# Your first launch Tell Teserra what you keep, and it finds it on your Mac: screenshots, your Eagle library, any folder. It counts before copying, and your originals stay where they are. *Written from Teserra 1.3.16.* **In short** 1. Open Teserra, tick what you keep, then **Look on this Mac**. 2. Keep the sources you want, then **Add N to my library**. 3. Already have a library on another Mac? **I already use Teserra**. [Clip: The welcome of Teserra: two kinds ticked on What do you keep?, Look on this Mac, the sources found with their counts and thumbnails, then Add to my library.](https://teserra.app/assets/snips/first-launch.mp4) ## 1. What do you keep? *(new in 1.3.19)* Tick what you collect: **Interfaces**, **Moodboards**, **Type and brand**, **Photography**, **Links and articles** or **A bit of everything**. If you build with Claude Code, Cursor or Codex, tick **I use Claude Code, Cursor or Codex**; it is optional, and [Agent access](https://teserra.app/docs/agents) stays off until you turn it on in Settings. The preview on the right reacts to your picks with sample images, and the search you would type for them. Then: - **Look on this Mac** goes to the next screen. Nothing is created yet. - **I already use Teserra** opens your library from another Mac, see [below](#already). - **Skip** creates an empty library in ~/Pictures/Teserra and opens it. ## 2. Your images are already somewhere. Teserra looks on this Mac and counts. **Nothing is copied before you choose.** It shows each place it found, with the number of files and three of the latest: - **Screenshots on your Desktop**, or in the folder macOS saves them to. Ticked. - **Your Eagle library**, by name, with its folders. Ticked. What comes over is in [Switching from Eagle](https://teserra.app/docs/switch-from-eagle). - **Images in Pictures**, outside the Photos library, and **Images in Downloads**. Not ticked: tick them if you want them. **Choose a folder…** adds any other folder: photos, RAW files, an external drive. Teserra counts it before anything is copied. Under **On your network**, **Look for a NAS or server on your network** only searches when you click it, and only listens for devices that announce themselves; to connect one, use **Settings → Sync** once the library is open. **Library folder** shows where the library will live, ~/Pictures/Teserra by default; **Change** picks another folder, an external drive for instance. Then **Add N to my library**, where N is what you ticked. Teserra keeps its own copy in its folder and says how much room it takes; **your originals stay where they are, untouched**. Nothing to bring? **Explore the demo** adds a small demo library, marked Demo and gone in one click, or **Start empty**. ![Your images are already somewhere: the sources found on this Mac with their counts and thumbnails, Choose a folder, On your network, the library folder, and Add to my library.](https://teserra.app/assets/snips/welcome-found.webp) *Counted only. Nothing is copied before you choose.* ## 3. I already use Teserra For a library you already have on another Mac. **Open your Teserra library** offers three places: - **On a NAS or a server.** The same list as **Settings → Sync**: devices found on your network first, then Your own server, Synology, QNAP, Nextcloud, Hetzner Storage Box, pCloud, Koofr, kDrive and Another WebDAV server. Sign in with your server's account; the password stays in this Mac's Keychain. When the server already holds your library, the button reads **Use “Studio”**, with its name, and Teserra brings it here and keeps both in sync. [Sync with your server or NAS](https://teserra.app/docs/sync) - **In iCloud Drive.** Open the Teserra folder of your iCloud Drive. - **In a folder on this Mac.** An external drive, or a library you copied here. ![Open your Teserra library: On a NAS or a server, In iCloud Drive, In a folder on this Mac.](https://teserra.app/assets/snips/welcome-already.webp) *A library from another Mac.* ## At the foot of every screen - **Search.** The small model that lets you search by describing downloads from the first screen: **Preparing search on this Mac · 290 MB, once**, then **Search is ready on this Mac**. It runs on your Mac and works offline. Search by name, tag and collection works without it. - **Got a NAS or your own server?** [Setup guide](https://teserra.app/docs/sync) explains how Teserra keeps your library in sync with it. - **Appearance**: Light, Dark or System. Light at first launch; change it any time in Settings. ## Then A card at the bottom right, **Preparing your library**, covers the copy, the thumbnails and the search index, then reads **Your library is ready**. Search works as soon as it is done. Everything else is on from the start: **Links**, **Articles**, **Visual search** and the **Curator**, in **Settings → Add-ons**, where you turn off what you will not use. **Agent access** stays off until you turn it on. The first time you press `⌘⇧M`, Teserra asks macOS for the **Screen Recording** permission (“Screen & System Audio Recording” on macOS 15): **Allow in System Settings**, then **Relaunch Teserra** if macOS asks for it. > **The scary dialog.** On macOS 15 and later, every screenshot app triggers a system dialog about “bypassing the system private window picker” the first time it captures. The words are Apple's, the behavior is normal. [More on the Support page](https://teserra.app/support) A new vault you create later, from the vault menu at the foot of the sidebar, opens on the same welcome.