{"id":"getting-started.what-happens-on-first-launch","url":"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch","category":{"id":"getting-started","title":"Getting started"},"subcategory":{"id":"first-launch","title":"First launch and Full Disk Access"},"question":"What happens the first time I open Storage Studio?","alt_questions":["Storage Studio first launch steps","What screens appear when I first open Storage Studio?","Storage Studio onboarding","First run of Storage Studio","What does Storage Studio ask for on first open?"],"short_answer":"A short sequence: a splash screen, accepting the Terms, granting Full Disk Access (skippable), registering your free trial with an email code, then a quick setup wizard. Later launches skip what's done.","answer_markdown":"The first time you open Storage Studio it walks you through a short chain of screens, then settles into the menu bar. Later launches skip anything you've already done.\n\n1. **Splash screen** — the app checks for updates and fetches its settings.\n2. **Welcome & Terms** — accept the Terms, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.\n3. **Full Disk Access** — a one-time permission ask; you can skip it for now.\n4. **Register and start your free trial** — your name, email and country, then a one-time code sent to your email.\n5. **Setup wizard** — pick your external drive (or skip) and start the background service.\n\nIf you already own a licence, choose **I have a licence** on the registration screen to go straight to activation.","answer_html":"<p>The first time you open Storage Studio it walks you through a short chain of screens, then settles into the menu bar. Later launches skip anything you&#39;ve already done.</p>\n<ol><li><strong>Splash screen</strong> — the app checks for updates and fetches its settings.</li><li><strong>Welcome &amp; Terms</strong> — accept the Terms, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.</li><li><strong>Full Disk Access</strong> — a one-time permission ask; you can skip it for now.</li><li><strong>Register and start your free trial</strong> — your name, email and country, then a one-time code sent to your email.</li><li><strong>Setup wizard</strong> — pick your external drive (or skip) and start the background service.</li></ol>\n<p>If you already own a licence, choose <strong>I have a licence</strong> on the registration screen to go straight to activation.</p>","answer_text":"The first time you open Storage Studio it walks you through a short chain of screens, then settles into the menu bar. Later launches skip anything you've already done.\n\n1. Splash screen — the app checks for updates and fetches its settings.\n2. Welcome & Terms — accept the Terms, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.\n3. Full Disk Access — a one-time permission ask; you can skip it for now.\n4. Register and start your free trial — your name, email and country, then a one-time code sent to your email.\n5. Setup wizard — pick your external drive (or skip) and start the background service.\n\nIf you already own a licence, choose I have a licence on the registration screen to go straight to activation.","tags":["first launch","onboarding","setup"],"related":[{"id":"getting-started.what-is-the-splash-screen","question":"Why does Storage Studio show a splash screen when it opens?","url":"/faq/getting-started/what-is-the-splash-screen"},{"id":"getting-started.what-happens-in-the-setup-wizard","question":"What does the Storage Studio setup wizard do?","url":"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-in-the-setup-wizard"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What happens the first time I open Storage Studio? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"A short sequence: a splash screen, accepting the Terms, granting Full Disk Access (skippable), registering your free trial with an email code, then a quick setup wizard. Later launches skip what's done.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Getting started","path":"/faq/getting-started/"},{"name":"What happens the first time I open Storage Studio?","path":"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What happens the first time I open Storage Studio?","alternateName":["Storage Studio first launch steps","What screens appear when I first open Storage Studio?","Storage Studio onboarding","First run of Storage Studio","What does Storage Studio ask for on first open?"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The first time you open Storage Studio it walks you through a short chain of screens, then settles into the menu bar. Later launches skip anything you've already done.\n\n1. Splash screen — the app checks for updates and fetches its settings.\n2. Welcome & Terms — accept the Terms, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.\n3. Full Disk Access — a one-time permission ask; you can skip it for now.\n4. Register and start your free trial — your name, email and country, then a one-time code sent to your email.\n5. Setup wizard — pick your external drive (or skip) and start the background service.\n\nIf you already own a licence, choose I have a licence on the registration screen to go straight to activation.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch"}}]},"fragment":"<div class=\"wrap fl-wrap\"><div class=\"fl-layout\"><aside class=\"fl-side\" aria-label=\"FAQ topics\"><details open><summary>All topics</summary><ul class=\"fl-tree\"><li class=\"fl-open\"><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/\" aria-current=\"true\">Getting started</a> <span>70</span><ul><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#about\">What Storage Studio is</a> <span>7</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#requirements\">What you need</a> <span>3</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#install\">Downloading and installing</a> <span>9</span></li><li class=\"fl-on\"><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#first-launch\">First launch and Full Disk Access</a> <span>10</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#setup-wizard\">The setup wizard</a> <span>6</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#finding-your-way\">Finding your way around</a> <span>12</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#updates\">Updates</a> <span>5</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#help-support\">Help, tips and support</a> <span>6</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#notifications\">Notifications</a> <span>2</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#quit-uninstall\">Quitting, restarting and uninstalling</a> <span>10</span></li></ul></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/\">Freeing up space</a> <span>182</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/moving-folders/\">Moving folders</a> <span>144</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/apps/\">Apps</a> <span>146</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/external-drives/\">External drives</a> <span>169</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/finder-location/\">Finding things in Finder</a> <span>70</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/cloud-accounts/\">Cloud accounts</a> <span>158</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/icloud/\">iCloud &amp; iCloud Photos</a> <span>168</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/data-transfers/\">Data Transfers</a> <span>119</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/backups/\">Backups &amp; restore points</a> <span>126</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/delta-drive/\">Delta Drive, Delta Trust &amp; My Drive</a> <span>125</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/bridge-devices/\">Bridge &amp; your devices</a> <span>111</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/duplicates/\">Duplicate files</a> <span>74</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/junk-yard/\">Junk Yard</a> <span>113</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/tuhi-assistant/\">Tuhi, your storage assistant</a> <span>105</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/settings/\">Settings &amp; keep-time</a> <span>88</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/performance-battery/\">Performance &amp; battery</a> <span>62</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/\">Privacy &amp; safety</a> <span>85</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/licensing-payments/\">Licensing &amp; payments</a> <span>131</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/troubleshooting/\">Troubleshooting &amp; messages</a> <span>180</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/comparisons/\">Comparisons &amp; alternatives</a> <span>75</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/mac-storage-basics/\">Mac storage basics</a> <span>315</span></li></ul></details></aside><div class=\"fl-main\"><nav class=\"fl-crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><ol><li><a href=\"/\">Home</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/\">FAQ</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/\">Getting started</a></li><li aria-current=\"page\">What happens the first time I open Storage Studio?</li></ol></nav>\n<form class=\"fl-search\" action=\"/faq/search\" method=\"get\" role=\"search\" data-fl-search>\n<label class=\"fl-visually-hidden\" for=\"fl-q\">Search the FAQ</label>\n<input id=\"fl-q\" type=\"search\" name=\"q\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Search 2,816 questions…\" autocomplete=\"off\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<button type=\"submit\">Search</button>\n<div class=\"fl-suggest\" role=\"listbox\" hidden></div>\n</form>\n<article class=\"fl-entry\">\n<p class=\"eyebrow fl-eyebrow\"><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/\">Getting started</a> · <a href=\"/faq/getting-started/#first-launch\">First launch and Full Disk Access</a></p>\n<h1>What happens the first time I open Storage Studio?</h1>\n<p class=\"fl-short\"><strong>Short answer:</strong> A short sequence: a splash screen, accepting the Terms, granting Full Disk Access (skippable), registering your free trial with an email code, then a quick setup wizard. Later launches skip what&#39;s done.</p>\n<div class=\"fl-answer\"><p>The first time you open Storage Studio it walks you through a short chain of screens, then settles into the menu bar. Later launches skip anything you&#39;ve already done.</p>\n<ol><li><strong>Splash screen</strong> — the app checks for updates and fetches its settings.</li><li><strong>Welcome &amp; Terms</strong> — accept the Terms, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.</li><li><strong>Full Disk Access</strong> — a one-time permission ask; you can skip it for now.</li><li><strong>Register and start your free trial</strong> — your name, email and country, then a one-time code sent to your email.</li><li><strong>Setup wizard</strong> — pick your external drive (or skip) and start the background service.</li></ol>\n<p>If you already own a licence, choose <strong>I have a licence</strong> on the registration screen to go straight to activation.</p></div>\n\n<p class=\"fl-meta\">Last reviewed <time datetime=\"2026-10-01\">October 1, 2026</time></p>\n\n<section class=\"fl-related\"><h2>Related questions</h2><ul><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/what-is-the-splash-screen\">Why does Storage Studio show a splash screen when it opens?</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-in-the-setup-wizard\">What does the Storage Studio setup wizard do?</a></li></ul></section>\n<p class=\"fl-formats\">Also available as <a href=\"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch.md\">Markdown</a> and <a href=\"/faq/getting-started/what-happens-on-first-launch.json\">JSON</a>.</p>\n</article></div></div></div>"}