Getting Started with the Web UI
================================

The web UI is the main browser-based application for Content Chimera. You log in, see
your projects, and work through menus and forms. It was the first interface built and
remains the most feature-rich.

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When to Use the Web UI
-----------------------

The web UI is designed around **individual actions**: start a crawl, build a chart, write
a rule, edit a report. Each action is a distinct step that you initiate and complete
through the interface. This is different from MCP, where an AI assistant can orchestrate
multi-step workflows for you --- crawling a site, analyzing it, and generating a
report in a single conversation.

Both approaches have their place. Use the web UI when you want direct, visual control
over what's happening. Use MCP when you want to describe an outcome and let the assistant
figure out the steps.

There are also several things that **only the web UI can do** --- or that work
significantly better there:

**Interactive charting**
   Charts in the web UI are live and interactive. You can click bars to drill down, switch
   chart types, adjust filters, and explore your data visually in real time. Chimera Chat
   can generate charts too, but the web UI gives you full hands-on control over every
   aspect of the visualization.

**Interactive reports**
   The web UI is where you build, edit, and present reports. You can drag components
   around, add narrative text between charts, and use presentation mode to walk a client
   through findings section by section. Reports created via MCP appear here too ---
   the web UI is where you refine and deliver them.

**Live pipeline status**
   When a crawl, summarization, or analysis pipeline is running, the web UI shows live
   progress --- which step is active, how many pages have been processed, and estimated
   time remaining. Other interfaces can check status on demand, but only the web UI gives
   you a continuous, real-time view.

**Administration**
   Managing clients, extents, users, quotas, and archiving are all web UI-only tasks.
   These are things you set up once and revisit occasionally, so they don't need to be
   available in every interface.

**Decision-making workflows**
   Rules, rulesets, assignments, and dispositions --- the tools for classifying content
   and planning what to do with it --- live exclusively in the web UI. These workflows
   involve careful human judgment and benefit from a visual interface.

**Importing data**
   Uploading CSV files and connecting analytics sources (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics,
   Matomo) are done through the web UI.


Orienting Yourself
-------------------

When you log in, you land on the **Clients** page. Clients are the top-level containers
in Content Chimera --- each client has one or more *extents* (projects) underneath it.

To start working with a site:

1. **Select a client** or create a new one
2. **Create an extent** for the website you want to analyze
3. **Start a crawl** by entering the site URL and clicking the crawl button

Once the crawl completes, your data is ready. From there, the most common next steps are:

- **Charts** --- Go to **Assets & Metadata** to explore your data visually. Start with a
  bar chart of pages by top-level folder to get a feel for the site's structure.
- **Reports** --- Go to **Reports** to create a new report or view one generated by MCP.
- **My History** --- Check the status of any running or completed pipelines.

For a deeper understanding of how crawling and data processing work, see
:doc:`../concepts/crawling_pipeline`. For details on charting, see
:doc:`../analysis/interactive_charts`.


What's Next?
-------------

If you prefer to work conversationally, explore the other interfaces:

- :doc:`quickstart_chat` --- Ask questions in natural language, right inside the web app.
- :doc:`quickstart_mcp` --- Connect an AI assistant to automate multi-step workflows.