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

# Quickstart

> Connect your data, ask your first question, and share a dashboard

This guide takes you from a new account to a shared dashboard. You'll connect a data source, ask a question in chat, save the answer to a dashboard, and share it with your team.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign up">
    [Sign up](https://charts.basedash.com/signup) with your work email and verify it. Every new organization gets a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. The trial starts when you add your first data source.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect a data source">
    Go to the **Data** page and select **Add data source**, or press <kbd>Cmd/Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>K</kbd> and type "Add data source". Then pick one:

    * **A database or warehouse**, such as [Postgres](/docs/data-sources/databases/postgres), [Snowflake](/docs/data-sources/warehouses/snowflake), or [BigQuery](/docs/data-sources/warehouses/bigquery). Enter the connection details, then test and save the connection. Basedash queries it directly.
    * **A SaaS tool**, such as Salesforce, Stripe, or HubSpot. Open the [connector](/docs/data-sources/connectors), select **Connect**, and authorize access. Basedash syncs its data into [Basedash Warehouse](/docs/data-sources/warehouses/basedash-warehouse).

    If your database is behind a firewall, allowlist `24.199.77.73` or connect through an SSH tunnel. See [Data sources](/docs/data-sources/introduction) for every option.

    <Note>Only admins can add data sources. The person who creates the organization is its first admin.</Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask a question in chat">
    Open **Chat** and ask a question in plain English, for example "How many new customers did we get each week this quarter?". Basedash looks at your schema, writes the SQL, runs it, and answers with a chart, a table, or a short write-up.

    Ask follow-up questions to refine the answer: "Break that down by plan" or "Only include customers in Europe".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check how the answer was made">
    Above each answer, expand **Analyzed for…** to see the steps the AI took, and open **Sources** to see the tables, models, and context it used. Open the chart to see the SQL behind it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the chart to a dashboard">
    Select **Add to dashboard** on the chart, then pick an existing dashboard or **New dashboard**. You can also choose **Drafts** to keep the chart for later without publishing it.

    You can also ask chat to build a whole dashboard, for example "Build a sales dashboard with revenue, pipeline, and win rate". See [Dashboards](/docs/features/dashboards).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share the dashboard">
    Open the dashboard's share menu and give **Everyone**, a group, or specific members **Can view**, **Can edit**, or **Full access**. See [sharing and collaboration](/docs/features/dashboards#sharing-and-collaboration).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Invite your team">
    Go to **Settings → Members**, select **Invite members**, enter email addresses, and choose a role for each person. See [Invite your team](/docs/getting-started/invite-team).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Teach the AI about your business">
    Press <kbd>Cmd/Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>K</kbd> and type "AI context" to describe your business, terminology, and key metrics. For metrics your team relies on, define [models](/docs/features/models) so every answer uses the same definition. See [AI context](/docs/features/ai-context).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Concepts" icon="shapes" href="/docs/getting-started/concepts">
    Learn how data sources, models, charts, and dashboards fit together
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automations" icon="bolt" href="/docs/features/automations">
    Send reports and alerts to Slack or email on a schedule
  </Card>

  <Card title="Insights" icon="lightbulb" href="/docs/features/insights">
    Get AI-written posts about what changed in your data
  </Card>

  <Card title="Slack" icon="slack" href="/docs/features/slack">
    Ask Basedash questions without leaving Slack
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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