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1---
2next: true
3sort: 2
4title: Setup
5navhome: /docs
6---
8# Getting started
10<div class="row">
11<div class="col-md-8">
13On disk your Urbit is an append-only log and a checkpoint. Or, in simpler terms, a directory where we keep all of your Urbit’s state. We call this a ‘pier’.
15</div>
16</div>
18## Initialize
20When you first start an Urbit we create this pier directory and write to it.
22To start with a planet (`~fintud-macrep`) and ticket (`~fortyv-tombyt-tabsen-sonres`):
24 bin/urbit -w fintud-macrep -t fortyv-tombyt-tabsen-sonres
26This will create a directory `fintud-macrep/` and begin the initialization process for that planet. Be patient, it can take a few minutes.
28Without a planet anyone can create a comet:
30 bin/urbit -c comet
32This will create a directory `comet/` and start up a random 64-bit comet. You can specify any name you like.
34## Orientation
36When your Urbit is finished booting you should see a `dojo>` prompt. Welcome!
38By default your Urbit is quite bare bones. Let's take a very short stroll through what's running by default:
40### Shell — `:dojo`
42The command prompt in front of you is a simple shell and Hoon REPL. Let's make sure it works:
44 ~fitund-macrep:dojo> (add 2 2)
46Should produce:
48 > (add 2 2)
49 4
51Good.
53### Messaging — `:talk`
55Use `^X` to change your prompt. Let's join the main Urbit chat channel:
57 ~fitund-macrep:talk() ;join ~doznec/urbit-meta
59This may take a bit as `:talk` is stateful so your Urbit will download some backlog. `/urbit-meta` is the place to ask questions, get help and talk about anything Urbit related.
61### Web — `:tree`
63Urbit is also accessible through the web. Try opening:
65 http://localhost:8080/
67in your favorite browser. You'll be prompted to use `+code`. This page was generated by `:tree`, the basic Urbit web interface. You can also access your Urbit through `http://fintud-macrep.urbit.org` (where `fintud-macrep` is your planet name).
69### Filesystem — `%clay`
71`%clay`, the Urbit filesystem, isn't mounted to unix by default. Switch to the `:dojo` prompt and run:
73 ~fitund-macrep:dojo> |mount %
75This should produce:
77 > |mount %
78 >=
80which indicates the command was processed.
82`|mount %` will cause a `home/` directory to appear inside your pier folder. Changes to these files are automatically synced into your Urbit.
84## Learn more
86We go into much greater detail about using each of these components in our walkthroughs:
88<list dataPath="/docs/walkthroughs"></list>
90With your Urbit up and running you know enough to start learning to program:
92<list dataPath="/docs/deep-dives"></list>