Get started
Getting started
Start your first project and learn how to move through Iterel effectively.
Creating your first project
From the home screen, click Create project. You will be asked whether you want to create something from scratch or improve an existing product. Choose the path that fits your situation.
The intake wizard will ask you for:
- What you are building — a clear description of the product or feature
- Who it is for — your target audience or users
- What problem it solves — the core value proposition
- Any constraints — technical boundaries, brand guidelines, market context, or deadlines
The more concrete your answers, the better every phase of the workflow will perform.
What makes a good brief
Good inputs include:
- A product idea in plain language
- Links, screenshots, or notes you already have
- Known constraints such as audience, market, tone, brand, or technical boundaries
- Competitor examples or inspiration references
- Existing brand assets or guidelines
Avoid vague descriptions. The system gets stronger when it can ground its work in specifics instead of guessing.
Navigating the workspace
The left sidebar is your primary navigation. It organizes the project into expandable sections:
- Planning — click to expand and see Ideation canvas and Backlog board
- Research — click to expand and see Overview, Market Research, and User Research
- Strategy — click to navigate to product positioning
- Creative Direction — click to navigate to brand identity
- Architecture — click to expand and see User Flows and Backend Plan
- Design — click to open the visual canvas
- Code — click to open the code editor
Each section shows a yellow dot when content is stale and needs updating. Locked items (like Ship and Optimize) appear greyed out until prerequisites are met.
At the bottom of the sidebar, you will see your credit balance with a usage bar showing how many credits you have used this period.
Click the collapse button (hamburger icon) at the top of the sidebar to switch to icon-only mode. Click again to expand.
The top bar
The top bar shows:
- Project name on the left
- Animated progress bar at the very top when an agent is thinking
- Collaborator avatars showing who else is online (click an avatar to follow their view)
- Notifications bell with unread count badge — click to see activity
- Theme toggle — click to switch between light and dark mode
The panels
Several panels are available from any section by clicking their icons:
- Conductor (right side) — your main AI collaborator for directing work. See Conductor.
- Notebook — quick notes anchored to specific sections. See Notebook and wiki.
- Wiki — structured project knowledge pages. See Notebook and wiki.
- Comments — contextual feedback threads. See Collaboration and access.
Move through the phases
The recommended order is: Brief, Research, Strategy, Creative Direction, Flows, Design, Code
Each phase adds context that improves the quality of the next one. You can always jump to a specific phase if you already have the context for it.
- For overall orientation, read How Iterel works.
- For the orchestration layer, read Conductor.
- To understand project modes, read Modes.