> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Open Cortex in a browser, get a first answer from Chat, then sign in for Code, Bot, and Design.

Cortex is one account across four products: **Chat**, **Code**, **Bot**, and **Design**, plus a **CLI** for the terminal. This page takes you from a browser tab to a useful first session in about five minutes.

<Frame caption="Cortex Chat home as a guest — Chat, Code, and Bot in the sidebar, the composer ready, and 100 free messages before you sign in.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro/MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan/images/product/chat-home.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan&q=85&s=5fdad9e61d6f44e90d99a94102c9401b" alt="Cortex Chat home — Chat, Code, and Bot in the sidebar, composer ready" width="1280" height="800" data-path="images/product/chat-home.png" />
</Frame>

## What you need

| To do this                              | You need                                                       |
| --------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Ask Chat a question                     | A browser. No account.                                         |
| Keep projects, files, memory, and plans | A signed-in account                                            |
| Connect apps, GitHub, or MCP servers    | A signed-in account                                            |
| Open Code or Bot                        | A signed-in account                                            |
| Run Code on **This PC** or over **SSH** | The [desktop app](/getting-started/desktop) or the [CLI](/cli) |
| Edit a Design canvas                    | The [Design desktop app](/design/desktop)                      |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Chat">
    Go to [cortex.foundation](https://cortex.foundation). Chat is the default surface and works before you sign in. The banner above the composer shows how many free guest messages remain today.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send a first message">
    Type in the composer and press **Enter**. The answer streams in as it is written; press **Esc** to stop a response. Try one of the suggestions under the composer, or paste a document and ask for a summary.

    ```text theme={null}
    Summarize this quarterly report in five bullet points, then list three risks.
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach a file or pick a mode">
    The **+** button on the composer offers **Attach file**, **Image**, and **Check origin**. The model chip below the text box switches between **Cortex 1 Mini** and **Cortex Teutonic-1**, sets the **Thinking** level, and turns on **Deep Research**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in when you want more">
    Choose **Sign in to save your work** in the sidebar footer. A signed-in account keeps chats, projects, Library files, plans, and Bot routines across devices, and unlocks Code and Bot. See [Accounts](/getting-started/accounts).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Install the desktop app or the CLI

The browser runs Chat, Code Cloud, and Bot Cloud. **This PC** and **SSH** hosts exist only on the desktop app and the CLI — that is where the code runs, not a missing feature in the browser.

<p className="ink-cta-row">
  <a className="ink-btn" href="/getting-started/downloads">Download Cortex</a>
  <a className="ink-btn ink-btn-quiet" href="/cli/install">Install the CLI</a>
</p>

## Then pick a surface

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Chat guides" img="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro/MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan/images/banners/chat.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan&q=85&s=13d0d31170d6731dfd4751a1e3fe1fcc" href="/chat" width="1280" height="853" data-path="images/banners/chat.png">
    Projects, Library, plans, models, tools, research, and images.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Code guides" img="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro/MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan/images/banners/code.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan&q=85&s=094a8e38779955fbe5947f64240f9cf2" href="/code" width="1280" height="853" data-path="images/banners/code.png">
    Sessions in an isolated Cloud guest, GitHub, Ask / Plan / Agent, pull-request review.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bot guides" img="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro/MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan/images/banners/bot.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MqnMpE_oEu2JSRan&q=85&s=d11a004b2d3d16217493ad7f60a80397" href="/bot" width="1280" height="853" data-path="images/banners/bot.png">
    Always-on agents with their own computer, approvals, routines, and skills.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Design guides" img="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-2a5c5e50-docs-ferndesk-pro/QcNTEVKCNeprmmq4/images/banners/design.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=QcNTEVKCNeprmmq4&q=85&s=8990c8ea755a821940aa1a9190cce2da" href="/design" width="1280" height="853" data-path="images/banners/design.png">
    Persistable canvases hosted from Chat or Code, edited in the Design desktop app.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Frequently asked

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need an account to try Cortex?">
    No. Chat works as a guest with a daily and monthly message allowance (100 messages today and 500 this month at the time of writing — the banner above the composer shows the live numbers). Everything that must survive a closed tab — projects, files, memory, Code, Bot — needs a signed-in account.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where does my code run?">
    Web Code runs in an isolated Cloud guest. Chat's Python tool is a small snippet sandbox with no workspace. Bot's computer is a Cloud guest with a desktop. **This PC** and **SSH** are desktop and CLI hosts. See [Security](/security/overview).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does /code show “This space is reserved”?">
    You are not signed in. Code and Bot are member surfaces so that a guest session can never create something it cannot come back to revoke. Choose **Sign in**, or **Continue in Chat**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a public inference API?">
    Not on this site. The inference Platform API is [coming soon](/platform) and has no endpoints to document yet. The [API tab](/api/overview) covers the problem-document format the app already uses.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next

1. [Chat quickstart](/chat/quickstart) — projects, files, models, and research.
2. [Code quickstart](/code/quickstart) — a Cloud session on one of your repositories.
3. [Bot quickstart](/bot/quickstart) — a bot with its own computer.
4. [CLI quickstart](/cli/quickstart) — the same Code sessions from a terminal.
5. [Accounts](/getting-started/accounts) — what signing in unlocks, and what it does not.
6. [Troubleshooting](/getting-started/troubleshooting) — when a message is not an error.