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

# Your first project

> Open a folder as a project, ask the Data Agent a question, and open the result.

A project is a folder on your computer. The Data Agent works in that folder, and BioBase writes its outputs there.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add a project">
    In the left sidebar, add a project. In the **Add a project** dialog, select **Browse folder** and choose the folder that holds your data.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open it as a folder">
    If the folder isn't a Git repository, BioBase asks you to confirm. Select **Open as Folder**. The project opens with the Data Agent in its first tab. To open a Data Agent tab yourself, select **New Data Agent** from the new-tab menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in if asked">
    See [Sign in](/getting-started/sign-in). If the workspace doesn't open, select **Try again**.

    File contents a request needs are sent to the model, and code executes in the cloud. Read more about [where your data lives](/your-data/where-your-data-lives).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask a question">
    Type a request in the composer and press Enter. Shift+Enter adds a line. To refer to a file in your request, drag it from the file explorer into the composer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Follow a long analysis">
    While the Data Agent works, the reply shows **Working** with the number of steps so far and the time elapsed. A dot marks the workspace in the sidebar and its tab until the analysis finishes. Expand **Agent activity** under a reply to see what it did, and select **Stop** to end the response.

    A message you send while the Data Agent is working waits and starts automatically when the response finishes. BioBase holds up to 10 waiting messages.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the result">
    The Data Agent writes its outputs into the project folder. Select one in the file explorer to open it in a viewer pane.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Select the panel icon in the header (**Show analysis record**) to see each step of the analysis as it runs.
</Tip>

Next, read about the [Data Agent](/workspace/data-agent) and the [viewers](/viewers/overview) BioBase opens files in.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.