# Onboarding UX

> Design product onboarding experiences that get users to value quickly and build confidence in the first sessions. Use when creating first-run experiences, checklists, empty-state guidance, or activation-oriented UI.

- Skill: `itsual/onboarding-ux` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/onboarding-ux`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/onboarding-ux/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/onboarding-ux

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# Onboarding UX

## Overview

Onboarding UX bridges signup and habitual use. It should prioritize activation — the moment users experience real value — over exhaustive education.

## When to Use

- First-run experiences for new users
- Feature adoption tours and checklists
- Activation-focused empty states
- Re-onboarding after major product changes

## Core Practices

- Define the activation moment and design backward from it
- Progressive disclosure — don’t dump every feature at once
- Combine UI guidance with optional deeper help
- Allow skip/dismiss; respect returning users
- Personalize by role or use case when data allows
- Measure completion and impact on retention

## Principles

- Time-to-value beats completeness of the tour
- Show, don’t only tell
- One successful outcome > many tooltips
- Onboarding should fade as competence grows

## Verification

- [ ] New users can reach value without external help
- [ ] Guidance is dismissible and not blocking
- [ ] Activation metrics improve when onboarding changes ship