diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index f015351..3f6ffc2 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -91,3 +91,7 @@ path = "examples/gallery/main.rs"
 [[example]]
 name = "docs_hello"
 path = "examples/docs/hello.rs"
+
+[[example]]
+name = "docs_start"
+path = "examples/docs/start.rs"
diff --git a/examples/docs/start.rs b/examples/docs/start.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4c6e1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/docs/start.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+use ely_gpui_component::{
+    Assets,
+    buttons::Button,
+    primitives::FocusScope,
+    theme::{ActiveTheme, Mode, Theme},
+    typography::{Heading, Paragraph},
+};
+use gpui::{
+    App, AppContext, Bounds, Context, FocusHandle, IntoElement, ParentElement, Render, Styled,
+    TitlebarOptions, Window, WindowBounds, WindowOptions, px, size,
+};
+
+struct Start {
+    focus: FocusHandle,
+}
+
+impl Render for Start {
+    fn render(&mut self, _: &mut Window, cx: &mut Context<Self>) -> impl IntoElement {
+        let theme = cx.theme();
+        let next = if theme.is_dark() {
+            Mode::Light
+        } else {
+            Mode::Dark
+        };
+        FocusScope::new(&self.focus)
+            .root()
+            .size_full()
+            .flex()
+            .flex_col()
+            .gap_4()
+            .p_8()
+            .bg(theme.colors.bg)
+            .child(Heading::h1("Start"))
+            .child(Paragraph::new(
+                "Every Ely component reads the theme, so one call turns them all.",
+            ))
+            .child(
+                Button::new("mode", format!("{next:?} mode"))
+                    .on_click(move |_, _, cx| Theme::set_mode(next, cx)),
+            )
+    }
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    gpui_platform::application()
+        .with_assets(Assets)
+        .run(|cx: &mut App| {
+            ely_gpui_component::init(cx);
+            Theme::set_mode_now(Mode::Dark, cx);
+            let bounds = Bounds::centered(None, size(px(640.0), px(400.0)), cx);
+            let options = WindowOptions {
+                window_bounds: Some(WindowBounds::Windowed(bounds)),
+                titlebar: Some(TitlebarOptions {
+                    title: Some("Start".into()),
+                    ..Default::default()
+                }),
+                ..Default::default()
+            };
+            cx.open_window(options, |window, cx| {
+                cx.new(|cx| {
+                    let focus = cx.focus_handle();
+                    window.focus(&focus, cx);
+                    Start { focus }
+                })
+            })
+            .expect("window failed to open");
+            cx.activate(true);
+        });
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/docs/getting-started.md b/frontend/src/docs/getting-started.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e63561
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/docs/getting-started.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Getting started
+
+An Ely app is a GPUI app with three more parts: Ely's assets, one call to `init`, and a root `FocusScope` around each window's content.
+
+## Four steps
+
+| Step | Why |
+| --- | --- |
+| `gpui_platform::application().with_assets(Assets)` | Ely embeds its icons and fonts. `init` panics without them. |
+| `ely_gpui_component::init(cx)` | Call once, before any window. It registers the fonts, sets the theme, and binds Tab, Shift-Tab and the keys of text fields, the code editor, documents and, natively, the terminal. |
+| A root `FocusScope` | `FocusScope::new(&handle).root()` owns Tab for the window and takes focus back when the focused element leaves the tree. Focus its handle when the window opens. |
+| `cx.theme()` | Colors, sizes and radii come from the theme. Components read it; an app's own boxes read it too. |
+
+## A window that follows the theme
+
+The example opens a titled window in dark mode. Its button cross-fades every component to the other mode.
+
+```rust example=start
+```
+
+`Theme::set_mode_now` before the window opens makes the first frame dark. `Theme::set_mode` fades the palette and repaints every window as it goes, so the button needs no `notify`. `Heading` and `Paragraph` take their size, weight and color from the theme.
+
+## Changing state from a press
+
+`Button::on_click` takes a closure over `&ClickEvent`, `&mut Window` and `&mut App`. To change a view's own state, capture the view with `cx.entity()` in `render`, update it in the closure, and call `cx.notify()`. The [first window](/docs/#a-first-window) counts presses that way. A change made outside `render` without `cx.notify()` draws nothing.
diff --git a/frontend/src/docs/guides.ts b/frontend/src/docs/guides.ts
index d96b645..766d884 100644
--- a/frontend/src/docs/guides.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/docs/guides.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { Marked, type Tokens } from "marked";
 const at = (relative: string) => fileURLToPath(new URL(relative, import.meta.url));
 
 /** The guides in reading order, by file name. */
-const ORDER = ["introduction", "installation"];
+const ORDER = ["introduction", "installation", "getting-started"];
 
 export interface Guide {
   /** The path segment; the introduction has none. */