# Getting Started — your first project

*This page bridges installation and writing: it assumes ClioDeck is
installed, and takes you to your first paragraph.*

---

## 1. What you need before writing

| For | You need |
|-----|----------|
| Writing, footnotes, citations, export to Word | Nothing beyond ClioDeck |
| Asking the assistant questions, indexing your PDFs | [Ollama](https://ollama.com) running locally, **or** a cloud provider API key |
| Exporting to PDF | [Pandoc](https://pandoc.org) and a LaTeX distribution |

You can write and export to Word without ever setting up an AI provider.
See [Installation](./1.-ClioDeck-Installation.md).

---

## 2. Create a project

Click **New project** in the left panel, then choose a **project type**.
The type is not cosmetic: it decides how your text is stored and exported.

| Type | Your text lives in | Choose it for |
|------|--------------------|---------------|
| **Article** | a single `document.md` | a paper, a chapter contribution, anything of one piece |
| **Book** | one file per chapter, under `chapters/` | a monograph, a thesis, anything you will navigate by chapter |
| **Presentation** | a single `slides.md` | a talk, a seminar, a conference paper |

Every article and book project is also created with:

- **`abstract.md`** — your summary (used as the abstract at export, and as
  the back-cover text of a book);
- **`context.md`** — where you describe your subject, period, corpus and
  conventions. This file is **sent to the assistant** at the start of every
  conversation, so it is worth a few honest sentences. Left untouched, it
  sends nothing.

> Changing project type later is not automatic. If you begin an article and
> it grows into a book, create a book project and attach your existing file
> as a chapter — see [Books and Chapters](./1.15-Books-and-Chapters.md).

---

## 3. Write

The editor renders your markdown as you type; the syntax of whatever your
cursor is inside reappears so you can edit it. Your file is never rewritten
behind your back.

The essentials:

| You want | Do this |
|----------|---------|
| Bold / italic | `Cmd/Ctrl+B` · `Cmd/Ctrl+I` |
| A citation | Type `@` and pick from your bibliography, or `Cmd/Ctrl+'` |
| A footnote | `Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F` |
| To save | `Cmd/Ctrl+S` — auto-save also runs a few seconds after you stop typing |

Full details in [The Editor](./1.16-The-Editor.md).

---

## 4. Bring in your bibliography

Citations autocomplete from your bibliography, so import it early:

- from **Zotero** — see the [Zotero Integration Guide](./1.5-Zotero-Integration-Guide.md);
- or from a **`.bib` file** — `Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+B`.

A citation key that is not in your bibliography is underlined but never
blocks you; **Check citations** (`Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C`) lists what is missing.

---

## 5. Your first chapter (book projects)

1. In the chapter panel, click **Add a chapter**
2. Give it a title — the `#` heading of the file *is* that title
3. Write; use `##` for sections inside the chapter
4. Add the next chapter, and reorder with **Move up** / **Move down**

The panel also shows an **Outline** of each chapter's headings, and a search
across the whole manuscript.

---

## 6. Export

`Cmd/Ctrl+E`, or the **Export** tab. PDF needs Pandoc and LaTeX; Word needs
nothing extra. In a book, you can export the whole manuscript or just the
chapter you are working on.

**If you're exporting a book to Word with a bibliography attached**: that
path produced an empty document before RC4. It is fixed, and the export now
also follows the book settings for chapter numbering and structure — see the
[Word Templates guide](./1.3-Guide-for-Using-Word-Templates.md).

See the [Export Guide](./1.10-Export-Presentations.md).

---

## Where to go next

- [The Editor](./1.16-The-Editor.md) — footnotes, citations, front matter, AI proposals
- [Books and Chapters](./1.15-Books-and-Chapters.md) — manuscripts in several files
- [Brainstorm Mode Guide](./1.11-Brainstorm-Mode-Guide.md) — working with the assistant
- [Keyboard Shortcuts](./1.4-Keyboard-Shortcuts.md)