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

# Quick Start

> Follow this guide to install and integrate Linkly AI in just a few minutes

This quick start guide will help you build your first AI-ready local knowledge base with Linkly AI in just a few minutes, and learn the basic usage.

## Before You Begin

Linkly AI includes the following core applications and capabilities:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Linkly AI Desktop" icon="desktop" iconType="duotone">
    The desktop application (referred to as Linkly AI). After installation, it
    automatically indexes documents and provides search, outline, and reading
    tools.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Linkly AI CLI" icon="terminal" iconType="duotone">
    A command-line tool that connects to your Linkly AI app via Bash and invokes
    its tools. Ideal for AI Agent usage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Server" icon="plug" iconType="duotone">
    An open protocol for Agents to retrieve context. The MCP service starts
    automatically after installing Linkly AI. Ideal for AI Agent invocation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="linkly-ai-skills" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" iconType="duotone">
    Official Agent Skills that guide Agents on how to connect and use Linkly
    AI's tool services. Strongly recommended.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Step 1: Install Linkly AI

Go to the official download page and select the version for your operating system:

<Card title="Download Linkly AI" icon="download" href="https://linkly.ai/#download">
  Choose the version for your operating system
</Card>

Then double-click the installer. Installation steps for each platform:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS" icon="apple">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open the installer">
        Double-click the downloaded `.dmg` file to mount the disk image
      </Step>

      <Step title="Drag to Applications">
        Drag the **LinklyAI** icon into the **Applications** folder
      </Step>

      <Step title="Launch the app">
        Find **LinklyAI** in Launchpad or the Applications folder in Finder, and
        double-click to launch
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows" icon="windows">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Run the installer">
        Double-click the downloaded `.exe` installer
      </Step>

      <Step title="Complete installation">
        Follow the installation wizard prompts. By default, it installs to the
        user directory
      </Step>

      <Step title="Launch the app">
        Start **LinklyAI** from the Start menu or desktop shortcut
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux" icon="linux">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="AppImage method">
        `bash chmod +x LinklyAI-*.AppImage ./LinklyAI-*.AppImage `
      </Step>

      <Step title="Or DEB package method">
        `bash sudo dpkg -i linkly-ai-*.deb `
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Step 2: Initialize Linkly AI

When you first launch Linkly AI, a setup wizard will appear to help you complete 3 initialization steps:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose directories to index">
    Select the document directories you want Linkly AI to index:

    * **My Documents**: Only index documents under `~/Documents` or the `My Documents` directory
    * **Entire Computer**: Scan all accessible documents for the widest coverage (requires authorization)
    * **Custom Folder**: Manually select a specific folder
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check access permissions">
    The system will automatically check access permissions for the selected folder. If permissions are insufficient (common on macOS), go to **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access**, add Linkly AI, then restart the app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect your AI tools">
    Add Linkly AI's MCP service to your frequently used AI tools for intelligent document search.

    <Card>
      We recommend using Skills to assist with integration — it's the simplest approach. Just copy the following prompt to your AI assistant and follow the instructions to complete both tool and Skills integration:

      <Prompt description="Please install Agent Skill linkly-ai-skills and...">
        Please install Agent Skill linkly-ai-skills and complete LinklyAI tool integration. Reference: [https://linkly.ai/docs/en/use-skills](https://linkly.ai/docs/en/use-skills)
      </Prompt>
    </Card>

    You can also manually integrate the MCP tools, but we still recommend [installing Skills](use-skills) for a better experience:

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Claude Code">
        Run in your terminal:

        ```bash theme={null}
        claude mcp add --transport http linkly-ai http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Cursor">
        1. Open Settings → MCP Servers → Add Server
        2. Name: `linkly-ai`
        3. Type: `StreamableHTTP`
        4. URL: `http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp`
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Codex">
        Run in your terminal:

        ```bash theme={null}
        codex mcp add linkly-ai --url http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp
        ```
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Cherry Studio">
        1. Open Settings → MCP Servers → Add
        2. Name: `linkly-ai`
        3. Type: `StreamableHTTP`
        4. URL: `http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp`
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    <Tip>`60606` is the default port for Linkly AI's MCP service. If you can't connect, check the actual port number in the app settings.</Tip>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step 3: First Use

After launch, Linkly AI will immediately start indexing your documents and continuously monitor for changes. Full indexing will complete within a few minutes to tens of minutes (depending on the number of documents and machine performance).

<Note>
  The first launch requires downloading a model file of approximately 100MB, which may take a few minutes to tens of minutes, but this does not affect keyword search functionality.

  Once the download is complete and all indexing is finished, natural language search will become available.
</Note>

You have two ways to use Linkly AI:

<Card title="Search documents with the Launcher" icon="keyboard">
  You can click the app icon (L Logo) in the system tray, or use the global shortcut `CMD/Ctrl + Shift + L` to open the search launcher window. Enter keywords or descriptive language to find target documents.

  You can further preview, view metadata, open documents, copy links, and more. For detailed usage, see the [Full-Text Search Launcher documentation](use-launcher).
</Card>

<Card title="Use with AI Agents" icon="robot">
  This is our more recommended approach — you'll enjoy an unprecedented interactive experience and research efficiency.

  After integrating with your AI assistant or installing [Skills](use-skills), append `use linkly-ai` after any prompt to actively leverage Linkly AI's powerful search capabilities.
</Card>