Getting started

Welcome to Segments. This short guide walks you through registering an account, creating your first source, and sending your first event from a Go service.

1. Create your account

Head over to the sign-up page and create a free account. You'll get 14 days of full access — no credit card required.

2. Create a source

Once logged in, open the cabinet and go to Sources → New source. Pick a name (e.g. backend-api) and choose the Server (Go) type. Segments will generate a unique write key — copy it, you'll need it in the next step.

3. Install the Go SDK

Segments is wire-compatible with segmentio/analytics-go. Install it in your service:

go get gopkg.in/segmentio/analytics-go.v3

4. Send your first event

Initialize a client with your write key and emit a Track call:

package main

import (
    "log"

    analytics "gopkg.in/segmentio/analytics-go.v3"
)

func main() {
    client, _ := analytics.NewWithConfig("YOUR_WRITE_KEY", analytics.Config{
        Endpoint: "https://api.segments.example.com",
    })
    defer client.Close()

    if err := client.Enqueue(analytics.Track{
        UserId: "user-42",
        Event:  "Signed Up",
        Properties: analytics.NewProperties().
            Set("plan", "starter").
            Set("source", "backend-api"),
    }); err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
}

5. Verify in the cabinet

Open Sources → backend-api → Debugger in the cabinet. Your Signed Up event should appear within a few seconds.

Tip: events are buffered in-memory and flushed in batches. Always call client.Close() on shutdown so the last batch is flushed.

What's next?

• Connect a destination (Webhook, Postgres, Kafka) to fan-out events.
• Build your first audience in Segments → New segment.
• Read our engineering blog for deep dives.