Quick start

This walkthrough gets you from a fresh install to your first topic-scoped conversation in a couple of minutes. If you haven't installed Precursor yet, see the installation guide.

1. Start the app

uv run precursor --dev        # dev stack (hot reload + Vite HMR)
# or, from a published build:
uvx precursor-ai              # single-process, zero setup

Open the URL printed in the startup banner. You'll land on the home launcher: a greeting and a grid of section cards (Topics, Chats, Live, Agents, Files, and — when configured — Kanban).

2. Create a topic

Click the Topics card, then New topic. Give it a name that describes the thread of work — for example "Onboarding checklist for new hires".

Optionally link a GitHub issue: paste an issue URL or number, or create a new issue from the topic. Once linked, the issue's body, comments, and labels become live context on every turn — newer comments are preferred over older ones, so the assistant always reasons over the current state.

3. Chat

Type a prompt in the composer and send it. The reply streams in over Server-Sent Events with live markdown rendering — including fenced code blocks and mermaid diagrams. Tool calls (if any MCP servers are enabled for the turn) are shown inline so you can see what the assistant did.

Useful things to try in the composer:

• / — open the slash-command picker (skills, memory commands, GitHub actions, /notes, and more).
• Attach a file — drop in an image (used as vision input) or a PDF / DOCX / PPTX (text-extracted). See attachments.
• ⌘K / Ctrl-K — open the command palette to jump between sections and conversations.

4. Organize as you go

• Nest topics into a tree to group related threads.
• Put a topic on a schedule so a prompt runs on a cadence — see the scheduler.
• Set a reminder to resurface a topic at a specific time with /reminder.
• Spin up a quick chat when you just need a fast answer without the ceremony of a topic.

Where to go next

• Configuration — connect GitHub and a real model.
• Feature guides — the full tour: live meetings, agents, workspaces, MCP, and more.