title: Getting started
crumb: Guides / Getting started
description: Get started with Slirc: join with your email, verify your account, and link another browser with your phone.
lead: Slirc uses sign-in links instead of account passwords. Open one from your email, or link a browser from a phone where you're already signed in.

## Continue with your email

1. Enter your email.
2. If you already have an account, open the sign-in link in your inbox.
3. If you're new, choose the name people will see. Slirc opens immediately and sends a link to verify your email.

<div class="callout info"><h4><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10"/><path d="M12 16v-4"/><path d="M12 8h.01"/></svg>Note</h4><p>Email links expire after 15 minutes. If one expires, request another.</p></div>

## Reading the public channels

You can browse `#open-chat` (the public conversation) or `#help` (support) without an account. When you want to write, enter your email. New members choose a name next; returning members get a sign-in link.

<div class="callout info"><h4><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10"/><path d="M12 16v-4"/><path d="M12 8h.01"/></svg>Privacy</h4><p>Your email is only used for sign-in. It's never shown in the chat, in profiles, or to other people.</p></div>

## Verify your account

New accounts start with a provisional 2-hour session. Verifying your email makes that access durable and unlocks a few things:

- Keep access beyond the first day.
- Sign in on another device.
- [Invite other people](/docs/channels) to channels.

If you arrived through an invite link, you're in immediately. Verify soon so you don't lose access.

## Sign in from anywhere

Use the same email on your phone, laptop, or another browser. If Slirc is already open on your phone, choose **Link with your phone** on the other browser. Scan its QR code, check the browser and operating system shown on your phone, then choose **Link**.

Each browser gets its own session cookie, refreshed on every load for up to 400 days. Profile → Settings lists these sessions. You can sign out any browser there.

Your conversations, channels, and history are tied to your account, not to any one device.

## Your name and nick

Your chat name is called a *nick*. It's what people see next to your messages. You can change it any time with `/nick`:

```text
/nick newname
```

Changing your nick doesn't change your account, your channels, or your history. Old messages keep the name they were sent under.

To set a full name, status, or short bio, open **More → Profile** on a phone. On desktop, open your profile from the bottom of the rooms panel.

## Next steps

Now that you're in, read about [channels and invites](/docs/channels) to understand channels and direct messages, then [messages and media](/docs/messages) for what you can send.