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Getting Started with Keepance

A 5-minute guide from download to your first AI-generated business document.

Keepance is a desktop app you install on your computer. It runs locally, your files never go to our servers, and your AI conversations go directly from your computer to whatever AI provider you choose. This guide walks you through installation, setup, and your first workflow.

Try it in your browser first

Want to kick the tires before downloading anything? The in-browser demo at keepance.com/try runs a real Keepance session against a pre-seeded sample workspace. No download, no API key, no signup. You can poke around for a few minutes and see what the editor + chat + workflows actually feel like.

Open the in-browser demo →

Step 1: Download and install

Step 2: Create your first workspace

The first time you launch Keepance, it asks you to pick a workspace folder. This folder is where ALL your work will live, every document, every AI conversation, every file is just a regular file inside this folder.

Pick a folder that's easy to find and easy to back up. Common choices:

• ~/Documents/Keepance on Mac
• C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Keepance on Windows
• A folder inside Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive, if you do this, you get automatic sync across devices for free, since Keepance writes plain Markdown files that any sync tool can handle

Click "Create Workspace" and choose your folder. Keepance will set up the folder structure (a few subdirectories for your files, audit log, and trash).

Step 3: Add an AI provider key

Keepance works with four AI providers: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Ollama (local, free, no key needed). You bring your own API key for one of the cloud providers, or you point Keepance at a local Ollama install. This is how Keepance stays local-first and private, your AI requests go directly from your computer to the provider, never through us.

If you don't have a key yet and just want to test, the in-browser demo at keepance.com/try works without one. Worth trying before you sign up for an API account.

You only need ONE provider to get started. Most people use Claude (Anthropic) because it's the best at long-form writing and follows instructions well. But all four work.

To get an API key, see our API Keys Guide. The short version:

• Claude: console.anthropic.com → API Keys → "Create Key"
• OpenAI: platform.openai.com/api-keys
• Google: aistudio.google.com/app/apikey

Once you have a key, in Keepance go to Settings → API Keys and paste it in. Keys are stored in your operating system's secure keychain, Keychain on Mac, Credential Manager on Windows, Secret Service on Linux. They're never written to a file or sent to us.

Step 4: Run your first workflow

Now the magic. Click the Workflows button in the sidebar. You'll see a list of templates, start with "New Business Kickoff".

The workflow asks you a series of questions about your business idea (the problem, the customer, the unique angle, the go-to-market). Answer them with whatever level of detail you have, even rough ideas work.

When you click "Generate," Keepance sends your answers to your chosen AI provider and produces a set of real, editable Markdown files in your workspace:

• VISION.md, your business vision
• PROBLEM.md, the problem statement
• CUSTOMER.md, your target customer profile
• STRATEGY.md, go-to-market strategy
• NEXT-STEPS.md, concrete actions

These are real files. You can open them in Keepance's editor, edit them inline, link them together with [[wiki-style links]], and back them up however you want.

Step 5: Iterate

This is where it gets interesting. Open one of the generated files. Use the AI chat panel on the right to ask for changes: "rewrite this paragraph more concisely," "add a section about pricing," "what am I missing about competitors?" Each AI response either updates the existing file or creates a new linked file.

Every change is versioned. You can undo, see diffs, and recover deleted files from the trash. Every AI action is logged in the audit log so you have a complete record of what was generated, when, and from which prompt.

What's next

You're set up. From here:

• Try other workflow templates: Competitor Analysis, Pitch Deck, Landing Page Copy, MVP Scope, Pricing Strategy, and more
• Use wiki-links ([[document-name]]) to connect your documents into a knowledge graph
• Use the source cards feature to track research with citations
• Use the whiteboard for visual brainstorming
• Use the audio recorder for capturing voice memos that the AI can transcribe

What you can do in v2.0

The v2.0 release shipped a bunch of new things on top of the core editor + chat + workflows. Worth a look once you have the basics working:

• Marketplace. Open Settings → Marketplace to browse and install community templates and plugins. Six community templates and four plugins shipped on day one.
• Image and PDF chat. Drag an image or a PDF into the chat input. Claude gets native PDF; other providers get text-extracted via PDF.js. Same paperclip-and-paste pattern works for screenshots.
• Read aloud. Click "Read aloud" on any AI message. Runs locally via the Piper sidecar, no cloud round trip.
• Spanish or German UI. Settings → General → Language. The whole app, all 421 strings, available in Español and Deutsch alongside English.
• The full v2.0 picture. The v2.0 announce post walks through every shipped feature with screenshots.

Read the FAQ for answers to common questions, or email [email protected] if you're stuck.

Next: How to get your API keys →