# First Setup

> New to Thalovant? Set up one hub and one client, then ask it a question out loud.

Source: https://docs.thalovant.com/start/first-successful-setup/

---
New to Thalovant? This is the page to start on, and the only one you need.

By the end of it you'll ask your hub a question out loud and hear it answer.
That's the finish line. Everything before it is setup.

Plan about fifteen minutes. Most of it is waiting.

## An Account And A Device

You need two things: an account, and something that can listen and speak.

- **An account.** [Create one](/account/sign-in-and-account-access/) if you
  haven't. Email, a password, and a verification link.
- **A device.** A phone with the Thalovant app, a computer or speaker running
  Thalovant Voice, or just a browser tab. It needs to reach the internet.

  Not sure yet? [Open a public hub in your browser](https://dash.thalovant.com/explore)
  and ask it something first. No account, no install, about thirty seconds.

**The Free plan allows one connection and one API token.** If a create button
is locked, you've met a plan limit, not a bug. The message names which
allowance is full. See [what the Free plan allows](/start/free-tier/), or free
the connection you already have — the app can move an existing connection onto
this device in a tap, which doesn't change the count.

## 1. Choose the Hub

**Use a public hub.** It's already running, already has skills, and costs
nothing. You can create your own later, once you know what you want it to do.

Public hubs are listed under [Public hubs](/workspace/public-hubs/) in the
console. Pick one whose description matches what you would actually ask it —
Daily Desk answers everyday questions and is the usual first choice.

If you already know you need a private hub — your own skills, your own data,
your own address — [create one](/manage/create-a-hub/) instead, and give it a
name that says what it's for. `kitchen-assistant` and `support-frontdesk` both
beat `test`.

## 2. Create One Connection

Create one connection for the app, device, browser flow, or Thalovant Voice client that will connect to the hub.

1. **Open Connections.** Choose **Add connection**.
2. **Choose the connection type.** Voice is best for Thalovant Voice, rooms, kiosks, and assistants.
3. **Attach it to the chosen hub.** Avoid creating extra connections until this one works.
4. **Name the connection by purpose.** Use a name like `frontdesk-voice` or `demo-chat`.

   *Result: the connection appears in the list, and a setup link or QR code is shown once.*

5. **Claim it from the device.** Scan the QR code in the Thalovant app, or open
   the setup link on the device. Each one can be claimed once.

   *Result: the device says it's paired and shows the hub's name.*

6. **Keep setup material private.** A setup link or connection file is a
   credential. Don't paste either into chat, email, or an issue.

  **Now wait about ninety seconds.** A new connection has to reach the hub
  before the hub will admit it, and that takes a minute and a half. During that
  window the device is paired and the hub still refuses it, which looks exactly
  like a broken setup and isn't one. Wait it out before changing anything.

Read [Connect a Client](/manage/connect-a-client/) for the full pairing flow.

## 3. Set Access Rules

An access rule says what this client may do on the hub. Name it after the job,
the way you named the connection: `frontdesk-questions-only` tells the next
person what it's for; `rule1` tells them nothing.

Allow only what the client needs today. A front-desk client that answers
questions doesn't need to install skills, and a demo doesn't need to write
anything. If you find yourself allowing "everything" to get past a problem, stop
and read [Access rules](/concepts/access-rules/) first: a broad rule is the
mistake that's hardest to notice later, because nothing fails.

## 4. Check Dashboard

Open [Dashboard](/workspace/dashboard/). The Fleet overview should show one
more client than before, attached to the hub you chose, and no attention item
naming this setup. If the counts haven't moved, the connection wasn't
claimed; go back to step 2. If there's an attention item, it names the page to
open.

## 5. Check Topology

Open [Topology](/concepts/topology/). You're looking for one line: your client,
joined to your hub, marked connected. Stale means the client hasn't been heard
from recently; missing means it never arrived (check Connections); a warning
usually points at access rules or the runtime, and says which.

## 6. Talk to It

This is the step the other five were for.

1. **Say the wake word.** The default is **"Hey Jarvis"** on every client.

   *Result: the device shows it's listening — a light, a chime, or a bar on screen.*

2. **Ask it something simple.** Pick a question that needs nothing configured:

   - "Hey Jarvis, what time is it?"
   - "Hey Jarvis, what is the date?"
   - "Hey Jarvis, tell me a joke."

   *Result: you hear an answer out loud.*

3. **Ask it a second thing.** One answer can be luck; two is a working setup.

If it heard you and said nothing, or said nothing at all, go to
[Nothing happens when I speak](/troubleshooting/symptom-index/). Don't start
changing access rules — the symptom tells you which page to open.

## Done When

The first setup is done when:

- **you asked a question out loud and heard the answer** — this one isn't optional;
- the connection name explains what connects;
- the setup link or QR code was claimed by the intended device, and by nothing else;
- access rules are narrow and readable;
- Dashboard shows the expected counts;
- Topology shows the client connected.

  Stop here. A second hub or connection is far easier once the first one is
  trusted, and much harder to debug if it isn't.

## Next

See everything you can ask
Connect another client