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+# Quick Start
+
+Minimal path to push metrics and see them in Prometheus or ClickHouse.
+
+## 1. Build
+
+```bash
+go build -o epimetheus cmd/epimetheus/main.go
+# Or: mage build
+```
+
+## 2. Run (Prometheus path)
+
+**Realtime mode** (Pushgateway + Prometheus):
+
+1. Deploy and expose Pushgateway (see [Kubernetes](../operations/kubernetes.md) or run Pushgateway locally).
+2. Ensure Prometheus scrapes Pushgateway (see [Setup: Prometheus](../operations/setup-prometheus.md)).
+3. Port-forward if needed, then run:
+
+```bash
+kubectl port-forward -n monitoring svc/pushgateway 9091:9091 &
+./epimetheus -mode=realtime -continuous
+```
+
+Metrics are pushed every 15 seconds. Stop with Ctrl+C.
+
+**Watch mode** (Remote Write; preserves timestamps):
+
+1. Enable the Prometheus Remote Write receiver (see [Setup: Prometheus](../operations/setup-prometheus.md)).
+2. Port-forward Prometheus, then run:
+
+```bash
+kubectl port-forward -n monitoring svc/prometheus-kube-prometheus-prometheus 9090:9090 &
+./epimetheus -mode=watch -file=mydata.csv -metric-name=myapp \
+  -prometheus=http://localhost:9090/api/v1/write
+```
+
+## 3. View
+
+- **Pushgateway:** http://localhost:9091  
+- **Prometheus:** http://localhost:9090 (e.g. query `epimetheus_test_requests_total` or your metric name)  
+- **Grafana:** Add Prometheus as a datasource and import the Epimetheus dashboard (see [Grafana Dashboard](../reference/grafana-dashboard.md)).
+
+## ClickHouse path (watch only)
+
+1. Run ClickHouse (e.g. `sudo systemctl start clickhouse-server` or Docker). See [Setup: ClickHouse](../operations/setup-clickhouse.md).
+2. Run watch mode with ClickHouse:
+
+```bash
+./epimetheus -mode=watch -file=test-data/watch-clickhouse-test.csv \
+  -metric-name=watch_test -clickhouse=http://localhost:8123 -prometheus=
+```
+
+3. Verify: `./scripts/verify-clickhouse.sh`
+
+For all modes and options see [Operating Modes](modes.md) and [CLI Reference](../reference/cli.md).