# Getting started

Nymchat has no sign-up form, no email field and no password. Opening it and typing a name is the whole of registration.

## Your first run

Open [web.nymchat.app](https://web.nymchat.app) in a browser, or launch the Android or iOS app. The first thing you see is a welcome screen with two tabs.

![The Nymchat welcome screen, with Sign up and Login tabs, and fields for a nickname, avatar, banner and bio.](https://nymchat.app/images/docs/welcome.webp)

*The welcome screen. Every field on it is optional.*

- **Sign up** creates a brand-new keypair on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is registered.
- **Login** brings an existing Nostr identity with you — see [Logging in with a Nostr account](https://nymchat.app/docs/identity/#persistent-login).

If you just want to look around, take Sign up. You can always log in later, and you can hold on to the identity you were given if you decide you like it.

## Picking a nym

A **nym** is a display name plus four hex characters derived from your public key — `SatoshiFan#a1b2`. The name is yours to choose and is not unique; the suffix is what actually distinguishes you, and it cannot be faked, because it comes from a key only you hold.

On the Sign up tab you can set:

- a **nickname**, up to 20 characters — leave it empty and one is generated for you;
- an **avatar** and a **banner** image;
- a **bio**, up to 150 characters.

All four are optional and all four can be changed later by tapping the "Your Nym" panel at the top of the sidebar.

> **Careful**
>
> That same panel is the panic wipe: a **press and hold for two seconds** destroys every trace of Nymchat on the device, with no confirmation. A normal tap opens the editor. See [Panic wipe](https://nymchat.app/docs/security/#panic-wipe).

## Joining a channel

Press Enter and you land in a channel. The sidebar lists the public channels you can join; the ones that look like `#9q5` are [geohash channels](https://nymchat.app/docs/channels/#geohash-channels) covering a patch of the world, and the ones with words in them are [named channels](https://nymchat.app/docs/channels/#named-channels) about a topic.

![A Nymchat channel: the sidebar lists channels on the left, messages fill the center, and the composer sits along the bottom.](https://nymchat.app/images/docs/channel-view.webp)

*A channel. The sidebar lists channels; the composer is along the bottom.*

To join one that is not listed, type `/join #bitcoin` in the composer, or use the search icon above the channel list. Anything after the `#` that is not a valid geohash becomes a named channel — if nobody is there yet, you have just created it.

## Sending your first message

Type in the box at the bottom and press Enter. That is it: no handshake, no invite, no permission.

Three characters at the start of a line change what happens next:

| Prefix | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `/` | Runs a command — see the [command reference](https://nymchat.app/docs/commands/). |
| `?` | Asks [Nymbot](https://nymchat.app/docs/nymbot/), the built-in AI bot. |
| `@` | Mentions someone; a picker appears as you type. |

> **Before you post**
>
> A public channel really is public. The message is an unencrypted Nostr event on relays anyone can read, and it is not addressed to a server you can ask to delete it. If you want a conversation nobody else can read, start a [private message](https://nymchat.app/docs/private-messages/) or a [group chat](https://nymchat.app/docs/groups/) instead.

## Where to go next

- [Install the app](https://nymchat.app/docs/apps/): Put Nymchat on a home screen, or get the Android or iOS build.
- [Keep your identity](https://nymchat.app/docs/identity/): Turn the throwaway nym into one that survives a reload.
- [Make it yours](https://nymchat.app/docs/appearance/): Six themes, two chat layouts, wallpapers and eighteen notification sounds.
- [Learn the commands](https://nymchat.app/docs/commands/): Almost everything in the app has a slash command.