Getting Started with Simple Chat

This tutorial is the shortest useful path into the product. You will deploy Simple Chat, wire the essentials, add one document, and prove the retrieval loop works.

Step 1: Deploy Simple Chat

Simple Chat offers multiple deployment options. For getting started, we recommend using the automated deployment:

Option A: Azure Developer CLI (Recommended for beginners)

The fastest way to get started is with Azure Developer CLI:

1. Install Azure Developer CLI if you haven’t already
2. Clone the Simple Chat repository
3. Navigate to the project folder
4. Run the deployment command

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/simplechat.git
cd simplechat

# Deploy with azd
azd up

Follow the prompts to select your subscription, region, and provide required configuration.

Option B: Other Deployment Methods

For more deployment options, see our deployment reference.

Step 2: Initial Configuration

After deployment completes:

1. Open the application using the URL provided in the deployment output
2. Sign in with your Azure Active Directory account
3. Access Admin Settings (if you have admin role assigned)

Configure Basic Settings

In the Admin Settings page:

1. General Section:
   • Set your application title
   • Upload a custom logo (optional)
2. GPT Section:
   • Verify your Azure OpenAI connection
   • Test the connection using the “Test” button
   • Select your active model deployment
3. Embeddings Section:
   • Verify your embeddings endpoint
   • Test the connection

Step 3: Enable Your First Workspace

1. In Admin Settings, navigate to Workspaces
2. Enable “Your Workspace” - this allows personal document uploads
3. Click Save Configuration

Step 4: Upload Your First Document

Now let’s add some content to work with:

1. Navigate to “Your Workspace” from the main menu
2. Click “Add Documents”
3. Select a file from your computer:
   • Try a PDF with interesting content
   • Word documents work great too
   • Text files are supported
4. Upload the document and wait for processing

You’ll see the document appear in your workspace with processing status indicators.

Step 5: Start Your First RAG Conversation

Now for the exciting part - chatting with your document:

1. Go to “Chat” from the main menu
2. Select your workspace from the workspace dropdown
3. Ask a question about your document content

Try questions like:

• “What are the main topics covered in this document?”
• “Can you summarize the key points?”
• “What does the document say about [specific topic]?”

Step 6: Explore Citations

Notice how Simple Chat provides citations showing where information came from:

• Standard citations show which document and chunk
• Enhanced citations (if enabled) can link directly to pages

What You’ve Accomplished

Congratulations! You’ve successfully: ✅ Deployed Simple Chat to Azure
✅ Configured basic settings
✅ Uploaded your first document
✅ Had an AI conversation grounded in your data
✅ Experienced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Next Steps

Now that you’re up and running, explore more features:

• Create Your First Agent - Build a specialized AI assistant
• Upload More Documents - Build a larger knowledge base
• Document Classification - Organize your content

Or dive into specific tasks with our how-to guides.

Troubleshooting

Document not uploading?

• Check file size limits in Admin Settings
• Ensure file types are supported
• Look at File Processing Logs (if enabled)

Can’t access admin settings?

• Verify you have the Admin role assigned in Azure AD
• Check your app registration configuration

Chat not finding document content?

• Verify the document finished processing (no error status)
• Try more specific questions
• Check your embeddings configuration

For more help, see our FAQ or how-to guides.

Next: Create Your First Agent →