> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nuvolos.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nuvolos.com/tutorials/tutorials-for-students/your-first-day-in-a-nuvolos-course.md).
# Your first day in a Nuvolos course
**What you will achieve.** \
By the end of this tutorial you will have accepted your course invitation, signed in to Nuvolos, opened your course, started the application your instructor set up, and saved a first snapshot of your work.
**How long it takes.** \
About 10 minutes the first time, plus 30–60 seconds for the application to start.
**What you need before you start.** \
An invitation email from your instructor and a web browser. You do not need to install anything - Nuvolos runs entirely in the browser.
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Step 1 - Accept your invitation
Course participation in Nuvolos is by invitation only. Find the invitation email from your instructor in your inbox.
1. Open the invitation email.
2. Click Review Invitation - this takes you to Nuvolos in your browser.
3. If you don't have a Nuvolos account yet, sign up. For students at a Swiss higher education institution, choose the SWITCH login option.
4. Click Accept invitation.
{% hint style="success" %}
**Checkpoint**
You should now be signed in and looking at the Nuvolos Dashboard. The Dashboard shows your organisations and recent applications. If you don't see anything, refresh the page.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**First-time sign-up**
If this is your very first time on Nuvolos, the sign-up process may take up to a minute to complete. Wait for it to finish before clicking anything else.
When accepting the invitation, we strongly encourage you to proceed with the recommended option for your institution. For students at a Swiss higher education institution, this is SWITCH. If you choose to sign up with email and password authentication instead, the SWITCH option will no longer be available to you.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Step 2 - Navigate to your course
After signing in, the Dashboard is your starting point. From here, you can reach the course you just joined.
1. On the Dashboard, find the course you joined and click its name. This opens the course space.
2. Your personal instance is selected automatically. You will see the Current state of your instance - this is your private workspace, separate from every other student's.
For more details on the Nuvolos interface, see how to [navigate in Nuvolos](/getting-started/find-your-way-around.md).
{% hint style="success" %}
**Checkpoint**
You should now be inside your personal instance for the course, viewing the Current state. This is where everything you do during the term will live: course materials your instructor has shared, files you create, and work you save.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Step 3 - Start the application your instructor set up
[Applications](/concepts/applications.md) are the interactive tools you use to work with your course materials - for example RStudio, JupyterLab, MATLAB, or VS Code. Your instructor pre-installs the applications you need; you just start them.
1. On the left sidebar, click the Screen button (Applications) to open the application list.
2. Find the application your instructor set up (for example RStudio, JupyterLab, or MATLAB).
3. Click the power button or the application name to start it.
4. Wait 30–60 seconds for the application to load. The first start may take longer if packages or configuration files need to be copied.
You can also start recently used applications directly from the Dashboard - click the application name there and it opens immediately.
{% hint style="success" %}
**Checkpoint**
The application should now be open in your browser. Look around - your course materials, distributed by your instructor, should already be visible in the application's file panel. Try opening one to confirm everything works.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Step 4 - Save your progress with a snapshot
Before you finish a work session, take a [snapshot](/how-to-guides/workflows-for-students/snapshot-your-work.md) so you can always return to this point. A snapshot captures the complete current state of your instance - files, tables, and application configurations - as an immutable, time-stamped record.
1. From the left sidebar, hover on the camera icon.
2. Click **QUICK SNAPSHOT**.
That's it - your files, tables, and application state are preserved at this exact moment. Even if you accidentally delete something later, you can restore from this snapshot.
{% hint style="success" %}
**You're done**
You have signed in, opened your course, started an application, and saved your first snapshot. You are now ready to do real coursework. Take snapshots regularly - at the end of each session is a good rhythm - so you always have a recent point to return to.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
#### Where to go next
* When your instructor distributes an assignment, see [Complete and submit assignments](/how-to-guides/workflows-for-students/working-on-assignments.md).
* To learn more options for taking and naming snapshots, see [How-to › Snapshot your work.](/how-to-guides/workflows-for-students/snapshot-your-work.md)
* To stop the application when you are done (which frees up resources), see [How-to › Stop an application](/how-to-guides/workflows-for-students/start-an-application.md).
---
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