Skip to main content

​
Welcome to Plane

This guide will walk you through setting up Plane and creating your first work item in just a few minutes. Whether you choose Plane Cloud or self-hosting, you’ll be managing projects in no time.
This quickstart focuses on getting started with Plane Cloud for the fastest setup. For self-hosting instructions, see our Self-Hosting Guide.

​
Getting Started with Plane Cloud

1

Sign Up for Plane Cloud

Navigate to app.plane.so and create your free account.You can sign up using:
  • Email and password
  • Google account
  • GitHub account
No credit card required for the free tier. Start managing projects immediately.
2

Create Your Workspace

After signing in, you’ll be prompted to create your first workspace.What is a workspace? A workspace is the top-level organization unit in Plane. It typically represents your company, team, or organization.Enter your workspace details:
  • Workspace Name - Your organization or team name
  • Workspace Slug - A unique URL identifier (e.g., acme-corp)
// Workspace structure (from @plane/types)
interface IWorkspace {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  slug: string;
  organization_size: string;
  // ... additional properties
}
3

Create Your First Project

Projects are where your work lives. Each project contains issues, cycles, modules, and pages.Click “Create Project” and fill in:
  • Project Name - What you’re building (e.g., “Mobile App”)
  • Project Identifier - A short code for work items (e.g., “APP”)
  • Description - Brief project overview (optional)
The project identifier becomes the prefix for all work items. For example, with identifier “APP”, your first issue will be “APP-1”.
Choose your project settings:
  • Network - Public or Private
  • Icon & Emoji - Customize your project appearance
// Project structure (from @plane/types)
interface IProject {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  identifier: string;
  description: string;
  network: 0 | 2; // 0 = private, 2 = public
  // ... additional properties
}
4

Explore the Project Views

Plane offers multiple views to visualize your work:
A traditional list layout showing all work items in rows. Perfect for quick scanning and bulk operations.Features:
  • Group by status, priority, assignee, or custom properties
  • Inline editing
  • Bulk selection and actions
5

Create Your First Work Item

Now let’s create your first work item (issue)!
  1. Click the ”+ New Issue” button or press C keyboard shortcut
  2. Fill in the issue details:
    • Title - Brief description of the task
    • Description - Detailed information using the rich text editor
    • Assignee - Who will work on this
    • Priority - Urgent, High, Medium, Low, or None
    • State - Current status (To Do, In Progress, Done, etc.)
    • Labels - Tags for categorization
    • Due Date - When it should be completed
  3. Use the rich text editor powered by Tiptap: 
    # Supported Formatting
- **Bold** and *italic* text
- Lists (ordered and unordered)
- Code blocks with syntax highlighting
- [Links](https://plane.so)
- Images (drag and drop or paste)
- Tables
- Task lists: [ ] Todo item
- @mentions for team members
- Issue references: #APP-1
  4. Add file attachments by dragging files into the editor or clicking the attachment icon
The editor supports real-time collaboration when multiple team members view the same issue.
6

Organize with Sub-Properties

Enhance your work item with additional properties:Estimate Points Add story points or time estimates for planning:
// Estimate structure (from @plane/types)
interface IEstimate {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  value: string; // e.g., "1", "2", "3", "5", "8"
  // ... additional properties
}
Parent/Child Relationships
  • Create sub-issues for breaking down large tasks
  • Link related issues for context
  • Set blocking/blocked-by relationships
Custom Fields Add project-specific fields to track additional data.
7

Invite Your Team

Collaboration is better with teammates!
  1. Click Settings in the sidebar
  2. Navigate to Members
  3. Click Invite Member
  4. Enter email addresses or share the invite link
  5. Assign roles:
    • Admin - Full workspace access
    • Member - Standard project access
    • Guest - Limited access to specific projects
// Member structure (from @plane/types)
interface IWorkspaceMember {
  id: string;
  member: IUser;
  role: 5 | 10 | 15 | 20; // Guest, Viewer, Member, Admin
  // ... additional properties
}
8

Start Your First Cycle

Cycles (sprints) help maintain team momentum with time-boxed work periods.
  1. Navigate to Cycles in the project sidebar
  2. Click Create Cycle
  3. Set cycle details:
    • Name - Sprint name or identifier
    • Start Date - When the cycle begins
    • End Date - Cycle deadline
    • Description - Goals and objectives
  4. Add work items to the cycle:
    • Drag issues from the backlog
    • Or assign cycle from the issue detail view
  5. Track progress with:
    • Burn-down chart - Visual progress tracking
    • Progress bar - Completion percentage
    • Distribution charts - By assignee, priority, or label
// Cycle structure (from @plane/types)
interface ICycle {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  start_date: string;
  end_date: string;
  status: "draft" | "current" | "upcoming" | "completed";
  // ... additional properties
}

​
Next Steps

Now that you’ve created your first work item, explore more powerful features:

Modules

Group related issues into modules for better organization

Pages

Create documentation and knowledge base with AI-powered pages

Analytics

Get insights into team performance and project health

Custom Views

Create saved filters for your most common queries

​
Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with these essential shortcuts:
ShortcutAction
CCreate new issue
Cmd/Ctrl + KOpen command palette
QQuick search
/Focus search
Cmd/Ctrl + BToggle sidebar
Cmd/Ctrl + EnterSave and close modal
Press Cmd/Ctrl + / to see all available keyboard shortcuts in the app.

​
Self-Hosting Alternative

Prefer to self-host Plane? Follow these steps:
1

Prerequisites

Ensure you have:
  • Docker Engine installed
  • Node.js 22.18.0+
  • Python 3.8+
  • PostgreSQL v14
  • Redis v6.2.7
  • Minimum 12 GB RAM
2

Clone and Setup

git clone https://github.com/makeplane/plane.git
cd plane
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh
3

Start Services

# Start backend services
docker compose -f docker-compose-local.yml up

# In another terminal, start frontend
pnpm dev
4

Access Plane

For detailed self-hosting instructions, see our Self-Hosting Documentation.

​
Getting Help

Need assistance? We’re here to help:
  • Documentation - Browse our comprehensive docs
  • Developer Docs - Technical guides at developers.plane.so
  • Forum - Community support at forum.plane.so
  • GitHub Issues - Report bugs or request features
  • GitHub Discussions - Ask questions and share ideas
Running into issues?Common problems:
  • Memory errors - Ensure you have at least 12 GB RAM
  • Port conflicts - Check ports 3000, 3001, 3002 are available
  • Docker issues - Verify Docker Engine is running

​
What’s Next?

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up Plane and created your first work item. Explore our Features Guide to discover everything Plane can do for your team.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us