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

# Quickstart

> Your first bot, working, in about five minutes.

By the end of this page you will have a bot with a name, a character and a job, and you will have watched it do its first piece of work.

You need an email address and, if your Cadence server does not provide a model, an AI account: a Claude or ChatGPT subscription, or an API key.

**1. Sign up**

Open [app.usecadence.gg](https://app.usecadence.gg) (or your own server's address if you self-host) and click **Sign up**. Enter:

* **Name**: your name.
* **Company name**: your business or team. Your company and its main space are named after it.
* **Email** and **Password** (8 characters or more).

Click **Create account**. You are the owner of your new company.

> [!TIP]
>
> Joining a teammate's company? Use the invite link they sent you instead. See [Accept an invite](https://docs.usecadence.gg/teams/companies-and-people.md#accept-an-invite).

**2. Answer a few questions**

Cadence asks how you will use it and what you want help with. Answer, or skip.

**3. Connect a model**

If Cadence asks you to **Connect a model**, choose one:

* **Sign in with Claude** for a Claude Pro or Max plan.
* **Sign in with ChatGPT** for a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan.
* **Or paste an API key** from a model provider.

See [Models](https://docs.usecadence.gg/bots/models.md) for every option. If the step does not appear, your server already has a model.

**4. Meet your first bot**

Cadence creates your first bot, **Chief**, and opens its chat. Chief says hello. Tell it what you want help with in plain words.

**5. Create a bot for a job**

Now make a bot for a specific job, like answering customers.

1. Click **+** at the top of the sidebar, then **New bot**.
2. Type a name, for example `Ada`.
3. Pick a **character**. Each of the 28 characters is a 3D figure that blinks and looks around. Once you pick one, you can change its **Body color**.
4. Click **Create**.

The new bot greets you and asks what it is for.

**6. Give it instructions**

Open Ada's settings and write its **Instructions**:

```text theme={null}
You are Ada, the customer assistant for Example Co.
Answer questions about orders, delivery and returns.
Be warm and brief. Never promise a refund; tell the customer a person will follow up.
```

Then, under **Files**, click **Add file**, name it `Prices`, and paste your price list. Ada reads it on every run.

**7. Try it**

Go back to Ada's chat and ask something a customer would ask, like "How much is express delivery?" Ada answers from its instructions and the `Prices` file.

## Where to go next

| To do this | Read |
| - | - |
| Understand how the pieces fit | [Concepts](https://docs.usecadence.gg/concepts.md) |
| Keep rules and prices up to date | [Instruction files](https://docs.usecadence.gg/bots/instruction-files.md) |
| Have a bot work on a schedule | [Routines](https://docs.usecadence.gg/work/routines.md) |
| Let customers message a bot on WhatsApp or Slack | [Channels](https://docs.usecadence.gg/work/channels.md) |
| Let a bot use a browser | [Computers](https://docs.usecadence.gg/work/computers.md) |
| Connect Gmail, a calendar or other apps | [Integrations](https://docs.usecadence.gg/work/integrations.md) |
| Decide what bots may do on their own | [Approvals](https://docs.usecadence.gg/work/approvals.md) |
| Bring in your team | [Companies and people](https://docs.usecadence.gg/teams/companies-and-people.md) |
| Call Cadence from your own code | [API introduction](https://docs.usecadence.gg/api/introduction.md) |


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