---
title: "Ember Help: Getting Started on Mac, iPhone and iPad"
description: "Start here: your first entry, your first @mention, and how Ember gathers moments on each person's page. 35 guides with screenshots, from importing to sync."
url: https://ember.mov/help/
language: en
---

[Help](https://ember.mov/help/)/Getting Started

# Getting Started with Ember

Ember is a journal that remembers your people. You write the day as it happened, and every person you mention gathers the moments you shared. Years later, open their page and it's all there, in your own words. This guide takes you from the first launch to your first mention in about five minutes.

## Your first launch

The first time you open Ember, you see the welcome screen. Pick how you want to begin:

![The Ember welcome screen with Start your Ember, Bring your Ember from iCloud, and import from Day One, Apple Journal and Diarium](https://ember.mov/help/img/welcome.webp)

*The welcome screen: start fresh, bring your library down from iCloud, or import.*

- **Start your Ember**: a fresh journal. Ember asks who you never want to forget and a moment with them, then opens on that entry. A few starter notes that explain the basics are there for reference. Delete them whenever you like.
- **Bring your Ember from iCloud**: you already use Ember on another device with sync on. Ember downloads your library before it opens. Sync is part of [Ember Plus](https://ember.mov/help/sync-backup), so restore your purchase first. A big library can take a few minutes.
- **Import**: bring in a [Day One export](https://ember.mov/help/day-one-import), an [Apple Journal export](https://ember.mov/help/apple-journal-import) or a Diarium backup. You see what's coming in before anything is added. Have an [Ember backup](https://ember.mov/help/import-export)? Use the **Restore a backup** link at the bottom.
- **Restore purchase**, **Restore a backup** and **Skip** are links at the bottom. Skip opens Ember without starter notes.

There's no account to make. Ember never asks for an email address, and your journal lives on your device (see [Privacy & App Lock](https://ember.mov/help/privacy-security)).

## The starter notes

If you chose **Start your Ember**, you land in the Journal on the entry you just wrote. Beside it are three short starter notes, a starter story and a pinned `#welcome` tag. Read them once, then delete them (right-click an entry, then **Move to Bin**).

![The Journal with the starter notes and a pinned welcome tag](https://ember.mov/help/img/starter-notes.webp)

*The starter notes, pinned to the top of your Journal.*

## Finding your way around

On the Mac and iPad, everything lives in the sidebar on the left:

- **Search** (⌘K) and the **+** button sit at the top. **+** creates anything: a person, an interaction, an entry, a story, a world or a tag.
- **Life**: [Journal](https://ember.mov/help/journaling) and [Stories](https://ember.mov/help/stories).
- **People**: [All People](https://ember.mov/help/person-detail-view), [the Graph](https://ember.mov/help/the-graph) and [Nudge](https://ember.mov/help/feed-and-nudges#nudge), for the people drifting out of reach.
- **Look back**: the [Feed](https://ember.mov/help/feed-and-nudges), the [Calendar](https://ember.mov/help/calendar) and the [Map](https://ember.mov/help/map).
- **Worlds** and **Tags**: your [worlds](https://ember.mov/help/worlds) and your [pinned tags](https://ember.mov/help/tagging). The ↗ next to each heading opens the full Worlds or Tags page.
- At the bottom, the backup and sync status. Click it to open Settings.

![Ember on Mac with the sidebar, the Journal's entry list and an empty editor](https://ember.mov/help/img/journal.webp)

*The Journal on a Mac, with the sidebar on the left.*

On iPhone the sidebar becomes a tab bar. See [iPhone & iPad](https://ember.mov/help/iphone-ipad).

## Writing your first entry

1. Click **New entry** in the top right, or press ⌘⇧J.
2. Give it a title if you like, press Return, and write what happened. Plain words are enough: most days fit in a sentence or two.
3. Type `@` and the start of a name to mention someone. Pick them from the list, or choose **Create person** to add them on the spot.
4. That's it. Ember saves as you type.

![A journal entry with Jane Bennet mentioned as a pill and a walks tag](https://ember.mov/help/img/mention-done.webp)

*A mention becomes a pill. The entry now lives on Jane's page too.*

The whole idea: **mention someone once, and the moment is theirs too.** Open that person's page years later and everything you shared is waiting there.

## Adding people

The easiest way to add someone is to mention them while you write. You can also press ⌘⇧N, or choose **Add person** on the People page. A name is enough to begin. Photos, nicknames, a birthday and the story of how you met can all come later, or never.

Already have a journal full of names? [Find People in Journal](https://ember.mov/help/find-and-tag) finds the names you've written and links them to the right people in one go.

## Creating anything with ⌘N

Press ⌘N (or the **+** at the top of the sidebar) to open the **New** palette. Choose with the arrow keys and Return, or press the letter shown next to each one.

![The New palette offering Person, Interaction, Journal, Story, World and Tag](https://ember.mov/help/img/palette.webp)

*One palette for everything you can create.*

Every shortcut is listed in [Keyboard Shortcuts](https://ember.mov/help/power-user-shortcuts), and in the app under **Help ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts** (⌘/).

## Where to go next

- [How Ember Thinks](https://ember.mov/help/how-ember-thinks): the ideas behind the app, in two minutes.
- [What is a life archive?](https://ember.mov/what-is-a-life-archive/) The idea Ember is built on, at length.
- [The Journal](https://ember.mov/help/journaling): the editor, the date line, filters and the Bin.
- [Relationship Intentions](https://ember.mov/help/relationships): Tending, Rooted, Seen and Quiet, and how fading works.
- [Stories](https://ember.mov/help/stories) and [Worlds](https://ember.mov/help/worlds): give your life a shape.
- [The Calendar](https://ember.mov/help/calendar) and [the Map](https://ember.mov/help/map): your life by day and by place.
- [Sync & Backup](https://ember.mov/help/sync-backup): keep your journal on every device.

Still stuck? [Ask on the feedback board →](https://feedback.ember.mov/) [All guides](https://ember.mov/help/)