Compose bundle (`ghcr.io/apxcde/beacon:0.3.3-beta`, port 8000)
- [Licensing](./licensing.md) — `beacon.license`, test mode, and the one-year update window
- [Configuration](./configuration.md) — every environment variable

## Reference

- [API reference](./api.md) — HTTP API endpoints, auth, and conventions
- [MCP reference](./mcp.md) — MCP tools, resources, and prompts
- [Webhooks](./webhooks.md) — Twilio inbound and status callbacks

## Operate

- [Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md) — common failure modes

## Quick differentiators

- **API-first** — Beacon is designed to be used programmatically
- **Thread-native** — SMS history is organized around threads
- **Team-scoped** — API keys, contacts, numbers, and opt-outs are isolated per team
- **Agent-oriented** — the product is built for agent workflows, not bulk SMS dashboards