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

# Quickstart

> Get up and running with Outpost in minutes — the setup wizard walks you through everything.

Getting started with Outpost takes just a few minutes. After you create your account and connect Ghost, the **setup wizard** walks you through choosing your Outpost plan and configuring email, retention, paywalls, and analytics — only the parts that match your plan and how you want to start.

## Before the wizard

<Note>
  **Prerequisites:**

  * A Ghost site on Ghost 5.x or later
  * Admin access to your Ghost dashboard
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create your Outpost account">
    Go to [outpost.pub](https://outpost.pub) and click **Get Started**. You'll enter your email address, your Ghost site URL, and create a password. Outpost verifies your Ghost site and creates your account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect your Ghost site">
    During account creation, Outpost prompts you to connect Ghost. You'll create a custom integration in your Ghost admin panel and copy three values into Outpost:

    * **Content API Key**
    * **Admin API Key**
    * **API URL**

    Once connected, Outpost syncs your existing members and posts right away. See [Connecting Ghost](/getting-started/connecting-ghost) for detailed instructions.
  </Step>
</Steps>

After Ghost is connected, the setup wizard launches automatically.

***

## The setup wizard

The wizard adapts to the **Outpost plan** you choose and to whether you're charging for subscriptions. You can switch between **Basic** setup (the essentials) and **Advanced** setup (everything, including extra automations and group/gift subscriptions) at any point during onboarding.

<Tip>
  Basic setup is fast, but we recommend advanced setup to make the most of your available features during your free trial.
</Tip>

The full list of possible steps, in order:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose Your Plan">
    Pick the Outpost subscription plan that fits your needs: **Space Station**, **Voyager**, or **Luna**. The wizard then only shows steps available on the plan you picked — many advanced steps below are gated to Voyager or Luna.
  </Step>

  <Step title="About Your Site">
    Tell Outpost what kind of publication you run (Local News, Non-Profit, Co-op / Collective, Solo Creator, or News Organization). This tunes a few defaults later in the wizard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Paid Memberships">
    Indicate whether you have or plan to have paid subscriptions. If you choose "no," the wizard skips Stripe-dependent steps.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Payment Method">
    Add a payment method to activate your Outpost subscription. Skipped if your site already has one on file.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Email Settings">
    Set your **From email address** and **From name**. These are used for every automated email Outpost sends. You don't need to configure Mailgun — Outpost routes email automatically, even without a custom sending domain. Setting up DNS is recommended for deliverability but not required to start (and Luna users can do it later in the **Email DNS** step).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Welcome Flow">
    Configure a welcome email sequence for new free subscribers. You choose how many emails to send (1–5).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Newsletter Frequency">
    Tell Outpost how often you publish newsletters: multiple times daily, daily, daily Monday–Friday plus a weekend edition, a few times a week, weekly, or occasional. Outpost uses this to set sensible default timing for your welcome flow.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Welcome Discounts">
    *Shown only when Stripe is connected and you're charging.* Add an ascending discount offer to each welcome email to encourage upgrades. Outpost suggests sensible defaults — for example, with five welcome emails the defaults step from 10% to 33%. Smaller email counts get shorter discount ladders. You can change any of them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Retention Offers">
    *Voyager and Luna only, with Stripe.* Configure smart retention offers that win subscribers back when they cancel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Failed Payment Flow">
    *Voyager and Luna only, with Stripe.* Enables an escalating series of emails to members whose renewal payment fails. Recovers a substantial share of revenue lost to expired or declined cards.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Complimentary Offers">
    *Voyager and Luna only, with Stripe.* Configure renewal-style offers for complimentary subscribers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Abandoned Cart Nudge">
    *Voyager+, Stripe, Advanced setup only.* Re-engage subscribers who started checkout but didn't complete it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Card Expiring Reminder">
    *Voyager+, Stripe, Advanced setup only.* Notify subscribers ahead of time when their saved payment method is about to expire.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Theme Setup">
    *Voyager and Luna.* Connect your Ghost theme to Outpost so paywalls, CTAs, and gated content render correctly. See [Theme Connect Wizard](/getting-started/theme-connect-wizard).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tip Jar">
    *Voyager and Luna.* Outpost creates a donation page so readers can leave one-time tips. See [Tip Jar](/features/tip-jar).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Gift Subscriptions">
    *Voyager+, with Stripe, Advanced setup.* Let readers gift subscriptions to friends and family.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Group Subscriptions">
    *Voyager+, with Stripe, Advanced setup.* Enable multi-seat subscriptions for organizations.
  </Step>

  <Step title="CTA Settings">
    *Voyager+, Advanced setup.* Configure default Auto-Display CTA behavior.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Metered Access">
    *Luna, Advanced setup.* Set free-article limits for non-subscribers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Email DNS">
    *Luna, Advanced setup.* Walks you through setting up DNS records for a custom sending domain.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Plausible Analytics">
    *Voyager and Luna.* Connect privacy-friendly Plausible analytics. Included with Outpost; normally \$9+/month direct from Plausible.
  </Step>

  <Step title="All Done">
    Outpost confirms your setup is complete and points you at the next things to review.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  You can leave the wizard and come back to it. Your progress is saved per session, and any settings you've already submitted are preserved. The **Basic / Advanced** toggle is sticky too — switch to Advanced if you want to see the extra automation, gift, group, CTA, and metered-access steps.
</Tip>

***

## What the wizard sets up for you

Depending on the plan you choose and whether Stripe is connected, the wizard configures these things automatically:

| Feature                      | What happens                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ghost sync**               | Members, posts, and tiers sync from Ghost to Outpost; labels and member metadata sync from Outpost to Ghost (set up before the wizard) |
| **Stripe connection**        | Subscription data flows into Outpost (when connected)                                                                                  |
| **Email delivery**           | Outpost handles sending — Mailgun routing is set up automatically, even without a custom domain                                        |
| **Welcome flow**             | 1–5 welcome emails with optional ascending discount offers                                                                             |
| **Failed payment retention** | Voyager+: escalating dunning emails to recover failed renewals                                                                         |
| **Retention offers**         | Voyager+: smart win-back offers when subscribers cancel                                                                                |
| **Theme connection**         | Voyager+: Ghost theme connected for paywalls and CTAs                                                                                  |
| **Tip Jar**                  | Voyager+: donation page created                                                                                                        |
| **Plausible Analytics**      | Voyager+: free tracking-free analytics connected                                                                                       |

***

## After the wizard

Head to the **Autoresponder** tab to review the generated emails. We recommend:

* Customizing each email to match your voice and style. Spend the most time on your welcome emails.
* Sending a few test emails to yourself.
* Prioritize the welcome flow, renewal notifications, retention offers, and the failed payment flow — these have the highest impact.
* Turning on actions individually rather than all at once.
* Turning on some [Auto-Display CTAs](/features/ctas).

***

## What's next

Once you're set up, explore these features to get the most from Outpost:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Auto Display CTAs" icon="rectangle-ad" href="/features/ctas">
    Add signup forms, popups, and slide-ups to your site
  </Card>

  <Card title="Metered Walls" icon="lock" href="/features/paywalls">
    Limit free article views to drive registrations and upgrades
  </Card>

  <Card title="Members" icon="users" href="/features/members">
    View, search, and manage your subscriber list
  </Card>

  <Card title="Offers & Discounts" icon="tag" href="/features/offers-and-discounts">
    Create promotional pricing beyond what the wizard set up
  </Card>

  <Card title="Report Emails" icon="envelope" href="/features/report-emails">
    Daily performance reports delivered to your inbox
  </Card>

  <Card title="Advanced Autoresponder" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/features/advanced-autoresponder">
    Build custom multi-step email flows for any scenario
  </Card>
</CardGroup>