Setup help

A little help.
A good start.

Pick what you need help with. Each guide includes a message you can copy into your preferred AI chat for step-by-step help.

The regular download is 1.8.1. The homepage showcases the 1.8.4 QA preview, which adds newer workspaces and connections. Using the preview? Start here. Check Settings → About to see your version.

How it works

Find the step you are stuck on below and press Copy this message.
Press Ask Claude to walk me through this. Claude opens in a new tab. If you have never used Claude, it asks you to sign in or make a free account first.
If the message is already sitting in the chat box, press send. If the box is empty, paste the message in — Cmd+V on a Mac, Ctrl+V on Windows — and press send.

Claude will then ask you what you see on your screen. Answer in your own words. Never paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into the chat. Claude does not need them, and the message tells it so. Prefer ChatGPT? Every card has an or ChatGPT link that does the same thing.

Using the 1.8.4 QA preview

Set up the features
you want to use.

The newer workspaces are available in the preview source and test installers, separately from public release 1.8.1. Keep a backup before trying a preview with existing data.

Choose your AI

Start in Settings → AI. General archive tasks can use a compatible hosted service with your own key. Questions about saved personal records, document review, and health planning require a model served on your computer or local network. That server’s routing controls where processing occurs. Zelos does not include an AI subscription.

Connect Money

Bank linking requires configured Plaid credentials and a supported institution. Saved bank balances include retrieval times; pending charges stay separate from posted spending. You can also import statements. Review recurring and duplicate suggestions before confirming a change, and use Undo if needed.

Import a document

Use Imports for PDF, PNG, or JPEG files up to 8 MB; PDFs are limited to 12 pages. Install Poppler for PDFs and Tesseract with English language data for scans. Scanned PDFs need both. Configure your local/LAN model, inspect the extracted evidence, and choose which rows to save.

Send a reviewed reply

Set up the sending connection for your email account. Drafting alone does not send. Open the reply, check the recipient and final text, complete its review, and choose Send reply. Optional background drafting never sends or replaces a reply you have edited.

Share with a household

Family supports parent accounts, child profiles, and limited collaborator access. Choose the records to share; shared workspace records are snapshots, not a live feed of the whole archive. Invitations are links you copy and deliver yourself. Remote family and guest booking pages need their own access setup while Zelos stays running.

Back up before a move

Settings → Your data offers a portable backup and optional daily encrypted copies. Portable archives are not password protected. Encrypted recovery requires the separate recovery key; keep the archive and a protected key copy on another device. Neither format includes installed models or operating-system keychain credentials. Restore checks the archive and saves a recovery copy first.

Plan meals and groceries

Save your preferences and review the generated plan before using it. Mark grocery items Needed, Have, or Bought. Optional store sharing needs separate setup and a review of the list being sent. Prices are estimates; checkout happens with the store. Health records preserve your reported results and do not provide a diagnosis.

Choose the right installer

Use Apple Silicon or Intel for your Mac, and x64 or ARM64 for your Windows PC. All four preview packages passed automated build and runtime checks; hands-on Windows install and upgrade acceptance remains. Messages import is Mac-only and needs Full Disk Access. The main workspaces work independently of Messages.

Full preview installation guide · Preview privacy details · Downloads and preview source

Opening Zelos the first time

Your computer may show a security warning because these builds are unsigned or ad-hoc signed. A warning does not establish a single cause or prove a file is safe. Verify the source and continue only if you trust the download. Pick your computer.

On a Mac

The Mac says it could not verify Zelos, or that it cannot be opened. This message helps you identify the warning and the appropriate next step.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just downloaded Zelos on my Mac and I am trying to open it for the first time. My Mac is showing a warning instead of opening it. Please walk me through getting it open.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What is going on, so you can explain it: the app is not signed with an Apple developer identity or notarized. A warning does not by itself establish whether a download is safe. Verify its source before deciding to continue. The app is signed only "ad hoc", which proves the file has not been changed since it was built but does not name a developer, and it has not been through Apple's notarisation. The exact message and later prompts depend on macOS and the file. Work from the warning I actually see.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. Open the downloaded file (its name ends in .dmg). A window opens showing Zelos and a shortcut to Applications. Drag Zelos onto Applications. Then eject the disk image.
2. Open Zelos from the Applications folder. The Mac refuses with a message like "Apple could not verify Zelos is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy", with two buttons, Move to Trash and Done. Press Done. Do not press Move to Trash. (On macOS 14 and earlier the message says the developer cannot be verified.)
3. Open System Settings: click the Apple logo at the top left of the screen, then System Settings. Click Privacy and Security in the list on the left. Scroll all the way to the bottom. There is a new line saying Zelos was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button. Press Open Anyway.
4. The Mac asks for a fingerprint or the computer's own password. That is the Mac asking, not this chat.
5. One more box asks "Are you sure you want to open it?" Press Open.

If the message instead says Zelos is "damaged and can't be opened", there can be several causes, including signing or download problems. Verify that the file came from the official release and matches its checksum, then try a fresh download. Do not assume that bypassing the warning makes it safe. If an Intel Mac says the app cannot be opened on this computer at all, the wrong file was downloaded: the website has a separate one for Intel Macs, under "Download for Intel Mac".

When Zelos opens it shows a Welcome screen with five steps: Welcome, AI, Email, Calendar, Done. Every step can be skipped, and there is a button to look around with made-up data first.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

On Windows

A blue box says Windows protected your PC, or the browser would not keep the download. This message knows where the hidden button is.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just downloaded Zelos on my Windows PC and I am trying to open it for the first time. Windows is stopping it with a warning. Please walk me through getting it installed and open.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What is going on, so you can explain it: the installer has no paid publisher certificate, so Windows's SmartScreen has never seen this file before and does not know who made it. That can trigger a warning, but the exact message may also reflect other checks. A publisher name alone would not prove the program safe. Work from the warning I see, verify the download source, and continue only if I trust it.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. The download itself. The browser may refuse to keep the file. Edge says it "was blocked because it could harm your device"; Chrome says it "isn't commonly downloaded". Open the browser's downloads list, click the three dots beside the file, choose Keep, then Keep anyway.
2. Open the downloaded file (its name ends in .exe). A blue box fills the window: "Windows protected your PC. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting." The only button showing is Don't run. The button you need is not on the screen yet.
3. Click the small "More info" link under the message. It expands to show the file name and "Publisher: Unknown publisher", and a Run anyway button appears next to Don't run. Click Run anyway.
4. The installer runs. It does not ask for an administrator password. It asks where to put Zelos (the suggested place is fine), offers a Start menu entry and a desktop shortcut, and opens Zelos when it finishes.

If the wrong installer was taken: the website has one for an ordinary PC and one for a Windows on ARM PC. The wrong one either runs slowly or does not run at all. Most PCs want the ordinary one.

When Zelos opens it shows a Welcome screen with five steps: Welcome, AI, Email, Calendar, Done. Every step can be skipped, and there is a button to look around with made-up data first.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Choosing the AI and getting a key

Step 2 of 5 inside Zelos: Pick the AI that reads your mail. The message knows the key page for Claude and for OpenAI, which button makes the key, and where it goes in Zelos.

Pick the AI and paste a key

Claude is recommended, OpenAI is the other card, and anything already running on your own computer needs no key at all. This message covers all three.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called AI (step 2 of 5). Its heading is "Pick the AI that reads your mail." Please walk me through choosing an AI and getting a key for it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: Zelos does its reading with an AI service, the same kind of thing as ChatGPT, and it needs one key from that service. The screen shows cards. If an AI program is already running on this computer (Ollama or LM Studio, for example) it is offered first and needs no key at all. Otherwise the two cards most people know are "Claude, by Anthropic" (marked Recommended) and "OpenAI, who make ChatGPT". Other companies are under a drawer called "More choices".

Choosing a card opens a short guide with three steps and one box:
1. Open the key page in the browser. Zelos has a link to it. For Claude it is console.anthropic.com/settings/keys; for OpenAI it is platform.openai.com/api-keys. They may ask me to sign in or make an account. This is separate from a Claude or ChatGPT subscription. Provider usage charges apply; check the provider’s pricing and available spending controls before using it.
2. Make a key. For Claude the button is "Create Key". For OpenAI it is "Create new secret key". Copy the key. It is shown only once.
3. Back in Zelos, paste it into the box labelled "Your key" and press "Check it works". Zelos tests it, picks a model, and saves. A green line means it works. The key is kept in the computer's own keychain and Zelos never shows it again.

If I chose an AI that runs on this computer, the same guide has no key box: it just says what it found and the one button.

Things that go wrong: a red line after "Check it works" usually means the key was copied incompletely (make a new one and copy it again) or the account has no credit yet. Their site has a billing page; a small amount is enough. Zelos itself never charges anything; the AI company bills me directly.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Connecting your email

Step 3 of 5 inside Zelos: Connect your email. Each message knows that provider's own page and what it calls the thing you need. Pick where your mail lives.

Gmail

Google makes a special 16-letter password just for Zelos. The message knows the page and the one setting that has to be on first.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Email (step 3 of 5). Its heading is "Connect your email." My email is Gmail, from Google. Please walk me through connecting it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: my Gmail address in the box "Your email address", and then a special password that Google makes just for Zelos, which Google calls an app password. It is not my normal Google password. It is a separate 16-letter password that works only for mail programs, and it can be deleted later on Google's page without changing anything else.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, type the Gmail address into "Your email address" and press Enter. Zelos recognises Gmail and shows a "Get an app password" button, a box labelled "App password", and a "Connect" button.
2. Press "Get an app password". It opens Google's page at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords in the browser. Google may ask me to sign in.
3. If Google says app passwords are not available, 2-Step Verification has to be on first: go to myaccount.google.com/security, find 2-Step Verification, and turn it on. Then come back to the app passwords page.
4. On the app passwords page, type a name such as Zelos and press Create. Google shows 16 letters in four groups. Copy them. Google will not show them again.
5. Back in Zelos, paste the 16 letters into the "App password" box (spaces do not matter) and press Connect. Zelos tests the connection, finds the Sent folder, and saves the account.

If Zelos says the server refused: the usual causes are a typo in the address, the normal Google password pasted instead of the app password, or 2-Step Verification not on. Making a fresh app password and trying again fixes most of it. Zelos has a "Server settings (for experts)" button too; the app password path should not need it.

"Sign in with Google" exists in Zelos but is still waiting on Google's review, so today the app password is the reliable way in.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

iCloud

An address ending in icloud.com, me.com or mac.com. Apple calls the special password an app-specific password; the message knows where Apple hides it.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Email (step 3 of 5). Its heading is "Connect your email." My email is iCloud, from Apple: the address ends in icloud.com, me.com or mac.com. Please walk me through connecting it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: my iCloud address in the box "Your email address", and then a special password that Apple makes just for Zelos, which Apple calls an app-specific password. It is not my Apple Account password. It is a separate password that works only for mail programs, and it can be deleted later on Apple's page without changing anything else.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, type the iCloud address into "Your email address" and press Enter. Zelos recognises iCloud and shows a "Get an app password" button, a box labelled "App password", and a "Connect" button.
2. Press "Get an app password". It opens Apple's account page at account.apple.com/account/manage in the browser. Apple asks me to sign in with my Apple Account. It may send a six-digit code to my iPhone or Mac; that code is typed into Apple's page, not here.
3. On Apple's page find "Sign-In and Security", then "App-Specific Passwords". Press the plus sign, or "Generate an app-specific password".
4. Give it a name such as Zelos and press Create. Apple may ask for my Apple Account password once more, on its own page. Apple then shows a password in four groups of four letters with dashes between them. Copy it. Apple will not show it again.
5. Back in Zelos, paste it into the "App password" box and press Connect. Zelos tests the connection, finds the Sent folder, and saves the account.

If Apple's page has no "App-Specific Passwords" section, two-factor authentication has to be turned on for the Apple Account first. On an iPhone that is Settings, then my name at the top, then Sign-In and Security. If Zelos says the server refused, the usual causes are the normal Apple password pasted instead of the app-specific one, or a typo in the address. Making a fresh app-specific password and trying again fixes most of it.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Outlook.com or Hotmail

Also Live and MSN. Microsoft takes no passwords from mail programs any more, so this one is a sign-in with a short code — after a one-time setup the message walks through.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Email (step 3 of 5). Its heading is "Connect your email." My email is a personal Microsoft account: Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live or MSN. Please walk me through connecting it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: since 16 September 2024 Microsoft lets no mail program into a personal Outlook, Hotmail, Live or MSN account with a password, app passwords included, so there is nothing to paste. Instead Zelos uses "Sign in with Microsoft": Zelos shows a short code, I type that code at microsoft.com/devicelogin in my browser and sign in to Microsoft there as usual, and Zelos connects on its own. Today there is a one-time setup at Microsoft's website first, about ten minutes, because Zelos does not yet ship its own registration with Microsoft; Zelos's "Show me how" button opens the written instructions.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, type the address into "Your email address" and press Enter. Zelos recognises Microsoft and shows "Sign in with Microsoft", a box for an "Application (client) ID", and a "Show me how" button.
2. The one-time setup. Go to entra.microsoft.com and sign in with the same Microsoft account. Open Entra ID, then App registrations, then New registration. Name it Zelos. Under "Supported account types" choose the option that includes personal Microsoft accounts (it mentions Skype, Xbox, Live, Hotmail). Leave the redirect URI empty and press Register.
3. On the Overview page that appears, copy the "Application (client) ID". It is not a password, but you need not see it.
4. Still on Microsoft's site: open Authentication, scroll to Advanced settings, set "Allow public client flows" to Yes, and Save. Then open API permissions, Add a permission, Office 365 Exchange Online, Delegated permissions, and tick IMAP.AccessAsUser.All. Add one more: Microsoft Graph, Delegated permissions, offline_access.
5. Back in Zelos, paste the Application (client) ID into its box, leave the tenant as "common", and press "Sign in with Microsoft". Zelos shows a short code and the address to type it at.
6. Open microsoft.com/devicelogin in the browser, type the code, sign in to Microsoft as usual, and approve. Leave the Zelos panel open; it notices on its own and says it is signed in.
7. Press Connect.

A work or school address (Microsoft 365) is different: the company can block this; its IT department may need to allow it.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Yahoo or Fastmail

Also AOL. Each makes an app password on its own page; the message knows all three pages and starts by asking which one you have.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Email (step 3 of 5). Its heading is "Connect your email." My email is Yahoo, AOL or Fastmail. Please ask me which one first, then walk me through connecting it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: my email address in the box "Your email address", and then a special password the provider makes just for Zelos, called an app password. It is not my normal password. It is a separate password that works only for mail programs, and it can be deleted later on the provider's page without changing anything else.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions. The Zelos side is the same for all three:
1. In Zelos, type the address into "Your email address" and press Enter. Zelos recognises the provider and shows a "Get an app password" button, a box labelled "App password", and a "Connect" button.
2. Press "Get an app password". It opens the provider's own page in the browser, which may ask me to sign in.
3. Make the password there (details below), copy it, come back to Zelos, paste it into the "App password" box, and press Connect. Zelos tests the connection, finds the Sent folder, and saves the account.

The provider's page:
- Yahoo: login.yahoo.com/myaccount/security/app-password. Press "Generate app password" (it may say "Generate and manage app passwords" first). Give it a name such as Zelos and press Generate. Yahoo shows a 16-letter password. Copy it; Yahoo will not show it again.
- AOL: login.aol.com/myaccount/security/app-password. The same page in AOL's colours: Generate app password, name it Zelos, copy the 16 letters.
- Fastmail: app.fastmail.com/settings/security/devicekeys. Press "New app password". Name it Zelos. Under what it may access, choose the Mail option (it may be worded "Mail (IMAP/POP/SMTP)"). Press "Generate password". Copy it; Fastmail will not show it again.

If Zelos says the server refused: the usual causes are a typo in the address or the normal password pasted instead of the app password. Making a fresh app password and trying again fixes most of it.

Start by asking me which of the three I have, then what I see on my screen right now.

My work email

A company address, or your own domain. Zelos works out who really hosts it; the message knows the three answers and what to ask your IT person if it is the fourth.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Email (step 3 of 5). Its heading is "Connect your email." My email is a work address, or an address at my own domain, not a Gmail or Outlook.com one. Please walk me through connecting it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen does: when I type the address into "Your email address" and press Enter, Zelos looks up who actually hosts mail for that domain and shows one of three things. Do not ask me for the address itself; ask me what Zelos showed.

1. If it shows "Get an app password" and a note about Google: the mail is hosted by Google Workspace. It works like Gmail: press "Get an app password", which opens myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, sign in with the work account, name the password Zelos, press Create, copy the 16 letters, paste them into the "App password" box in Zelos, press Connect. If Google's page says app passwords are not available, the company administrator has switched them off; ask the IT department to allow "app passwords" or "IMAP access" for my account.

2. If it shows "Sign in with Microsoft": the mail is Microsoft 365. Zelos shows a short code and the address microsoft.com/devicelogin; I type the code there in the browser, sign in as usual, approve, and Zelos connects on its own, then I press Connect. A company can block this, and if it does, Microsoft's page says so in its own words; then the IT department either allows it or gives me an "Application (client) ID" to paste into Zelos. Some companies still allow a plain password for mail programs; if IT says so, the password goes under "Server settings (for experts)".

3. If it shows "We guessed" and a server name: a hosting company. Paste the mailbox password into the "App password" box and press Connect; Connect says whether the guess was right. If it was not, "Server settings (for experts)" opens the full form, and what I need from the provider or the IT department is called the IMAP settings: the incoming mail server name, the port (usually 993), and whether the username is the full address.

A message you can help me write to IT, if it comes to that: "Please send me the IMAP settings for my mailbox: the incoming server name, the port, whether I need an app password, and whether IMAP is enabled for my account."

Start by asking me what Zelos showed after I typed my address.

Adding a calendar

Step 4 of 5 inside Zelos: Add your calendar. Google Calendar goes with a Gmail address; iCloud is the calendar on an iPhone or Mac; Outlook is Outlook.com, Hotmail or a work calendar.

Google Calendar

One secret address, copied from Google's settings page and pasted into Zelos.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Calendar (step 4 of 5). Its heading is "Add your calendar." I use Google Calendar. Please walk me through adding it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me. The same goes for the secret calendar address below: it is a secret too.

What this screen needs: one web address that Google calls the "Secret address in iCal format". Anyone who has that address can read the calendar, so it is treated like a password: it goes into Zelos and nowhere else.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, the Calendar step shows four cards: Google Calendar, iPhone or Mac (iCloud), Outlook, and Something else. Choose Google Calendar. Zelos shows the steps and a box labelled "The secret address".
2. Open Google Calendar on the web. Zelos has a link; the page is calendar.google.com/calendar/r/settings. Google may ask me to sign in.
3. On the left of that settings page, under "Settings for my calendars", click my calendar. It is usually listed under my own name.
4. Scroll down that calendar's page to the part called "Integrate calendar". Find "Secret address in iCal format". There is a copy button beside it; press it. (If Google says the secret address is not available, an administrator has turned it off; a work account may need IT to allow it.)
5. Back in Zelos, paste it into "The secret address" and press "Check it works and save". Zelos reads the calendar and says how many appointments it found.

If Zelos says it could not read the address: the usual cause is that the copied address was cut short, or the "Public address" was copied instead of the "Secret address". Copying the secret one again fixes it. The "Reset" link beside the secret address on Google's page makes a new one and cancels the old, which is also how to take it back later.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

iPhone or Mac (iCloud)

Your Apple ID email and an app-specific password from Apple. The message knows the one odd error and its one-paste fix.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Calendar (step 4 of 5). Its heading is "Add your calendar." My calendar is the one on my iPhone or Mac, which is iCloud. Please walk me through adding it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

What this screen needs: two things. My Apple ID email, which is the address I sign in to my iPhone or Mac with, and an app-specific password, which Apple makes just for Zelos. It is not my Apple Account password. If I already made one for Zelos's email step, a second one for the calendar is fine; Apple allows several.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, the Calendar step shows four cards: Google Calendar, iPhone or Mac (iCloud), Outlook, and Something else. Choose "iPhone or Mac (iCloud)". Zelos shows two boxes: "Your Apple ID email" and "The app-specific password". The calendar's address is already filled in; I do not type one.
2. Type the Apple ID email into its box.
3. Zelos has a link to Apple's page: account.apple.com. Sign in with the Apple Account; Apple may send a six-digit code to my iPhone, which is typed on Apple's page, not here. Open "Sign-In and Security", then "App-Specific Passwords". Press the plus sign, name it Zelos, press Create, and copy the password Apple shows (four groups of four letters with dashes). Apple will not show it again.
4. Back in Zelos, paste it into "The app-specific password" and press "Check it works and save". Zelos finds my calendars and says how many appointments it found.

One error that looks like a wrong password but is not: if Zelos says a different host asked for the password than the one it was given, something like p43-caldav.icloud.com, that is Zelos refusing to hand the password to a server it was merely pointed at. Apple spreads accounts across many servers. The fix is one paste: open "Advanced" under the form, put the address Zelos named into the "Address" box, and press "Check it works and save" again.

If Apple's page has no "App-Specific Passwords" section, two-factor authentication has to be turned on for the Apple Account first. On an iPhone that is Settings, then my name at the top, then Sign-In and Security.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Outlook

Outlook.com, Hotmail, or a work calendar. One published link, copied from Outlook's settings and pasted into Zelos.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have just installed Zelos on my computer and I am on the setup step called Calendar (step 4 of 5). Its heading is "Add your calendar." My calendar is in Outlook: Outlook.com, Hotmail, or a work calendar. Please walk me through adding it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me. The same goes for the published calendar link below: anyone with it can read the calendar, so it goes into Zelos and nowhere else.

What this screen needs: one web address that Outlook calls an ICS link, made by publishing the calendar from Outlook's settings. No password.

The real steps, from Zelos's own instructions:
1. In Zelos, the Calendar step shows four cards: Google Calendar, iPhone or Mac (iCloud), Outlook, and Something else. Choose Outlook. Zelos shows the steps and a box labelled "The ICS link".
2. Open Outlook on the web. Zelos has a link; the page is outlook.live.com/calendar. Sign in with the Microsoft account if asked. (A work calendar opens at outlook.office.com/calendar instead; the steps are the same.)
3. Press the Settings gear at the top right, then Calendar, then "Shared calendars".
4. Under "Publish a calendar", pick my calendar, choose "Can view all details", and press Publish. Two links appear: an HTML one and an ICS one.
5. Copy the ICS link (click it and choose Copy link). Back in Zelos, paste it into "The ICS link" and press "Check it works and save". Zelos reads the calendar and says how many appointments it found.

If Zelos says it could not read the address: the usual cause is that the HTML link was copied instead of the ICS one, or the link was cut short. If a work account has no Publish option, the company has turned publishing off, and the IT department can allow it. To take the link back later, the same page has an "Unpublish" link.

Start by asking me what I see on my screen right now.

Something else is wrong

Not sure which step you are on, or a message you do not understand. This one starts by asking.

Help me work out what is wrong

Claude asks which computer you have, which screen you are on and what it says, then goes from there. The message carries a map of every screen in Zelos.

Ask Claude to walk me through this or ChatGPT

If the message does not appear in the chat box, paste it.

Read the message

I have installed Zelos on my computer and something is not working. I am not sure which step is the problem. Please help me work out what is wrong and walk me through fixing it.

About Zelos: a free app on my computer for email, calendars and priorities, with no required Zelos cloud account. Reading leaves source messages unchanged. The 1.8.4 preview adds replies sent only after review and Send reply. Ask my version first. Website: zelos-app.netlify.app; source: GitHub HoosAILLC/zelos.

How to help me, please:
1. One step at a time. Tell me one thing to do, then wait until I tell you what happened before you give me the next one.
2. Plain words. I am not a technical person. If a technical word cannot be avoided, say what it means in one short sentence.
3. Ask me what I see. Before you start, ask me what is on my screen. If what I see is different from what you expect, work from what I see.
4. Never ask me to paste a password, an app password, a key or a sign-in code into this chat, and if I start to, stop me. Those go only into Zelos or into the website that made them. You do not need to see them to help me.

Three things to ask me first, one at a time: whether my computer is a Mac or a Windows PC; which screen I am on; and what the screen says, in my own words.

A map of Zelos, so you know where I might be. The first time it opens it shows five setup steps, each one skippable: Welcome, AI ("Pick the AI that reads your mail"), Email ("Connect your email"), Calendar ("Add your calendar"), and Done ("Read my mail for the first time"). After setup it shows a board with pages called Now, Today, Promises, Calendar, Search and Ask, and a Settings page where the same three setup panels live under the headings AI, Email and Calendars.

Things that commonly go wrong, and what Zelos's own instructions say:
- The computer will not open Zelos at all. On a Mac: press Done on the warning, then System Settings, Privacy and Security, scroll to the bottom, Open Anyway. On Windows: in the blue "Windows protected your PC" box, click More info, then Run anyway.
- A red line after "Check it works" on the AI step: the key was copied incompletely, or the account at the AI company has no credit yet. A fresh key, or a small top-up on their billing page, fixes it.
- Zelos says the mail server refused: the normal account password was pasted where an app password belongs (Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Fastmail all want a special app password made on their own site), or there is a typo in the address. A personal Outlook or Hotmail account takes no password at all and uses "Sign in with Microsoft" with a short code typed at microsoft.com/devicelogin.
- Zelos says it could not read a calendar address: the wrong link was copied (Google's secret address, not its public one; Outlook's ICS link, not its HTML one), or the link was cut short.
- The Done step says it has nothing to read: it names which earlier step would give it something.
- The board is empty: Zelos only checks mail while it is open, and reads the last 14 days by default. "Check now" at the top of the board runs it again.

Zelos also has a built-in checker: if it was started from a terminal, typing "zelos doctor" there checks everything and says what is wrong in plain English.

Start by asking me the first of the three questions.

Rather read it yourself? Is it safe? on the download page says what to click the first time, and every step inside Zelos has its own written instructions.

A little help. A good start.

How it works

Set up the features you want to use.

Choose your AI

Connect Money

Import a document

Send a reviewed reply

Share with a household

Back up before a move

Plan meals and groceries

Choose the right installer

Opening Zelos the first time

On a Mac

On Windows

Choosing the AI and getting a key

Pick the AI and paste a key

Connecting your email

Gmail

iCloud

Outlook.com or Hotmail

Yahoo or Fastmail

My work email

Adding a calendar

Google Calendar

iPhone or Mac (iCloud)

Outlook

Something else is wrong

Help me work out what is wrong

A little help.
A good start.

Set up the features
you want to use.