# Getting Started

## What this is

This page explains the customer-facing Hookshot model: **Proteges**, **Integrations**, **Event Feed**, **Audit**, and **Settings**.

## When to use it

Read this page before building your first Protege or when you need a fast refresher on how Hookshot fits together.

## What you need first

* A Hookshot workspace
* Access to at least one external app you want to connect
* Permission to create or edit Proteges in your workspace

## Steps

### 1. Understand the core objects

* A **Protege** is an automation you define in plain language.
* An **Integration** connects Hookshot to tools like Slack, GitHub, Linear, or Asana.
* **Trigger Access** controls what can start a Protege.
* **Tool Access** controls what a Protege can do after it starts.
* The **Event Feed** shows incoming activity and whether Proteges ran.
* **Audit** shows the history and outcome of Protege runs.

{% hint style="info" %}
Think of Hookshot as a control plane for automations. You describe the workflow, connect the right systems, and then use Event Feed and Audit to verify behavior.
{% endhint %}

### 2. Learn the three questions every Protege answers

1. What starts it?
2. What does it decide?
3. What does it produce?

If you can answer those three questions clearly, you are ready to draft a useful Protege.

### 3. Map the main dashboard sections

* **Proteges**: create drafts, use the Builder, review plans, manage setup, enable, disable, and refine automations
* **Integrations**: browse supported apps, connect accounts, review tool access, review trigger access, and repair broken connections
* **Event Feed**: inspect live events, scheduled activity, routing decisions, and whether Hookshot ran, skipped, or is still evaluating
* **Audit**: inspect fleet runs, Protege-specific history, run timelines, tool usage, logs, feedback, and analytics
* **Settings**: manage workspace profile, billing, usage, teams, people, and access controls

## How to verify

You understand the model well enough to continue when you can explain:

* Which app or schedule starts your Protege
* Which action or outcome the Protege should produce
* Where you will confirm activity in Event Feed
* Where you will confirm success or failure in Audit
* Which team or person owns the workflow after launch

## Common failures

* Treating a Protege like a chat bot instead of an automation with a clear trigger
* Confusing Trigger Access with Tool Access
* Turning on a Protege before checking readiness blockers
* Looking only at Audit when the Event Feed is the faster place to confirm whether the event arrived

## Next step

* [Quickstart for power users](/overview/quickstart-power-user.md)
* [Quickstart for automation engineers](/overview/quickstart-engineer.md)
* [Glossary](/glossary.md)


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