---
title: "Prerequisites | Grafana Labs"
description: "Account and tooling requirements for the course"
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## What you’ll need

- **Grafana Cloud account:** Free tier is enough. [Create an account](/signup/cloud/connect-account) if you need one. Use it to sign in and open k6 dashboards. A path will prompt you to authorize the CLI.
- **JavaScript basics:** Variables, functions, imports. Nothing advanced. If you can read code, you can follow.
- **Code editor:** [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) or [Cursor](https://www.cursor.com/) recommended.
- **Terminal access:** Command line interface for running k6.

## If JavaScript feels rusty

The learning paths use **small scripts** you can follow line by line. If you prefer help authoring or refactoring JavaScript, use **Grafana Assistant** in **k6 Script Authoring** mode in Grafana Cloud:

1. On the main menu, click **Testing & synthetics** > **Performance**.
2. Click the **Assistant** icon at the top of the sidebar to open the Grafana Assistant.
3. In the mode selector at the bottom of the Assistant panel, choose **k6 Script Authoring**.

Grafana Assistant must be enabled on your stack; contact your administrator if you do not see **Assistant**. Refer to [Use k6 Script Authoring mode](/docs/grafana-cloud/testing/k6/author-run/k6-script-authoring-mode/) for workflows, prompts, and limitations.

**Example prompt** (paste into Assistant, then treat the reply as a draft—not the final script):

> Create a minimal k6 HTTP test for `https://quickpizza.grafana.com` that checks for a **200** response, uses **`sleep(1)`** between iterations, and runs for **10 iterations**.

Compare whatever Assistant returns with the **`script.js`** in the learning path before you run **`k6 run`** . Wording and structure can vary by stack and model version, so this course does not embed a fixed generated script here.

## Installed during the course

You don’t need to install these in advance. The first learning path covers installation.

The first learning path installs **k6**, the performance testing CLI. The same binary sends results to Grafana Cloud. The paths cover login or a token when you need it. Refer to [install k6](/docs/k6/latest/set-up/install-k6/) and [Grafana Cloud k6](/docs/grafana-cloud/testing/k6/) for details.

## No test environment needed

You’ll test against QuickPizza. It’s a Grafana-maintained demo. You don’t need staging or production access to finish the paths.

## Other entry points

Not starting from install and baseline? Use these instead:

- Already comfortable with k6 thresholds and want **stress, spike, or soak** first? [k6 test types](/docs/k6/latest/testing-guides/test-types/)
- **Browser-centric** testing: [k6 Browser](/docs/k6/latest/using-k6-browser/)
- **Little or no code**: [k6 Studio](/docs/k6/latest/k6-studio/)