> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ionworks.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up a new project

> Create a project to group your cells, studies, models, and optimizations, then scope subsequent SDK calls to it.

A [project](/core-concepts/projects-studies) groups your cell specifications, studies, models, and optimizations. Create one, then scope your work to it.

<Note>
  Install and authenticate first: `pip install ionworks-api` and set `IONWORKS_API_KEY`. See the [Python API client](/api-client) page.
</Note>

```python theme={null}
from ionworks import Ionworks

client = Ionworks()

# Create a project — its id groups everything you do next.
project = client.project.create({
    "name": "NMC Characterization",
    "description": "Q1 2025 NMC cell testing",
})
print(project.id)

# Find projects later (name is a case-insensitive substring match).
projects = client.project.list(name="NMC", order_by="created_at", order="desc")

# Studies live inside a project — pass its id to scope the call.
study = client.study.create(
    {"name": "1C Discharge Study"},
    project_id=project.id,
)
```

**What's happening**

* Two ways to scope work to a project: pass the project id explicitly per call (e.g. `client.study.create(project_id, ...)`), or set `IONWORKS_PROJECT_ID` in your environment so it becomes the default for calls whose `project_id` is optional.
* `client.project` has the full CRUD set: `.list()`, `.get(id)`, `.create(data)`, `.update(id, data)`, `.delete(id)`.
* Projects and studies have no `create_or_get`. For re-runnable scripts, catch the `CONFLICT` error and read `existing_id` from its detail to reuse an existing one.

## Learn more

* [Projects & studies](/core-concepts/projects-studies)
* [Organizations](/core-concepts/organizations)
* [Python API client](/api-client) — `project_id` argument and `IONWORKS_PROJECT_ID` precedence