# Fundamentals

## Learn Robin Fundamentals

Robin provides developers with numerous APIs and SDKs across different programming languages and frameworks — each with a different setup, although many of these APIs have a few similar prerequisites before they can be fully set up and integrated.

We call these prerequisites the fundamental parts of Robin as they are the building blocks of any Robin Integration.

### Robin Account and Dashboard

There are no integrations without a Robin Account; an account allows access to the Dashboard. The Robin Dashboard is a control centre for all of Robin’s services; you can access your API keys and secret keys, among others. If you do not yet have an API key, you can start by [Setting up your Robin account](/messaging-with-robin/guides/setting-up-your-robin-account.md)

{% hint style="info" %}
An API key is a unique string used to recognize requests to your Robin App when you integrate the Robin API.
{% endhint %}

### Robin App

At the heart of every Robin API Integration is a Robin App; it is the smallest unit that contains all components to function independently and power interactions. Every user is prompted to create a Robin App upon creating a Robin account.

{% hint style="info" %}
For more on the Robin App, see [How does Robin Messaging work?](/messaging-with-robin/guides/how-does-robin-messaging-work.md)
{% endhint %}

### Robin User Token (RUT)

A critical component of every messaging infrastructure is a sender and a recipient. Whether it is a direct conversation (one-on-one) or a group conversation, users always need to send messages to one another; Robin uses the RUT to identify these users.

{% hint style="info" %}
See \[[What is the Robin User Token (RUT)?](/messaging-with-robin/guides/what-is-the-robin-user-token-rut.md)]\(<https://www.notion.so/What-is-the-Robin-User-Token-RUT-c832f212eb864f2da21a75c12e8df021>) to understand how the RUTs work.
{% endhint %}

### Robin Keys

Robin keys are different from API Keys. While **RUTs** help Robin to identify every user in a Robin App, Robin Keys are used to extract other fields that are mapped to users in your Robin App. Some of these fields are `userName` and `profileImage`.

{% hint style="info" %}
Still not getting it? Check out [The What and Why: Robin Keys](/messaging-with-robin/guides/the-what-and-why-robin-keys.md) to fully grasp the concept of Robin Keys.
{% endhint %}

### Channels <a href="#channels" id="channels"></a>

All messages and [Robin Messaging Events](/robin-messaging-events.md) sent via Robin are sent through channels. Channels can be considered as tunnels that relay and retrieve messages to all connected clients. For more on how Robin uses channels, see [How does Robin Messaging work?](/messaging-with-robin/guides/how-does-robin-messaging-work.md)

With knowledge of the fundamentals above, you are ready to integrate the Robin API and SDKs in any product of your choice with no hitches.


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