Getting started with your notebook

Every pysolvr product is a Google Colab notebook. You open it, run cells, and get results. No installs, no accounts beyond Google, no command line. This guide walks you through your first session -- from opening Colab to seeing your first output saved in Google Drive.

What you need before starting

1. A Google account -- For Colab and Drive. Free to create at accounts.google.com/signup if you don't have one.

2. Your API key -- Sent to you after subscribing.

3. The notebook link for your product -- A GitHub URL, also in your welcome email.

Open Google Colab

Go to colab.google.com. Sign in with your Google account if prompted.

Colab is free. You don't need Colab Pro or any paid Google plan.

Add your API key

Your API key authenticates you with the product's backend. Set it up before opening the notebook so everything works on first run.

1. Click the key icon in the left sidebar --

2. Click Add a new secret --

3. Name it exactly as shown in your welcome email -- For example, PLANFORGE_API_KEY.

4. Paste your API key as the value --

5. Toggle Notebook access to ON --

You only do this once. Colab remembers it across sessions.

Warning: Never paste your API key directly into a code cell. Colab Secrets keeps it encrypted and separate from your notebook file.

Open your notebook

From Colab: File > Open notebook > GitHub tab. Paste the notebook URL from your welcome email.

This opens the notebook directly from GitHub. You'll see a series of collapsed cells with play buttons.

Save a copy to your Drive

File > Save a copy in Drive.

This creates your personal copy. Without this step, you're viewing the repo version -- your changes won't persist and outputs won't save. Your copy is yours to keep and modify forever.

Tip: Your notebook's Account cell has a Version tab that tells you when a newer version is available. The notebook link always points to the latest version -- upgrading means opening the same link again and saving a fresh copy to Drive.

Run the Setup cell

Click the play button on the first code cell. This installs dependencies, connects to the API, and connects your Google Drive.

Tip: "Connecting your Drive" means the notebook can read and save files directly to your Google Drive -- like giving it access to a folder on your computer. Your generated outputs land there automatically.

When it finishes, you'll see a health check confirmation showing your connection status and Drive path. If something's wrong, the cell tells you exactly what to fix.

Start using your product

Click the play button on the next cell. This is where the product begins -- it might be a form, a dropdown, a conversation, or a file upload depending on what you're using.

Fill in what's asked and the notebook does the work. Results render as styled cards and tables directly in the notebook -- not raw code output.

Continue running cells in order from top to bottom. Each one builds on the last.

Your output is saved automatically

Generated outputs are saved to your Google Drive under My Drive/pysolvr/{product}/. Each file includes a .meta.json companion with full provenance -- what you asked for, when, which model was used.

Cancel your subscription anytime and everything stays in your Drive. Nothing disappears. Your data belongs to you.

That's it. Open Colab, add your key, open the notebook, save a copy, run cells. You're up and running.