## Open the dashboard

Where you open the dashboard depends on how you deployed:

| Deployment | URL |
|---|---|
| [Managed hosting](https://getnakama.cloud/) | Your instance URL (for example `acme.getnakama.cloud`) |
| [Docker](/docker) | `http://localhost:4310` |
| Local development | `http://localhost:3003` (web dev server proxies to the API) |

On a fresh install, Nakama redirects you to the setup wizard automatically.

Managed or Docker installs can skip the wizard by setting `NAKAMA_SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL`, `NAKAMA_SEED_ADMIN_NAME`, and `NAKAMA_SEED_ADMIN_PASSWORD` before first boot. See [Docker → First-boot seed](/docker#first-boot-seed-optional).

## Step 1: Admin account

Create the first platform admin. This account can manage organizations, profiles, providers, and system settings.

![Create your admin account](/screenshots/setup-step-account.png)

Fill in your name, email, and password, then click **Continue**.

### Restore from backup instead

If you are moving to a new machine or reinstalling, you can skip creating a new admin account and restore a previous Nakama export ZIP on this step.

1. Click **Upload backup ZIP**
2. Choose your `.zip` backup and review the preview
3. Click **Restore ZIP** to replace the local data root
4. Restart Nakama so it picks up the restored database
5. Sign in with the account from your backup

If provider setup was already complete in the backup, Nakama opens chat after sign-in. Otherwise the setup wizard continues from the provider step.

See [Backup and restore](/backup-restore) for what is included in export ZIPs and when to use dashboard import after setup is complete.

## Step 2: Organization

Every workspace lives inside an organization. Name yours and choose a slug for URLs and API context.

![Create your organization](/screenshots/setup-step-organization.png)

The slug must use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only. Click **Create Organization** to save the admin account and org together.

## Step 3: Provider

Add your first LLM provider and pick a default model. You can add more providers later from **Settings**.

![Configure your LLM provider](/screenshots/setup-step-provider.png)

See [Providers](/providers) for supported backends and feature notes (web search, audio transcription, etc.).

## Step 4: About you (optional)

The wizard can ask for optional context about you and how you prefer agents to respond. Skip this step if you want to start chatting immediately.

## Send your first message

After the provider step, Nakama opens chat with the default profile. Send a test message — you should get a reply within a few seconds.

If chat fails, reopen **Settings → LLM providers** and confirm the API key and profile model selection.

## What to configure next

Most operators focus on four areas after setup:

- **Organization** — the tenant boundary
- **Members** — who can access that org
- **Profiles** — the bots people talk to
- **Tools and skills** — what each profile is allowed to do

See [Overview](/overview) for the mental model and [Profiles](/profiles) for soul files, memory, and tool assignment.

## Next steps

- [Providers](/providers) — supported LLM backends and API keys
- [Profiles](/profiles) — define each bot's behavior
- [Backup and restore](/backup-restore) — export and import your data root
- [CLI](/cli) — chat from the terminal
- [Multi-tenancy](/multi-tenancy) — orgs, members, and roles
- [Telegram](/telegram) — connect your first channel

## Refreshing screenshots

Docs screenshots are captured with [agent-browser](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-browser) against a fresh local install:

```bash
./docs/website/scripts/capture-setup-screenshots.sh
```

Requires `agent-browser` on your PATH and a free port (`4312` by default).