# 1078 Getting Started Db28d6ec

> Getting Started with Simple Chat

- Skill: `tools-only/1078-getting-started-db28d6ec` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/1078-getting-started-db28d6ec`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/1078-getting-started-db28d6ec/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/1078-getting-started-db28d6ec

---

# Getting Started with Simple Chat

Welcome! This tutorial will walk you through your first experience with Simple Chat - from deployment to having your first AI-powered conversation with your own documents.

## What You'll Learn

By the end of this tutorial, you'll:
- Deploy Simple Chat to Azure
- Set up your first workspace  
- Upload a document
- Have a conversation that uses your document for context
- Understand the basic navigation and features

## Prerequisites

- An Azure subscription with permissions to create resources
- Basic familiarity with Azure portal
- A document you'd like to chat with (PDF, Word doc, or text file)

## Step 1: Deploy Simple Chat

Simple Chat offers multiple deployment options. For getting started, we recommend using the automated deployment:

### Option A: Azure Developer CLI (Recommended for beginners)

The fastest way to get started is with Azure Developer CLI:

1. Install Azure Developer CLI if you haven't already
2. Clone the Simple Chat repository
3. Navigate to the project folder
4. Run the deployment command

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/simplechat.git
cd simplechat

# Deploy with azd
azd up
```

Follow the prompts to select your subscription, region, and provide required configuration.

### Option B: Other Deployment Methods

For more deployment options, see our [deployment reference](../reference/deploy/).

## Step 2: Initial Configuration

After deployment completes:

1. **Open the application** using the URL provided in the deployment output
2. **Sign in** with your Azure Active Directory account
3. **Access Admin Settings** (if you have admin role assigned)

### Configure Basic Settings

In the Admin Settings page:

1. **General Section**: 
   - Set your application title
   - Upload a custom logo (optional)
   
2. **GPT Section**:
   - Verify your Azure OpenAI connection
   - Test the connection using the "Test" button
   - Select your active model deployment

3. **Embeddings Section**:
   - Verify your embeddings endpoint
   - Test the connection

## Step 3: Enable Your First Workspace

1. In Admin Settings, navigate to **Workspaces**
2. Enable **"Your Workspace"** - this allows personal document uploads
3. Click **Save Configuration**

## Step 4: Upload Your First Document

Now let's add some content to work with:

1. **Navigate to "Your Workspace"** from the main menu
2. **Click "Add Documents"**
3. **Select a file** from your computer:
   - Try a PDF with interesting content
   - Word documents work great too
   - Text files are supported
4. **Upload the document** and wait for processing

You'll see the document appear in your workspace with processing status indicators.

## Step 5: Start Your First RAG Conversation

Now for the exciting part - chatting with your document:

1. **Go to "Chat"** from the main menu
2. **Select your workspace** from the workspace dropdown
3. **Ask a question** about your document content

Try questions like:
- "What are the main topics covered in this document?"
- "Can you summarize the key points?"
- "What does the document say about [specific topic]?"

## Step 6: Explore Citations

Notice how Simple Chat provides citations showing where information came from:

- **Standard citations** show which document and chunk
- **Enhanced citations** (if enabled) can link directly to pages

## What You've Accomplished

Congratulations! You've successfully:
✅ Deployed Simple Chat to Azure  
✅ Configured basic settings  
✅ Uploaded your first document  
✅ Had an AI conversation grounded in your data  
✅ Experienced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

## Next Steps

Now that you're up and running, explore more features:

- [Create Your First Agent](first_agent) - Build a specialized AI assistant
- [Upload More Documents](uploading_documents) - Build a larger knowledge base
- [Document Classification](classifying_documents) - Organize your content

Or dive into specific tasks with our [how-to guides](../how-to/).

## Troubleshooting

**Document not uploading?**
- Check file size limits in Admin Settings
- Ensure file types are supported
- Look at File Processing Logs (if enabled)

**Can't access admin settings?**
- Verify you have the Admin role assigned in Azure AD
- Check your app registration configuration

**Chat not finding document content?**
- Verify the document finished processing (no error status)
- Try more specific questions
- Check your embeddings configuration

For more help, see our [FAQ](../reference/faqs) or [how-to guides](../how-to/).

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*Next: [Create Your First Agent](first_agent) →*