Quick Start Guide

This guide walks you through the most important things you can do with Atlas right after installing it. Follow along from top to bottom — each step builds on the last.

Step 1: Install and Open Your Vault

1. If you haven’t installed Atlas yet, follow the Installation guide.

2. On first launch, Atlas asks you to choose a vault folder. Either create a new folder (e.g., My Atlas Vault) or point it at an existing folder of markdown notes.

3. Atlas will set up its internal folder structure and open the main window.

See Your First Vault for a detailed explanation of what Atlas creates.

---

Step 2: Create Your First Note

There are two ways to create a note:

Using the Files tab:

1. Click the Files tab in the left sidebar.
2. Click the + button or right-click in the file tree and choose New Note.
3. Give it a name and start writing. Atlas uses standard markdown — headings with #, bold with **, links with [[note name]] for wiki-links.

By asking the agent:

Open the Chat tab and type something like:

“Create a note called Meeting Notes with today’s date and add a few bullet points about the Atlas onboarding.”

The agent will create the file for you and confirm when it’s done.

Tip

Atlas supports wiki-links ([[Note Title]]) to link notes together. The agent understands these links and uses them when searching your vault.

---

Step 3: Have Your First Conversation

1. Click the Chat tab.

2. Type a question or request. For example:

   • “What notes do I have?”
   • “Summarize what I’ve been working on this week.”
   • “Help me write a weekly review template.”

3. As you type, Atlas searches your vault for relevant notes and includes them as context. Your responses are shaped by your own information — not generic internet knowledge.

Note

AI chat requires a subscription. If you’re on the free tier, Atlas will prompt you to sign in and start a free 7-day trial. Local features like search, file creation, and the CRM work without an account.

---

Step 4: Try Voice Input

If you want to use your voice instead of typing:

1. Click the microphone button in the chat input bar.

2. Speak your question or message while holding the button (push-to-talk mode).

3. Release the button. Atlas sends your audio to the cloud for transcription, then processes your request as normal.

Note

Voice input (speech-to-text) requires a subscription. You can also enable Wake Word mode in Settings so Atlas listens for “Hey Atlas” hands-free — this is also a paid feature.

---

Step 5: Check Your Daily Note

Atlas creates a daily note for each day at daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md. You can use it as a journal, a task list, or a place to capture anything that happens during the day.

1. In the chat bar, type: “Open today’s daily note.”

   Or use the Files tab to navigate to the daily/ folder.

2. The note is already created — Atlas generates it automatically each day.

3. Try asking the agent to add something to it: “Add a task to my daily note: review onboarding docs.”

The agent can also generate a daily briefing for you — type “Give me a daily report” to see a summary of your tasks, recent notes, and upcoming calendar events (if calendar is connected).

---

Step 6: Explore the Memory System

Atlas remembers things about you across conversations. After a few chats, try these:

• Tell Atlas something to remember: “Remember that my preferred meeting time is mornings.”
• Ask what it knows: “What do you know about my goals?”
• Check your profile: The file atlas/identity/user.md in your vault contains your profile. You can read and edit it directly.

Atlas stores long-term facts in atlas/memory/long-term/facts.md — organized into sections for facts, goals, relationships, and projects. Everything is in plain markdown, so you can always read or edit it yourself.

Tip

At the end of each conversation session, Atlas automatically summarizes the conversation and updates its memory. You don’t have to do anything — it happens in the background.

---

What to Do Next

You’re up and running. Here’s where to go from here:

Topic	Where to Go
How the vault is organized	Vault
Getting the most from AI chat	AI Chat
All 39+ agent tools	Agent Tools
Voice features	Voice
Subscription plans and pricing	Plans & Billing
Settings reference	Settings

Tip

The best way to learn Atlas is to just start talking to it. Ask it to help you take notes, organize your thoughts, or manage your tasks — and it will show you what it can do.