# Chapter 1: Getting Started — Build a Working System in 5 Minutes

In this series, we'll build a **minimal IT HelpDesk system** from scratch using NocoBase. The entire system needs only **2 [data tables](/data-sources/data-modeling/collection)** and zero lines of code — yet it will support ticket submission, category management, change tracking, access control, and even a [dashboard](/data-visualization).

This chapter walks you through deploying NocoBase with [Docker](/get-started/installation/docker), completing your first login, and understanding the difference between [UI Editor mode and Usage mode](/get-started/how-nocobase-works).


## 1.1 What Is NocoBase

Have you ever been in one of these situations?

- Your team needs an internal system, but off-the-shelf software never quite fits
- Hiring developers for a custom build is too expensive and too slow, and requirements keep changing
- You're using spreadsheets as a workaround, but the data keeps getting messier

**NocoBase was built to solve this problem.** It's an open-source, highly extensible **AI-powered no-code development platform**. You can build your own business systems through configuration and drag-and-drop — no coding required.

Compared to other no-code tools, NocoBase has a few core principles:

- **Data model driven**: Define your data structure first, then use [blocks](/interface-builder/blocks) to display data, then [actions](/interface-builder/actions) to process it — UI and data are fully decoupled
- **WYSIWYG**: Pages are your canvas. Click anywhere to edit, as intuitive as building a Notion page
- **Everything is a plugin**: All features are [plugins](../../plugins/index.mdx), similar to WordPress — install what you need
- **AI built into your workflow**: Built-in [AI employees](/ai-employees/quick-start) that can perform analysis, translation, data entry, and more
- **Open source + self-hosted**: Core code is fully open source, all data stays on your own server


## 1.2 Installing NocoBase

NocoBase supports multiple installation methods. We'll go with the simplest: **Docker**.

### Prerequisites

You need [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) and Docker Compose installed on your machine, with the Docker service running. Windows, Mac, and Linux are all supported.

### Step 1: Download the Configuration File

Open your terminal (PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on Mac) and run:

```bash
# Create a project directory and enter it
mkdir my-project && cd my-project

# Download docker-compose.yml (defaults to PostgreSQL)
curl -fsSL https://static-docs.nocobase.com/docker-compose/en/latest-postgres.yml -o docker-compose.yml
```

> **Other databases?** Replace `postgres` in the URL with `mysql` or `mariadb`.
> You can also choose different versions: `latest` (stable), `beta` (testing), or `alpha` (development). See the [official installation docs](https://docs.nocobase.com/get-started/installation/docker) for details.
>
> | Database | Download URL |
> |----------|-------------|
> | PostgreSQL (recommended) | `https://static-docs.nocobase.com/docker-compose/en/latest-postgres.yml` |
> | MySQL | `https://static-docs.nocobase.com/docker-compose/en/latest-mysql.yml` |
> | MariaDB | `https://static-docs.nocobase.com/docker-compose/en/latest-mariadb.yml` |

### Step 2: Start It Up

```bash
# Pull images
docker compose pull

# Start in background (first run will auto-install)
docker compose up -d

# Watch logs to confirm successful startup
docker compose logs -f app
```

When you see this line in the output, you're good to go:

```
🚀 NocoBase server running at: http://localhost:13000/
```

![01-getting-started-2026-03-11-07-49-19](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/01-getting-started-2026-03-11-07-49-19.png)

### Step 3: Log In

Open your browser and go to `http://localhost:13000`. Log in with the default credentials:

- **Email**: `admin@nocobase.com`
- **Password**: `admin123`

> Remember to change the default password after your first login.


## 1.3 Getting to Know the Interface

After logging in, you'll see a clean initial interface. Don't worry about it being empty — let's first understand two key concepts.

### UI Editor Mode vs Usage Mode

NocoBase has two interface modes:

| Mode | Description | Who Uses It |
|------|-------------|-------------|
| **Usage Mode** | The everyday interface for regular users | Everyone |
| **UI Editor Mode** | The design mode for building and tweaking the interface | Admins |

To switch: click the **"UI Editor"** button in the top-right corner (a highlighter pen icon).

![01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-17-26](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-17-26.png)

When you enable UI Editor mode, you'll notice **orange highlight borders** appearing around many elements on the page — this means they're configurable. Each configurable element shows a small icon in its top-right corner; click it to access its settings.

Here's what it looks like on a demo system:

![01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-19-24](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-19-24.png)

As shown above: menus, table action bars, and the bottom of the page all show orange indicators. Click them to create or configure elements.

> **Remember this pattern**: In NocoBase, whenever you want to modify something on the page, enter UI Editor mode, find the small icon in its top-right corner, and click it.

### Basic Interface Layout

The NocoBase interface is composed of three areas:

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Top Navigation Bar            │
├──────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│          │                               │
│  Left    │        Content Area           │
│  Sidebar │    (place blocks here)        │
│ (groups) │                               │
│          │                               │
└──────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
```

- **Top Navigation Bar**: Houses top-level menus for switching between modules
- **Left Sidebar (groups)**: If using group menus, this shows second-level navigation to organize page hierarchy
- **Content Area**: The main body of the page, where you place various **Blocks** to display and interact with data

![01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-24-34](https://static-docs.nocobase.com/01-getting-started-2026-03-11-08-24-34.png)

It's still empty for now — but starting from the next chapter, we'll fill it up.


## 1.4 What We're Going to Build

Over the course of this tutorial, we'll build an **IT HelpDesk system** step by step. It will support:

- ✅ Ticket submission: Users fill in title, description, category, and priority
- ✅ Ticket list: Filter by status or category at a glance
- ✅ Access control: Regular [users](/users-permissions/user) see only their own tickets; admins see everything
- ✅ Dashboard: Real-time statistics on ticket distribution and trends
- ✅ Audit log (built-in)

The entire system needs just **2 data tables**:

| Table | Purpose | Custom Fields |
|-------|---------|---------------|
| Categories | Ticket categories (e.g., Network Issue, Software Bug) | 2 |
| Tickets | The core table — each row is one ticket | 7-8 |

That's right, just 2 tables. Common capabilities like users, [permissions](/users-permissions/acl/role), file management, departments, email, and audit logs are all provided by built-in NocoBase plugins — no need to reinvent the wheel. We only need to focus on our business data.


## Summary

In this chapter we:

1. Learned what NocoBase is — an open-source no-code platform
2. Installed and started NocoBase with Docker in one step
3. Understood the two interface modes (UI Editor / Usage) and the basic layout
4. Previewed the HelpDesk system we're going to build

**Next chapter**: We'll get hands-on — enter the [Data Source Manager](/data-sources) and create our first data table. This is the skeleton of the entire system and NocoBase's most fundamental capability.

See you in Chapter 2!

## Related Resources

- [Docker Installation Guide](/get-started/installation/docker) — Full installation options and environment variables
- [System Requirements](/get-started/system-requirements) — Hardware and software requirements
- [How NocoBase Works](/get-started/how-nocobase-works) — Core concepts: data sources, blocks, actions
