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

# Quick Start

> Upload data, build a knowledge graph, and search — in under five minutes

After [creating your account](/cognee-cloud/sign-up), the onboarding walks you through Cognee Cloud's core workflow in four steps. You can also reach it at any time from the sidebar under **Onboarding**.

## Step 1 — Connect your data

Choose a data source on the left or upload files directly on the right.

**Upload files**

* Drag files into the drop zone, or click to browse. Supported formats: PDF, CSV, TXT, Markdown, JSON, DOCX.
* Alternatively, paste text content directly.

**Connect a source**

* **Local Cognee** — Sync a running local instance. See [Syncing a Local Instance](/cognee-cloud/connections/syncing-local-instance).
* **Agent** — Connect an agent framework. See [Connecting an Agent](/cognee-cloud/connections/connecting-an-agent).
* **Database** — Ingest from PostgreSQL, MySQL, Slack, Notion, and others. See [External Data Sources](/cognee-cloud/connections/external-data-sources).

Once files are uploaded, click **Continue**.

## Step 2 — Build memory

Cognee processes your data automatically:

1. **Upload** — Files are stored in your dataset.
2. **Extract entities** — Named entities and concepts are identified.
3. **Build knowledge graph** — Relationships between entities are created and embeddings are generated.

This runs the same pipeline as the [`cognify`](/core-concepts/main-operations/legacy-operations/cognify) operation. Processing time depends on the volume of data.

## Step 3 — Search your data

Enter a natural language query, or select a suggestion. Cognee searches the knowledge graph you just built and returns contextual results.

This uses graph-backed search — the same mechanism as [`recall`](/core-concepts/main-operations/recall) and [`search`](/core-concepts/main-operations/legacy-operations/search).

## Step 4 — Done

Your knowledge graph is built and searchable. From here you can:

* Go to the [Dashboard](/cognee-cloud/ui/dashboard) for an overview of your workspace
* Open [Datasets](/cognee-cloud/ui/datasets) to manage your data
* [Connect an agent](/cognee-cloud/connections/connecting-an-agent) to use Cognee as memory

<Note>
  You can skip the onboarding at any point and return to it later. All progress is preserved.
</Note>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Dashboard" href="/cognee-cloud/ui/dashboard" icon="layout-dashboard">
    Overview of your workspace, stats, and quick actions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloud functionality" href="/cognee-cloud/functionality/data-ingestion" icon="cloud">
    Explore the full API surface available in Cognee Cloud.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>