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

# Quickstart

> From a fresh installation to an assistant that answers.

Four steps, in this order. Each depends on the one before, which is why an
assistant that seems finished but stays silent is almost always missing one of
them.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Set the languages">
    Admin panel → **Settings** → *Languages*.

    Choose the language flows will be written in, and any others you will
    translate into.

    <Warning>
      The source language cannot be changed once a flow has been published. This
      is the only step here that is hard to undo, which is why it comes first.
    </Warning>

    See [Settings](/using/tenant-settings).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create an assistant">
    Admin panel → **Assistants** → **New Assistant**.

    A name, a default language, active. Then **Manage** to open its console —
    everything after this happens there.

    See [Assistants](/using/assistants).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect a channel">
    Console → **Channels** → **New Channel**.

    Have the bot token ready: saving contacts the provider and registers the
    webhook, so a token that does not belong to a real bot will not save.

    Once it saves, messages sent to that bot reach the assistant — and, with
    nothing to answer them yet, produce nothing.

    See [Channels](/using/channels).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build and publish a flow">
    Console → **Flows** → **New Flow**, then **Builder**.

    Start small: one node that sends a message. Give the flow a trigger so
    something starts it, or set it as the assistant's default flow in
    [Assistant settings](/using/assistant-settings).

    Then **publish** it. A flow that is built and saved is still invisible —
    contacts only ever see published versions.

    See [The flow builder](/using/flow-builder) and
    [Publishing](/using/publishing).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Checking it worked

Write to the bot from your own messaging account.

If nothing comes back, work backwards through the four steps — the failure is
almost always one of these:

| Symptom                               | Usually                                                                         |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Nothing at all happens                | The flow was never published, or has no trigger and is not the default          |
| The bot answers in the wrong language | Contact's language unknown and the assistant's default is not what you expected |
| It answered once and then stopped     | The flow is waiting at a node — check [Sessions](/using/sessions)               |
| Messages arrive nowhere               | The channel's webhook is registered against an address that no longer exists    |

The console's **Assistant Dashboard** shows live sessions and errors in the last
24 hours, which is the fastest place to see whether anything arrived at all.

## What next

* [Core concepts](/using/concepts) — the vocabulary the rest of the guide uses
* [The assistant console](/using/console-overview) — a map of where everything is