# Actor development

This section will guide you through the whole story of [Actor](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors.md) development.

You can follow chapters sequentially from [Quick start](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/quick-start.md), where you learn how to create your first Actor in just a few minutes, through the more technical sections describing the whole Actor model, up to the [Performance](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/performance.md) section, where you learn how to fine-tune your Actor to get the most out of the Apify platform.

<!-- -->

#### [Quick start](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/quick-start.md)

[Create your first Actor using Apify Console IDE or locally.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/quick-start.md)

#### [Actor definition](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/actor-definition.md)

[Learn how to turn your arbitrary code into an Actor simply by adding an Actor definition directory.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/actor-definition.md)

#### [Programming interface](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/programming-interface.md)

[Learn about the programming interface of Apify Actors, important commands and features provided by the Apify SDK, and how to use them in your Actors.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/programming-interface.md)

#### [Deployment](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/deployment.md)

[Learn how to deploy your Actors to the Apify platform and build them.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/deployment.md)

#### [Builds and runs](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/builds-and-runs.md)

[Learn about Actor builds and runs, their lifecycle, versioning, and other properties.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/builds-and-runs.md)

#### [Performance](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/performance.md)

[Learn how to get the maximum value out of your Actors, minimize costs, and maximize results.](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/performance.md)

***

If your Actor allows for integration with external services, or performs some post-processing of datasets generated by other Actors, check out the section [integration-ready Actors](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/actors/integration-ready-actors.md).

After your development, you can jump to the section [Publishing and monetization](https://pr-2390.preview.docs.apify.com/platform/actors/publishing.md) to learn about how to publish your Actor in [Apify Store](https://apify.com/store) and monetize it by renting it out to users of the platform.