The git-annex assistant creates a folder on each of your computers,
removable drives, and cloud services, which
it keeps synchronised, so its contents are the same everywhere.
It's very easy to use, and has all the power of git and git-annex.

## installation

The git-annex assistant comes as part of git-annex, starting with version
3.20120924. See [[install]] to get it installed.

Note that the git-annex assistant is still beta quality code. See
the [[release_notes]] for known infelicities and upgrade instructions.

## quick start

To get started with the git-annex assistant, just pick it from
your system's list of applications.

[[!img assistant/menu.png]]
[[!img assistant/osx-app.png]]

It'll prompt you to set up a folder:

[[!img assistant/makerepo.png]]

Then any changes you make to its folder will automatically be committed to
git, and synced to repositories on other computers. You can use the
interface to add repositories and control the git-annex assistant.

[[!img assistant/running.png]]

## documentation

* Want to make two nearby computers share the same synchronised folder?
  Follow the [[pairing_walkthrough]].
* Want to share a synchronised folder with a friend?
  Follow the [[share_with_a_friend_walkthrough]].
* Want to archive data to a drive or the cloud?
  Follow the [[archival_walkthrough]]

## command line startup

The git-annex assistant will automatically be started when you log in to
desktop environments like Mac OS X, Gnome, XFCE, and KDE, and the menu item
shown above can be used to open the webapp. On other systems, you may need
to start it by hand.

To start the webapp, run `git annex webapp` at the command line.

To start the assistant without opening the webapp, 
you can run the command "git annex assistant --autostart". This is a
good thing to configure your system to run automatically when you log in.

## colophon

The git-annex assistant is being
[crowd funded on
Kickstarter](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joeyh/git-annex-assistant-like-dropbox-but-with-your-own/).
[[/assistant/Thanks]] to all my backers.

I blog about my work on the git-annex assistant on a daily basis
in [[this_blog|design/assistant/blog]]. Follow along!

See also: The [[design|/design/assistant]] pages.