New User Guide: The First 3 Essential Steps

1. Open your browser and go to your RapidPro.app login URL.
2. Log in with your email and password.
3. Confirm you land on your workspace home (dashboard or main view).

[CAPTURE: Logged-in workspace home screen with the main navigation visible.]

Your flows cannot send messages without at least one connected channel.

1. In the left sidebar, click the Settings gear icon to open Workspace settings.
2. Go to the Channels section.
3. Click Add channel (or equivalent) and connect a channel such as:
   • SMS
   • WhatsApp
   • Another supported messaging channel
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete setup.

[CAPTURE: Channels section showing a list of channels and an “Add channel” button.]

1. From your workspace, click the Flows tab in the top navigation.
2. Review any sample flows (if provided).
3. Click New Flow.
4. In the New Flow dialog:
   • Enter a name, for example: Registration – Ask for Name.
   • (Optional) Add keyword triggers later if you want contacts to start via SMS/chat.
   • Choose Messaging as the flow type.
   • Confirm the Language for editing.
5. Click Create to open the flow editor.

[CAPTURE: Flows tab with “New Flow” button highlighted + New Flow dialog showing name, type (Messaging), and language.]

1. In the flow editor, start from the first node (or create one if needed).
2. Add a Send Message action.
3. Write a simple prompt, for example: “Hi! What is your name?”
4. Save the node.

[CAPTURE: Flow editor showing a Send Message node with “Hi! What is your name?” configured.]

Now you need to capture whatever the contact replies.

1. On the Send Message node, find the exit dot (often a small red dot).
2. Click and drag the exit dot downward to create a new node.
3. Select Wait for Response (or equivalent).
4. In the Wait for Response settings:
   • Set the result name to something like Name.
   • Leave response rules open/blank to accept All Responses.

[CAPTURE: Flow editor showing the connection dragged from Send Message to create a Wait for Response node, with Result Name set to “Name”.]

To reuse the contact’s name later, save it to a contact field.

1. From the Wait for Response node, drag the exit dot downward to create another node.
2. Change the node type to Update the Contact.
3. In the Update the Contact configuration:
   • Choose the target contact field (e.g., Name or your workspace’s preferred field).
   • Set the value to the result variable, for example @results.name.
4. Save the node.

[CAPTURE: Flow editor showing the new node changed to Update the Contact (green), saving @results.name into the Name field.]

Groups help you mark progress and segment contacts later.

1. After the Update the Contact step, add an action to Add Contact to a Group.
2. If your editor shows a blue + button on the node, use it to stack the next action. Otherwise, create a new node from the exit dot.
3. Select an existing group like Completed Registration, or create one with that name.
4. Save the action.

[CAPTURE: Update the Contact node with the blue + button used to add “Add Contact to a Group” immediately after, with “Completed Registration” selected.]

1. After adding to the group, create a final Send Message action.
2. Personalize the message using a contact variable, for example:

“Thank you, @contact.first_name! Your registration is complete.”

1. Save the node.
2. Confirm your flow now does:
   • Ask name → capture reply → save to contact → add to group → confirm

[CAPTURE: Final Send Message node with a confirmation message using @contact.first_name.]

1. In the flow editor, locate the simulator panel (often on the right side).
2. Start the flow in the simulator (using the simulator start control or Start Flow for the simulated contact).
3. In the simulator:
   • Confirm the first message appears.
   • Type a test name as the response.
   • Follow the flow until you see the confirmation.
4. Open the simulated contact details (if available) to verify:
   • The Name field is saved correctly.
   • The contact is in the Completed Registration group.

[CAPTURE: Flow editor with simulator panel open, showing the conversation and a completed run.]