Get Started

Get Cortex running and create your first knowledge note in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• A GitHub account (for authentication)

Choose Your Path

Hosted (Recommended)

The fastest way to start. No installation required.

1. Visit cortex-nine-bice.vercel.app 
2. Sign in with GitHub
3. Start creating notes

Self-Hosted

Run Cortex on your own infrastructure for full control over your data.

1. Clone the repositories
2. Set up the backend (Python/FastAPI)
3. Set up the frontend (Next.js)
4. Configure authentication

See Installation for detailed setup instructions.

What You’ll Build

By the end of this guide, you’ll have:

• A running Cortex instance
• Your first atomic note
• An understanding of how notes link together
• A semantic query against your knowledge graph