Start here: from download to your first booking task, step by step

New to Booked Solid and want the whole path in one place? This is the A-to-Z. No prior setup assumed. Take it one step at a time - most people are up and running in well under an hour, and you do not have to finish it all in one sitting.

1. Download the app

Go to booked.kivimedia.co/download. The page picks the right build for your computer automatically (Windows, Mac, or Linux). If you already bought Booked Solid, the same download link is also waiting in your purchase email.

2. Install it

• Windows: run the downloaded file and, on the blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, click More info then Run anyway. Full detail (including what to do if the download itself is blocked) is in Install Booked Solid on Windows.
• Mac: drag the app into your Applications folder, then open it from there (not from the disk image). See Install Booked Solid on a Mac.

3. Activate your license and make your account

The first time the app opens you will see the account screen. Click Enter your license code, paste the code from your license email (it looks like BS-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX), enter your email, and pick a username and password. Next time you will just sign in. If any screen asks you to pay again and you already bought before July 6th, stop - you do not pay again; search your inbox for your access email or open a ticket and we will sort it the same day.

4. Sign in to Claude (the engine that powers Otto)

Booked Solid runs on your own Claude subscription. If Otto is not responding, it usually just needs you to sign in to Claude - the app shows a one-tap sign-in when that is the case. A Claude Pro plan, about $20 a month, is enough to start; if you run Autopilot hard every day, you may need Claude Max, about $100 a month.

5. Pick your BookingHQ folder and take your first win

The app asks you to choose a BookingHQ folder - this is where all your leads, notes, and drafts live on your own computer. Pick or create one, and the app walks you into a first small, safe task so you can see it work. Nothing is ever sent without you approving it.

6. Set the dial to how hands-on you want Otto

Use the autonomy dial - Show me, Check with me, or Run it - to decide how much Otto does on its own. Start on Check with me: Otto drafts and plans, and waits for your approval before anything leaves your computer.

7. Tell Otto about your business (this is what makes it good)

The more Otto knows, the better every draft. Give it your bio, your rates, your website, sample emails in your voice, and the kinds of gigs you want. You can do this in plain words in the chat. This is the single highest-value thing you can spend twenty minutes on.

8. A note on your Claude usage

Everything Otto does spends a little of your Claude plan's usage - reading files, drafting, checking its work. If you burn through it fast, the biggest lever is the Thoroughness setting (top bar > Advanced): keep it on Balanced for everyday work and save Most thorough for pricing and outreach. See Your Claude usage limit for the full picture.

Where to get help

• Click Get Help inside the app to open a ticket - our system checks new tickets every few minutes.
• This help center has 100+ plain-language guides.
• Live group coaching calls run every week - bring your setup questions.

Stuck on any single step? Submit a ticket from this help center and we will walk you through it.