--- title: "Your first launch, step by step" url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/your-first-launch category: "Getting started" tags: ["getting started", "install", "full disk access", "licence"] summary: "The first time you open Storage Studio you see, in order, a short loading screen, the terms to accept, a request for Full Disk Access, the free-trial registration and the Setup Wizard. Later launches skip anything you've already done." updated: 2026-10-01T05:35:21.000Z --- # Your first launch, step by step The first time you open Storage Studio you see, in order, a short loading screen, the terms to accept, a request for Full Disk Access, the free-trial registration and the Setup Wizard. Later launches skip anything you've already done. The first time you open Storage Studio, a short chain of screens appears before the app settles into the menu bar: a loading screen, the terms, a request for Full Disk Access, your free-trial registration and the Setup Wizard. Each one appears only while it's needed, so later launches skip straight past anything you've already done. ```mermaid %% caption: The screens you see the first time you open Storage Studio flowchart TD A[Loading screen] --> B{Is this version too old to run?} B -->|Yes| C[A new version is available] B -->|No| D[Welcome to Storage Studio: accept the terms] D --> E[One quick permission: Full Disk Access] E --> F[Start your free trial] F --> G[Storage Studio Setup wizard] G --> H[Storage Studio opens] ``` *Flowchart — The screens you see the first time you open Storage Studio. Outline:* - Loading screen - leads to Is this version too old to run? - Is this version too old to run? - Yes: leads to A new version is available - No: leads to Welcome to Storage Studio: accept the terms - Welcome to Storage Studio: accept the terms - leads to One quick permission: Full Disk Access - One quick permission: Full Disk Access - leads to Start your free trial - Start your free trial - leads to Storage Studio Setup wizard - Storage Studio Setup wizard - leads to Storage Studio opens ## 1. The loading screen A small window shows the Storage Studio mark, the version number and a status line such as **Connecting to storagestudio.us**. The app uses this moment to check for updates and fetch its latest settings. If it can't reach our servers you see **Working offline**, and the app carries on anyway. **Cancel** (or Escape) quits the app. If the version you're opening is older than the oldest one we still support, you see **A new version is available** instead, and Storage Studio downloads, checks and installs the new version for you. See [Keeping Storage Studio up to date](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/keeping-storage-studio-up-to-date). ## 2. Welcome and the terms **Welcome to Storage Studio** asks you to read and accept the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer. You tick two boxes — that you accept the documents, and that you understand Storage Studio is not a backup tool and you keep your own backups of anything you value — then click **Continue**. **Decline & Quit** closes the app and changes nothing. Storage Studio doesn't start its background work until you've accepted. You can reread the documents later; see [Legal documents and your consent choices](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/legal-documents-and-consent). ## 3. Full Disk Access **One quick permission and we're all set** explains why Storage Studio needs Full Disk Access, and opens System Settings at the right page for you. Switch **Storage Studio** on in the list; the window notices within a couple of seconds and moves on, with no restart needed. **Skip for now** lets you continue without it. Full details: [Why Storage Studio asks for Full Disk Access](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/full-disk-access). ## 4. Start your free trial If this Mac doesn't already have a trial or licence, you're asked for your full name, email address and country, then **Email me a code**. Type the one-time code from the email and click the button to start your trial. If the code doesn't arrive, check your spam folder; **Start my trial without the code** lets you begin anyway and confirm your email later. - Already bought a licence? Click **I have a licence** instead. See [Activating your licence](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/activating-your-licence). - Used a trial on this Mac before? You'll see **You're all set — this Mac already has an active trial**, and **Continue** takes you on. More about the trial: [The free trial](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-free-trial). ## 5. The Setup Wizard On a first install, **Storage Studio Setup** runs four short steps: a welcome, picking your external drive (or skipping it), installing the background service, and a final **You're all set!** screen. Closing the wizard on this first run quits the app, because Storage Studio can't work without its background service. See [The Setup Wizard](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-setup-wizard). If the background service is installed but not running on a later launch, you see **One more thing — let's start the service** instead. ## After that Storage Studio's icon appears in the menu bar, next to the clock. Click it to open the app. Next: [The Home screen](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-home-screen) and [Where to start](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/where-to-start). See also: [Installing Storage Studio](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/installing-storage-studio), [The menu bar icon and popover](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-menu-bar-icon-and-popover). ## What links here - [Installing Storage Studio](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/installing-storage-studio) - [The Setup Wizard](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-setup-wizard) - [The free trial](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-free-trial) - [What Storage Studio does](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/what-storage-studio-does) - [Why Storage Studio asks for Full Disk Access](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/full-disk-access)