> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://lightdash-refactor-full-audit-reorg.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> The golden path from an empty project to your first insight in Lightdash: get your dbt project ready, connect your warehouse, and invite your team.

Lightdash builds your BI layer straight from your dbt project. This is the shortest path from zero to exploring your first Tables — three steps, each linking to the detail you need along the way.

1. **Get your dbt project Lightdash-ready.** Install the Lightdash CLI, point it at your dbt project, and generate your first Tables so there's something to explore.
2. **Connect your warehouse and dbt project.** Swap your local setup for a service account and link your version-controlled dbt project so Lightdash stays in sync. Warehouse-specific connection details — BigQuery, Snowflake, Postgres, and more — live in this step.
3. **Invite your team.** Bring in teammates with the right roles, or let people with your work email domain join automatically.

Work through the three steps below in order. When your project is live, pick the track that matches what you're doing next: [explore your data](/get-started/explore-your-data) to query, visualize, and share, or [build your semantic layer](/get-started/build-your-semantic-layer) to define metrics and dimensions as code.