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

# Quickstart

> Install Beckon and make your first flick.

## 1. Install Beckon

**1. Download it**

Get Beckon from [withbeckon.app](https://withbeckon.app/download).

**2. Move it to Applications**

Open **Beckon.dmg** and drag Beckon into the Applications folder.

**3. Open it**

Open Beckon from Applications. macOS asks once whether to open an app downloaded from the
internet; choose **Open**.

Beckon lives in the menu bar: look for an open ring with a dot arriving at its gap. It has no
Dock icon and doesn't appear in ⌘Tab.

## 2. The welcome guide

The first time Beckon opens, a short guide walks you through it. It stays above other apps
while it's open, so you can switch away to try the ring and come back.

1. **Welcome:** what Beckon does, with your own apps.
2. **Try it:** a checklist that ticks itself as you open the ring, switch apps and keep the
   ring open.
3. **Permissions:** Accessibility and Screen Recording, what each is for, and an **Allow**
   button for each. Both are optional. See [Permissions](/docs/guides/permissions).
4. **Make it yours:** open at login, which apps the ring shows, hiding the Dock, and
   middle-click. Nothing here is switched on for you.

You can open the guide again from the menu bar icon: **Welcome Guide…**

![The first step of Beckon's welcome guide](https://mintcdn.com/beckon/ZZ3Mx-oqja_BgUg6/images/welcome-1.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZZ3Mx-oqja_BgUg6\&q=85\&s=6ff802bf7c6005ee343179687ab01384)

## 3. Your first flick

**1. Hold ⌥Space**

Anywhere on screen. Your apps appear in a ring around the pointer.

**2. Flick toward an app**

Move a little toward the app you want. Only the direction counts, so you don't have to land
on the icon. The app you're heading for grows, and its name shows in the middle.

**3. Let go**

You're there. To cancel instead, let go without moving, or come back to the middle first.

> [!TIP]
>
> **Tap** ⌥Space instead of holding it and the ring stays open, so you can take your time and
> click. Esc, a click outside the ring or ⌥Space again closes it.

> [!NOTE]
>
> If ⌥Space does nothing, another app may already use it (Raycast, Alfred and the ChatGPT app all
> do by default). Beckon warns you when it spots one. Pick another shortcut in **Settings → General**, or use the middle mouse button. See
> [Troubleshooting](/docs/guides/troubleshooting#the-shortcut-does-nothing).

![The ring, with Safari picked](https://mintcdn.com/beckon/ZZ3Mx-oqja_BgUg6/images/ring-light.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZZ3Mx-oqja_BgUg6\&q=85\&s=49cb357184b947f48d010293db4797e0)

## 4. No keyboard? Use the middle button

Press the middle mouse button (or the scroll wheel) to open the ring, the same way: hold and
flick, or click and let go to keep it open. With Accessibility allowed, Beckon keeps that click
from reaching the app under the pointer. You can turn this off in **Settings → General**.

## Next

> **[The ring](/docs/guides/the-ring)**
>
> Everything about opening, picking and closing.

> **[Windows](/docs/guides/windows)**
>
> Go straight to the window you want.


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