diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3b68b18..0fe5ff3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Clone this repo, or head into the folder for the example you want. Each example
 
 ## Examples
 
+- [first-render](examples/first-render) the very basics: submit an Edit, poll the render status, and print the output URL, in Node.js and Python. Start here if you are new to the API. Companion code for [Render your first video with the Shotstack API](https://shotstack.io/learn/render-your-first-video-shotstack-api/).
 - [instagram-ai-video](examples/instagram-ai-video) generates a script, voiceover and background image with AI, renders a 1080x1920 video, and publishes it as an Instagram Reel. Companion code for [How to automate Instagram posts with AI video](https://shotstack.io/learn/automate-instagram-posts-with-ai-video/).
 - [rapidreels](examples/rapidreels) creates faceless short-form videos using generative AI. [View demo](https://shotstack.io/demos/social-media-video-maker/).
 - [reelestate](examples/reelestate) turns static real estate images into fully edited video slideshows. [View demo](https://shotstack.io/demos/real-estate-video-listing-maker/).
diff --git a/examples/first-render/.env.example b/examples/first-render/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bf0cb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+SHOTSTACK_API_KEY=your_sandbox_api_key
diff --git a/examples/first-render/.gitignore b/examples/first-render/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..713d500
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+node_modules/
+.env
diff --git a/examples/first-render/README.md b/examples/first-render/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6609e71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# First render
+
+The very basics of the Shotstack API, and the loop every other example in this cookbook builds on:
+submit an Edit, poll the render status, and get the output URL. The same flow is implemented twice,
+in Node.js and in Python. Start here if you have never rendered a video with Shotstack before.
+
+Companion code for [Render your first video with the Shotstack API](https://shotstack.io/learn/render-your-first-video-shotstack-api/).
+
+## Requirements
+
+- A [Shotstack account](https://dashboard.shotstack.io/register) and your **sandbox** API key
+  (dashboard menu under your account name, top right, under **API Keys**)
+- Node.js 20 or later, or Python 3 with [requests](https://pypi.org/project/requests/)
+
+Sandbox renders are watermarked and don't consume credits, but your account needs at least one
+credit to use the environment.
+
+## Setup
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/shotstack/shotstack-cookbook.git
+cd shotstack-cookbook/examples/first-render
+```
+
+Set your sandbox key:
+
+```bash
+export SHOTSTACK_API_KEY="your_sandbox_api_key"
+```
+
+## Run
+
+Node.js:
+
+```bash
+node render.mjs
+```
+
+Python:
+
+```bash
+python3 -m pip install requests
+python3 render.py
+```
+
+## What happens
+
+Both scripts read `edit.json` (a five-second "Hello World" rich-text video), submit it to the
+sandbox render endpoint, poll every five seconds until the render reaches `done` or `failed`, and
+print the temporary output URL. A sandbox render finishes in under a minute. The URL expires after
+24 hours; see the guide for retrieving the CDN-hosted copy through the Serve API.
diff --git a/examples/first-render/edit.json b/examples/first-render/edit.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a57652
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/edit.json
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{
+  "timeline": {
+    "background": "#101827",
+    "tracks": [
+      {
+        "clips": [
+          {
+            "asset": {
+              "type": "rich-text",
+              "text": "Hello World",
+              "font": {
+                "size": 64,
+                "color": "#ffffff"
+              },
+              "align": {
+                "horizontal": "center",
+                "vertical": "middle"
+              }
+            },
+            "start": 0,
+            "length": 5
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    ]
+  },
+  "output": {
+    "format": "mp4",
+    "resolution": "preview"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/examples/first-render/render.mjs b/examples/first-render/render.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..178d232
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/render.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { setTimeout as delay } from 'node:timers/promises';
+
+const API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.shotstack.io/edit/stage';
+const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 5_000;
+const MAX_WAIT_MS = 10 * 60 * 1_000;
+const apiKey = process.env.SHOTSTACK_API_KEY;
+
+if (!apiKey) {
+  console.error('Set the SHOTSTACK_API_KEY environment variable first.');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+async function shotstackRequest(path, options = {}) {
+  const response = await fetch(`${API_BASE_URL}${path}`, {
+    ...options,
+    signal: AbortSignal.timeout(30_000),
+    headers: {
+      Accept: 'application/json',
+      'x-api-key': apiKey,
+      ...options.headers
+    }
+  });
+
+  const responseText = await response.text();
+  let body = null;
+
+  try {
+    body = JSON.parse(responseText);
+  } catch {
+    // The error below includes the raw body when Shotstack does not return JSON.
+  }
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    const details = body ? JSON.stringify(body) : responseText;
+    throw new Error(
+      `Shotstack returned ${response.status} ${response.statusText}: ${details}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!body) {
+    throw new Error('Shotstack returned an unexpected non-JSON response.');
+  }
+
+  return body;
+}
+
+async function submitRender(edit) {
+  const result = await shotstackRequest('/render', {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+    body: JSON.stringify(edit)
+  });
+
+  const renderId = result?.response?.id;
+
+  if (!renderId) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `The response did not contain a render ID: ${JSON.stringify(result)}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  return renderId;
+}
+
+async function waitForRender(renderId) {
+  const startedAt = Date.now();
+
+  while (Date.now() - startedAt < MAX_WAIT_MS) {
+    const result = await shotstackRequest(`/render/${renderId}`);
+    const render = result?.response;
+
+    if (!render?.status) {
+      throw new Error(`Unexpected status response: ${JSON.stringify(result)}`);
+    }
+
+    console.log(`Render status: ${render.status}`);
+
+    if (render.status === 'done') {
+      return render;
+    }
+
+    if (render.status === 'failed') {
+      throw new Error(
+        render.error || 'The render failed without an error message.'
+      );
+    }
+
+    await delay(POLL_INTERVAL_MS);
+  }
+
+  throw new Error(`Render ${renderId} did not finish within 10 minutes.`);
+}
+
+try {
+  const edit = JSON.parse(
+    await readFile(new URL('./edit.json', import.meta.url), 'utf8')
+  );
+  const renderId = await submitRender(edit);
+
+  console.log(`Queued render: ${renderId}`);
+
+  const render = await waitForRender(renderId);
+  console.log(`Temporary output URL: ${render.url}`);
+} catch (error) {
+  console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : error);
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+}
diff --git a/examples/first-render/render.py b/examples/first-render/render.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7cd51d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/first-render/render.py
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import requests
+
+API_BASE_URL = "https://api.shotstack.io/edit/stage"
+POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 5
+MAX_WAIT_SECONDS = 10 * 60
+
+
+def shotstack_request(method, path, api_key, **kwargs):
+    response = requests.request(
+        method,
+        f"{API_BASE_URL}{path}",
+        headers={
+            "Accept": "application/json",
+            "x-api-key": api_key,
+        },
+        timeout=30,
+        **kwargs,
+    )
+
+    try:
+        body = response.json()
+    except requests.exceptions.JSONDecodeError as error:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            "Shotstack returned a non-JSON response "
+            f"with status {response.status_code}."
+        ) from error
+
+    if not response.ok:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"Shotstack returned {response.status_code}: {json.dumps(body)}"
+        )
+
+    return body
+
+
+def submit_render(edit, api_key):
+    result = shotstack_request("POST", "/render", api_key, json=edit)
+    render_id = result.get("response", {}).get("id")
+
+    if not render_id:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"The response did not contain a render ID: {json.dumps(result)}"
+        )
+
+    return render_id
+
+
+def wait_for_render(render_id, api_key):
+    started_at = time.monotonic()
+
+    while time.monotonic() - started_at < MAX_WAIT_SECONDS:
+        result = shotstack_request("GET", f"/render/{render_id}", api_key)
+        render = result.get("response", {})
+        status = render.get("status")
+
+        if not status:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Unexpected status response: {json.dumps(result)}")
+
+        print(f"Render status: {status}")
+
+        if status == "done":
+            return render
+
+        if status == "failed":
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                render.get("error") or "The render failed without an error message."
+            )
+
+        time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS)
+
+    raise TimeoutError(f"Render {render_id} did not finish within 10 minutes.")
+
+
+def main():
+    api_key = os.environ.get("SHOTSTACK_API_KEY")
+
+    if not api_key:
+        raise RuntimeError("Set the SHOTSTACK_API_KEY environment variable first.")
+
+    edit_path = Path(__file__).with_name("edit.json")
+    edit = json.loads(edit_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    render_id = submit_render(edit, api_key)
+
+    print(f"Queued render: {render_id}")
+
+    render = wait_for_render(render_id, api_key)
+    print(f"Temporary output URL: {render['url']}")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    try:
+        main()
+    except (
+        OSError,
+        KeyError,
+        ValueError,
+        RuntimeError,
+        TimeoutError,
+        requests.RequestException,
+    ) as error:
+        print(error, file=sys.stderr)
+        raise SystemExit(1) from error