> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.celesto.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create your first SmolFS workspace

> Create a local SmolFS workspace, write a file, close it, and open it again.

By the end of this guide, you will have a local workspace folder that keeps a file after you close and reopen it.

## What you need

* SmolFS installed from [Installation](/smolfs/installation).
* A Linux or macOS machine with local mount support.

## Create and reopen a workspace

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check SmolFS">
    ```bash theme={null}
    smolfs doctor
    ```

    If the storage backend is missing, run:

    ```bash theme={null}
    smolfs doctor --install
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a local volume">
    ```bash theme={null}
    smolfs init demo --dev
    ```

    A volume is a named workspace. `--dev` keeps the backing data on this machine, which is the easiest way to try SmolFS.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the workspace as a folder">
    ```bash theme={null}
    smolfs mount demo ./workspace
    ```

    SmolFS creates `./workspace` if it does not already exist.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write and save a file">
    ```bash theme={null}
    echo hello > ./workspace/hello.txt
    smolfs flush demo
    ```

    `flush` asks SmolFS to save important recent writes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Close and reopen the workspace">
    ```bash theme={null}
    smolfs unmount demo
    smolfs mount demo ./workspace
    cat ./workspace/hello.txt
    ```

    You should see:

    ```text theme={null}
    hello
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Clean up

Unmount the workspace when you are done:

```bash theme={null}
smolfs unmount demo
```

If you already used the name `demo`, pick another volume name such as `agent-demo-1`. Volume names can use letters, numbers, `.`, `_`, and `-`.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="CLI reference" icon="terminal" href="/smolfs/cli">
    See the current command list and the most useful flags.
  </Card>

  <Card title="SDK examples" icon="code" href="/smolfs/sdk">
    Use the same flow from Python or TypeScript.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>