:orphan:

Getting started
===============

This section takes a new user from installation to one complete calculation,
then explains the two supported frontends and the artifacts they produce.

.. list-table:: Recommended reading order
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 28 72

   * - Page
     - Purpose
   * - :doc:`installation`
     - Install Quantas, optional plotting support, and documentation tools.
   * - :doc:`first_calculation`
     - Run the same small Elasticity calculation from the CLI and Python API.
   * - :doc:`python_api`
     - Understand public namespaces, typed results, observers, persistence,
       discovery, and EOS's different lifecycle.
   * - :doc:`command_line`
     - Learn command organization, shared controls, terminal behavior, and
       error conventions.
   * - :doc:`results`
     - Distinguish native HDF5, reports, exports, terminal output, and plots.

After these pages, continue with :doc:`../theory/index`,
:doc:`../workflows/index`, or :doc:`../tutorials/index` according to whether
you need theory, implementation choices, or a complete worked example.