Setup Wizard

Make sure you’ve installed Pia first. The first time you launch it, a setup wizard guides you through the basics. It takes about a minute and helps Pia work the way you want.

You can skip any step and come back to it later in Settings.

Step 1: Welcome

The wizard opens with a quick intro to what Pia can do — AI-powered assistance, memory that learns your preferences, and instant access via hotkeys.

Choose your language from the dropdown at the top of the screen if you’d like Pia in a different language.

You can sign in with Google, Microsoft, or an email and password. Signing in gives you:

Cloud sync — your data follows you across devices
Pia Cloud AI — a built-in AI provider, no API key needed
End-to-end encryption — your data stays private

Don’t want to sign in yet? No problem — click Skip and set it up later in Settings → Cloud Sync.

Step 3: Encrypt Your Data End-to-End

You’ll see a shield and the heading Encrypt your data end-to-end, with two short info cards:

Why turn this on — only you can read your data, it protects you against breaches, and only your approved devices can decrypt it.
What you should know — you’ll get a recovery code; if you lose all your devices and the code, your data can’t be recovered; and you can turn it off later in Settings.

A toggle, on by default, is labelled “Encrypt my data with end-to-end encryption.”

When you click Next, Pia sets up encryption and shows your recovery code with a Copy to Clipboard button, along with a warning that Pia cannot recover it for you — save it somewhere safe, like a password manager. You must tick “I’ve saved my recovery code somewhere safe” before you can continue.

To skip encryption, turn the toggle off and click Next. A Continue without encryption? warning appears with Go back and Continue without encryption. You can change this later in Settings → Cloud Sync.

See the Recovery Code guide for where to keep your code and how to recover your data on a new device.

Step 4: AI Provider Setup

If you’re not using Pia Cloud AI, you’ll need to connect an AI provider. Pia supports:

OpenAI
Azure OpenAI
Ollama (for local models)
OpenRouter
OpenAI-compatible endpoints

To set up a provider:

Pick a provider type from the list
Enter the endpoint URL (the address where the AI service runs)
Enter your API key if the provider requires one
Click Fetch Models to load available models, then pick one
Click Test Connection — the wizard checks that everything works

You must pass the connection test before moving on. If it fails, double-check your endpoint URL and API key, then try again.

Step 5: Meet the Two Modes

Pia has two ways to help you, shown as cards you can explore:

Optimize — Highlight text and transform it using templates. Great for rewriting, translating, or fixing grammar.
Assistant — Chat with an AI that remembers your preferences and can use tools to help you.

Each mode has its own hotkey for quick access. You’ll see the shortcuts on each card.

Step 6: Your Profile

Tell Pia a bit about yourself so it can personalize its responses. All fields are optional:

Name and Nickname — how Pia addresses you. If you signed in, your Name is pre-filled from your account’s display name, and you can edit it.
Location — helps with location-aware answers (weather, time zones, local info)
Mode — choose Personal or Business to set the overall tone

Step 7: You’re Ready!

The final screen shows a few quick-start tips to remember:

Use hotkey shortcuts to open Pia instantly from anywhere
Pia lives in your system tray — right-click the icon for quick options
Pia remembers things you tell it across conversations
Visit Settings anytime to change your setup

Keyboard Shortcuts

You can move through the wizard with your keyboard:

Key	Action
Enter	Go to the next step
Escape	Skip the wizard
Alt + Left	Go back
Alt + Right	Go forward

Next Steps

Now that Pia is set up, head to Your First Conversation to start chatting.

If you skipped the AI provider step, see the AI Providers Guide to connect one now.