How Do I Get Started With Kora?
Direct answer: Start your trial, download Kora for Mac, and open it. A seven-screen First-Launch Setup wizard runs on first launch: you pick a Basic or Advanced workspace, fill in a short profile, grant folder permissions, and point Kora at your export folder and your DAW project folder. Kora scans those folders and creates your first projects from what it finds. The wizard itself takes about five minutes — budget 15 to 20 minutes for a realistic first session including download, account setup and the initial scan.
The most useful thing you do in that session is connect your export folder. Everything else can be changed later; that step is what turns an empty app into your actual catalogue.
What are the first steps?
- Create your account and activate your trial — you enter an email address and receive a sign-in link
- Click the sign-in link from your email
- Download Kora and open it on your Mac
- The First-Launch Setup wizard opens automatically
- Work through the seven screens — or close it and come back, it is never locked
What does the setup wizard cover?
| Screen | What it asks | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome to Kora | Basic or Advanced workspace | Basic shows a focused set of modules; Advanced enables all 20 |
| Your Profile | Primary role from 14 options, mixing and mastering approach, DAW, weekly hours | Kora infers one of 8 personas and tunes defaults to it |
| Permissions | Full Disk Access | Deep-links to the right macOS settings pane |
| Studio tools | — | Confirms Apple Native audio is ready |
| Connect your exports | Pick your export folder | Scans .wav .aiff .flac .mp3 .m4a .ogg to a depth of 4, up to 300 files, creating projects tagged Exported |
| Connect your DAW projects | Pick your DAW project folder | Scans .als .logicx .ptx .cpr .rpp .song to a depth of 5, up to 350 files |
| You’re set up | Choose from 15 themes | Go to Home |
The two folder screens are the ones that matter. Point Kora at a folder holding
sessions like Northern_Lift_v12.als and Sprint_Titan_v8.ptx and you finish the
wizard with those already recognised as projects, rather than facing an empty
workspace and a blank “New Project” button.
Should I start with Basic or Advanced?
Start with Basic. Advanced enables all 20 modules and expands the guided walkthrough from 9 tips to 25 — a lot of surface area for features you have no context for yet.
The wizard’s own framing is the right one: “You don’t need everything at once. Pick a workspace below and you’re in — the rest is already built in when you’re ready.” And in the footer: “No wrong choice — you can switch anytime in Settings.”
Switching to Advanced is a toggle. The modules you did not enable are not missing — they are waiting.
What do people get wrong in the first week?
Two patterns, both a version of moving too fast:
- Skipping the profile and watch-folder setup. These feed the automation. Without a profile, personas, defaults and priority weighting all start from generic assumptions, and every downstream suggestion is worse for it.
- Jumping into advanced flows before the first import. Export Flow, Key Shift Pro and the priority engine are all more legible once there is real work in the system. Explored on an empty workspace, they make onboarding feel heavier than it is.
The order that works: connect folders, let Kora build your project list, work normally for a few days, then add the deeper tooling once you can watch it act on your own catalogue.
Frequently asked
How long does it take to set up Kora?
The First-Launch Setup wizard takes about five minutes. A realistic first session — account creation, download, granting Full Disk Access and the initial folder scan — is closer to 15 to 20 minutes.
Do I have to finish the setup wizard in one go?
No. The wizard is closable at every step and can be reopened later. Nothing is locked behind completing it.
What folders should I connect during setup?
Your main export or bounce folder, and the folder holding your DAW sessions. Kora scans exports four folders deep and DAW projects five deep, so pointing it at a parent directory generally works.
Which DAWs does Kora recognise on first launch?
The initial scan looks for Ableton Live (.als), Logic (.logicx), Pro Tools
(.ptx), Cubase (.cpr), Reaper (.rpp) and Studio One (.song) project files.
Should I enable all modules straight away?
No — start with Basic. Advanced turns on all 20 modules and extends the walkthrough from 9 tips to 25, which is more than most people want on day one. You can switch at any time in Settings.
Related pages
- Getting Started learning path
- What are Watch Folders?
- How much does Kora cost?
- How do I know what to work on next in Kora?