First Steps with Nectar

You’ve installed Nectar. Now let’s put it to work! This guide takes about 15 minutes.

Understanding the Interface

When you open Nectar, you’ll see:

• Sidebar (left): Navigation to Honey Jars, Bee chat, Settings
• Main Area (center): Your current workspace
• Status Bar (bottom): AI status, sync status

1. Create Your First Honey Jar (2 min)

A Honey Jar is a secure container for your knowledge. Think of it as a smart folder that AI can search.

1. Click + New Honey Jar in the sidebar
2. Give it a name (e.g., “Meeting Notes” or “Project Research”)
3. Add a description (optional but helpful)
4. Click Create

2. Add Your First Documents (5 min)

Now let’s give Bee something to learn from.

Drag and Drop

1. Open your Honey Jar
2. Drag files from your computer into the main area
3. Wait for processing (you’ll see a progress indicator)

Supported File Types

What Happens During Processing

1. Text Extraction - Nectar reads the content
2. Chunking - Content is split into searchable pieces
3. Embedding - AI creates searchable vectors
4. Indexing - Added to your Honey Jar’s knowledge base

Processing time depends on file size and your computer’s speed.

3. Chat with Bee (5 min)

Now the fun part - talking to your documents!

Start a Conversation

1. Click Bee in the sidebar
2. Select which Honey Jar(s) to search
3. Ask a question about your documents

Example Prompts

If you uploaded meeting notes:

“What were the main decisions from last week’s meeting?”

If you uploaded research:

“Summarize the key findings about [topic]”

If you uploaded contracts:

“What are the payment terms?”

How Bee Works

1. You ask - Type your question
2. Bee searches - Finds relevant chunks in your Honey Jar
3. AI answers - Uses your documents + the AI model to respond
4. Sources shown - See which documents Bee used

4. Try These Features

Search Within a Honey Jar

1. Open a Honey Jar
2. Use the search bar at the top
3. Find documents by content, not just filename

Ask Follow-up Questions

Bee remembers context within a conversation:

• “Tell me more about that”
• “What’s the source for that claim?”
• “Explain it more simply”

Switch AI Models

If you installed multiple models:

1. Go to Settings → AI
2. Change the default model
3. Or switch models per-conversation using the dropdown

5. Best Practices

Organize Your Honey Jars

Write Better Prompts

Too vague:

“Tell me about the project”

Better:

“What are the deadlines mentioned in the project brief?”

Best:

“Based on the project brief, what milestones are due in Q1, and who is responsible for each?”

Keep Documents Updated

• Nectar doesn’t auto-sync folders (yet)
• Re-upload documents when they change
• Or delete and re-add updated versions

What’s Next?

You’ve learned the basics! Here’s where to go from here:

• Connect to STING Server - Share knowledge with your team
• Advanced Features - Power user tips
• Keyboard Shortcuts - Work faster

Quick Reference

Need Help?

• Something not working? See Troubleshooting
• Have a question? Check the FAQ
• Found a bug? Report it on GitHub