> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cosmosid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> An overview of how to get started with Cosmos-Hub and our award winning pipelines.

<Check>
  We recommend running the Cosmos-Hub in Google Chrome, with browser zoom at 80%. To avoid local memory constraints (and to clear your head), avoid having too many tabs open.
</Check>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WilR6OjqDIQ?si=xCLqcmP-2MZRIMEZ&fs=1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen />

# Steps to get started:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign In (or request a free trial)">
    Navigate to [https://app.cosmosid.com](https://app.cosmosid.com) in your browser.

    * Don't have an account? [Book a 14 day free trial](https://cosmosidhub.com/book-a-demo/) by reaching out to us.
    * Forgot your password? [Reset it here](https://app.cosmosid.com/recover-password).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload Your FASTQ Files">
    Expand the navigation menu by clicking the hamburger icon on upper left side of the screen. Click "**Upload**" to navigate to the upload page.

    There are 4 options for uploading either single- or paired-end data to the Cosmos-Hub:

    1. Drag and drop upload from your local drive
    2. Connect an Illumina BaseSpace account
    3. Upload samples from NCBI SRA
    4. Upload local and cloud data through our [**Cosmos-Hub CLI**](https://dashboard.mintlify.com/docs/api-documentation)

    <Info>
      **Samples are analyzed on a per-sample fee basis and a credit system**

      Contact [info@cosmos-hub.com](mailto:sales@cosmos-hub.com) for pricing.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Workflow Parameters">
    Upon importing samples into the platform, you will be prompted to:

    * Select your data type (Shotgun, 16S, ITS)
    * Remove host reads (optional)
    * Upload your Metadata (optional)
    * Select your workflow (CHAMP, Kepler, Functional, 16S, ITS)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Grab a coffee while your samples are automatically analyzed">
    Profiling typically takes 1-24 hours to process depending on the size of the dataset.
  </Step>

  <Step title="View Your Data">
    To view results for individual samples, click on the "Samples" icon on the left navigation bar and click on your sample name. For details about samples, visualizations, filtering, changing taxonomic levels, etc., go to [View Results](/docs/view-sample-results).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Interpret Your Results">
    Generate comparatives to discern and visualize taxonomic and functional patterns in your microbiome data. Please go to [Create Comparatives](/docs/new-comparative-analysis) to learn how to make comparatives with your data.
  </Step>
</Steps>