# Get started with Console
> Use the Getting Started dashboard in Console to design tracking, implement it, deploy data models, and configure Signals.
> Source: https://docs.snowplow.io/docs/get-started/console/
> Documentation index: https://docs.snowplow.io/llms.txt

The Getting Started dashboard in Console guides you through collecting and acting on your behavioral data. It organizes workflows into three sections: **Fundamentals**, **Analytics**, and **Real-time use cases**.

> **Tip: Use your AI assistant**
>
> You can also complete these workflows by asking an AI assistant. Connected to the Snowplow MCP server, your coding agent can create a tracking plan, add the tracker to your application and check the events, and configure Signals. For example: "Create a tracking plan for our checkout flow, add the tracking to this app, and confirm the events arrive."
>
> Install the [Snowplow MCP server](/docs/ai/snowplow-mcp/) and [skills](/docs/ai/skills/) in your coding agent, such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex, with `npx plugins add snowplow/skills`. In Console, the [Snowplow Assistant](/docs/ai/console-agent/) has the same tools.

![The Getting Started dashboard in Console showing Fundamentals, Analytics, and Real-time use cases sections with guided workflow cards](/assets/images/console-getting-started-055d1e21167901b1ef5a52e76ab12cf8.png)

## How the dashboard is organized

Each section contains workflow cards for a specific task, from designing a tracking plan to configuring Signals. The workflows follow a prerequisite chain: create a tracking plan, implement tracking, then unlock downstream features like data models and Signals.

> **Note: Console availability**
>
> The Getting Started dashboard is available to Snowplow CDI customers with Console access.

## Design and implement tracking

The Fundamentals section covers the core data collection workflow.

### Create a tracking plan

The first card guides you through creating a [tracking plan](/docs/event-studio/tracking-plans/), which defines the [events](/docs/fundamentals/events/) and [entities](/docs/fundamentals/entities/) you want to collect.

1. Choose between built-in events or custom tracking
2. Create or select a [source application](/docs/event-studio/source-applications/)
3. Select tracking plan templates (Base Web, Ecommerce Web, Media Web, and others)
4. Review and confirm your selections

Console then creates the tracking plan and associated data structures in your account.

### Implement tracking

With a tracking plan in place, the next card helps you [implement tracking](/docs/event-studio/implement-tracking/).

1. Select your source application
2. Configure tracker initialization with the generated code snippet
3. Select your tracking plan and view event-specific code snippets
4. Test with Snowplow Micro
5. Deploy to production

> **Tip: Test before deploying**
>
> Test your implementation with Snowplow Micro before deploying to production to verify that events are structured correctly and match your tracking plan.

## Deploy a data model

Once data is flowing, you can deploy a data model to transform raw events into structured tables for analysis. Console offers two types of data models:

- [Out-of-the-box data models](/docs/modeling-your-data/running-data-models-via-console/) for common use cases like web and mobile analytics
- [Automatically generated data models](/docs/modeling-your-data/automatically-generated-data-models/) tailored to your tracking plan

## Configure Signals for real-time use cases

[Signals](/docs/signals/introduction/) processes your event stream to compute user attributes in real time and trigger automated actions.

> **Note: Signals free tier**
>
> You can start on the [Signals free tier](https://signals.snowplow.io/start?utm_source=docs.snowplow.io\&utm_medium=referral) without a credit card or a sales call. To use Signals beyond the free tier, contact your account team.

### Design Signals attributes

Define [Signals attributes](/docs/signals/attributes/) that compute real-time properties about your users (for example, session count, cart value, or engagement score).

1. Choose a template or create a custom attribute
2. Create or edit an attribute group
3. Test and simulate against real data

### Retrieve Signals attributes

Create a [service](/docs/signals/applications/services/) and follow the [retrieval steps](/docs/signals/applications/retrieve-attributes/) to access attribute values from your front-end or back-end.

### Trigger interventions

Create [interventions](/docs/signals/interventions/) that automatically respond to user behavior — for example, displaying a promotion when a cart value exceeds a threshold or suppressing a campaign for users who have already converted.