# Formstep Docs — Getting Started

# Sign up & workspace

Create your account, set up your workspace, and invite your team. Sign in with Google or a magic link, with no password or credit card needed.

## Create your account

Open [app.formstep.io](https://app.formstep.io) and sign in with Google, which also takes Google Workspace accounts. Or type your email and click **Continue**: Formstep shows _Check your email_ and sends you a magic link, and opening it signs you in. Neither way needs a password.

Signing in for the first time creates your account. You do not need a credit card, and there is no trial that runs out.

![The sign-in page: Log in or create your account, with a Google button, an email field, and Continue](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/login.png)

One page signs you in and creates your account.

## Your first workspace

A **workspace** holds your forms, requests, submissions, integrations, and teammates. Your first sign-in opens one made for you, **My Workspace**, with a published **Approval** form and its share link to try things on. The timezone comes from your browser. Rename the workspace after your company, your team, or _Personal_, and change the timezone, in **Workspace Settings**.

![The dashboard of a new account: My Workspace in the sidebar and the Approval form, published, on the page](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/create-workspace-landing.png)

A new account opens in My Workspace.

Every plan includes unlimited workspaces, for example one per client or brand. See [more than one workspace](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/overview/#multiple-workspaces) and [how accounts, workspaces, and forms fit together](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/faq/#workspace-vs-account).

## Invite teammates (optional)

Open the workspace switcher at the top of the sidebar, then **Workspace Settings**. Under **Members**, click **Invite** and share the link it gives you. Members are unlimited on every plan. See [inviting members](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/inviting-members/).

## Next steps

Next, build a form and publish it. Requests and share links both start from a published form.

[Build your form](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/build-your-form/) — Add questions and publish

[Inviting members](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/inviting-members/) — Invite links, who can do what, and removing members

[Plans & pricing](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/plans-pricing/) — Compare Free, Pro, and Business features

[Getting started FAQ](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/faq/) — Accounts, workspaces and moving a form

# Build your form

Go from an empty canvas to a published form. Every request and every share link starts from one.

## Publish in four steps

The editor works like a document: type where you want text, and add questions from the Blocks tab or with the `/` key.

1. **Start a new form**

   Open **Forms** in the sidebar and click **+ Form**, then pick **Start empty**. The same screen offers **Use a template** and **Build with AI**, which opens the AI chat in the bottom-right corner. To try the editor without an account, go to [app.formstep.io/try](https://app.formstep.io/try).

2. **Add questions**

   Click a block in the **Blocks** tab on the right, or press **/** in the form and pick one. Type the label, then press Enter. Drag the handle on the left of a block to move it.

3. **Preview**

   Click **Preview** in the top bar to answer the form as your recipient will.

4. **Publish**

   Click **Publish**, top right. The form goes live and opens on its own page, with **Public link** and **New request** at the top. In the editor, **Inbox** takes you back to that page.

![A new form's start screen with three cards: Start empty, Use a template, and Build with AI](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/new-form-start.png)

A new form asks how to start. Build with AI opens the AI chat in the bottom-right corner.

![The editor with the slash menu open in the form and the Blocks tab on the right](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/empty-editor.png)

Add a question with / in the form, or from the Blocks tab on the right.

> **Other ways to start**
>
> Open **Templates** in the sidebar for ready-made forms, or open AI chat, bottom right, and describe the form you need. See [Use AI chat](https://formstep.io/docs/ai/using-ai/).

## What publishing does

Each publish saves a version. People who already opened the form keep that version while you edit the draft, and you can see every version in [Publish history](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/version-history/). Publishing also creates the form’s first share link and turns on **New request**.

> **Safe to experiment**
>
> Edits save as a draft. People answering your form see the last published version until you publish again.

## Send it or share it

Send a [request](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/send-your-first-request/) when one person owes you answers and you want to know when they reply. Use the [public link](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/share-a-public-link/) when anyone may answer, as often as you allow. The same form can go out both ways at once.

## Next steps

[Send your first request](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/send-your-first-request/) — Assign the form you just published to one person

[Understanding the editor](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/understanding-the-editor/) — Top bar, side panel, blocks, theme, and settings

[Question types](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/field-types/) — Text, choice, file upload, payment, decision, and more

[Use AI chat](https://formstep.io/docs/ai/using-ai/) — Build a form from one prompt

# Send your first request

Send your published form to one person, with what you already know filled in. Try it on yourself first, then find the answers on the Requests page.

## Make a request and open it yourself

1. **Open the New request sheet**

   Open your published form and click **New request**, the paper plane icon at the top right of the form page.

2. **Fill it in**

   Under _Who is it for?_, type your own email and name. Under _What they see_, fill in answers you already know, and click **Lock** on any the recipient may only confirm.

3. **Click Try it yourself**

   At the bottom of the sheet, **Try it yourself** makes a [test request](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/creating-requests/#test-mode) and shows its link. A test request emails nobody and does not count toward your monthly allowance.

![The New request sheet with a recipient, two prefilled answers, one of them locked, and Try it yourself in the footer](https://formstep.io/docs/images/requests/request-sheet.png)

New request: who it is for, what they see, and Try it yourself at the bottom.

## Answer it as the recipient

Open the link and answer the form. It shows your theme, logo and language, and asks for no captcha or sign-in. When you submit, you see your thank-you page. A request is answered once, so opening the link again shows that it is done.

## Find the answers

Click **Requests** in the sidebar. Test requests are hidden, so open **Filter** and tick **Show test requests**. Click your request to see its answers and its timeline: created, opened, started and completed.

![The Requests page: the list on the left and one request open on the right with its answers, timeline, and callback](https://formstep.io/docs/images/requests/requests-page.png)

The Requests page: the list on the left, the open request on the right.

From the request you can copy the link, send a reminder, or cancel it. See [the Requests page](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/).

## Send it to someone else

Fill in the recipient’s details instead of your own and choose **Email** or **Link**. [Send a request](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/creating-requests/) explains each part of the sheet.

> **Automate this**
>
> A workflow or an AI agent can send the same request for you and pick up the answers. See [Guides](https://formstep.io/docs/guides/overview/).

## Next steps

[See answers arrive](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/see-answers-arrive/) — Where answers from both channels land

[Send a request](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/creating-requests/) — Prefill, locked fields, hidden fields and Email or Link

# Share a public link

Open the same form to anyone: copy the link, embed it, or print a QR code. Give each link its own language, limits, and parameters, and track it in analytics.

## Share link or request?

Use a share link when anyone may answer. Use a [request](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/send-your-first-request/) when one named person owes you answers and you want to follow up. Both spend the same monthly allowance and land in the same inbox. See [public link or request](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/overview/#public-link-or-request).

## Copy the link

1. **Open Public link**

   Open your published form and click **Public link**, the link icon at the top right of the form page. Publishing already created the first link.

2. **Copy it**

   Click **Copy link**. The link is live: open it in a new tab and answer once, so you have a row to look at on the next page.

3. **Add more links if you need them**

   **Create new link** adds another link with its own settings and analytics, for example one for your newsletter and one for social media. Only you see the link name.

![The Public link sheet with the link, the QR Code, Embed, and Popup cards, and the Link, Appearance, Limits, and Query parameters sections](https://formstep.io/docs/images/building-forms/share-panel.png)

Public link: the link, three more ways to share it, and its settings.

## Ways to share it

| Way | Good for | Where to find it |
| - | - | - |
| Link | Email, chat, social posts | Copy link, at the bottom of the sheet |
| Embed or popup | Your own website | The Embed and Popup cards |
| QR code | Print, packaging, an event stand | The QR Code card |

## Link settings

Each share link has its own settings in the sheet. Give it a name that only you see, and on Pro an address on [your own domain](https://formstep.io/docs/branding-domains/custom-domains/). Choose the language it opens in and the preview shown when it is shared. Set a closing date or a [maximum number of responses](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/scheduled-close/#response-limits), and add [tracking tags](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/sharing-embedding/) to tell campaigns apart.

**Revoke** stops a share link from taking answers and keeps its analytics. You can turn it back on later.

## Next steps

[See answers arrive](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/see-answers-arrive/) — Where responses from both channels land

[Embedding & popups](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/embedding-popups/) — Put the form on your own site

[Response limits](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/scheduled-close/#response-limits) — Cap how many responses a link accepts

[Your own domains](https://formstep.io/docs/branding-domains/custom-domains/) — Serve the form from your own domain (Pro)

# See answers arrive

One inbox for both channels: where answers land, how to get notified, and how to route them onward.

## One inbox for both channels

Open the form from the Forms list. A published form opens on its own page, on the **Submissions** tab. From the editor, **Inbox** takes you there.

![The right side of the form page's top bar: the Requests and Submissions tabs, then the Public link, New request, Integrations, and Settings icons, and Edit](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/form-page-top-bar.png)

The form page's top bar. The icons, left to right: Public link, New request, Integrations, and Settings.

Every answer is in the **List** view. The **Channel** column shows how it arrived: **Public link** or **Request**. A request row links back to its request.

![The List view on the Submissions tab, with one row per response and a Channel column](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/submissions.png)

The Submissions tab: one row per response, with the channel it came through.

Next to **List**, **Summary** shows charts and counts per question, and **Analytics** shows views, completion rate, devices and traffic sources (Pro).

The **Requests** tab, next to Submissions, shows the form’s requests: who has not opened theirs yet, which reminders went out, and whether your workflow heard back. See the [submission inbox](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/submission-inbox/).

### Answers to a test request

A test request, such as the one **Try it yourself** makes, keeps its answers out of the Submissions tab, exports and integrations. To see them, open the form’s **Requests** tab, or **Requests** in the sidebar, then open **Filter**, tick **Show test requests**, and click the request.

## Get an email for each answer

Click **Settings**, the gear icon, and open the **Emails** tab. Turn on **Notify on new submission**. Your own address is already filled in, and this works on Free. On Pro, you can add more recipients and attach a PDF of the answers. See [self notifications](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/self-notifications/).

![The Emails tab of form settings with Notify on new submission turned on](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/notifications.png)

Settings, Emails tab.

To send the person who answered a confirmation, turn on **Send confirmation to respondent** (Pro). On a request, it goes to the recipient. See [respondent notifications](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/self-notifications/#respondent-confirmation).

## Send answers to other tools

An integration sends every submission to another tool as it arrives, such as [Google Sheets](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/google-sheets/), [Notion](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/notion/), [Airtable](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/airtable/), [HubSpot](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/hubspot/), [Slack](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/slack/) or your own [webhook](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/webhooks/). Click **Integrations**, the plug icon, to add one. See [all integrations](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/overview/).

A workflow that sent a request also hears back when that request ends, with its answers. See the [requests overview](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/overview/).

## Next steps

[Understanding the dashboard](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/dashboard/) — Sidebar, workspace switcher, AI, and where every setting lives

[Submission inbox](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/submission-inbox/) — Filter, search, sort, and review each response

[Email notifications](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/self-notifications/) — Get emailed when new responses come in

[Respondent notifications](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/self-notifications/#respondent-confirmation) — Confirm with a custom subject, body, and PDF

# Understanding the dashboard

Find your way around Formstep outside the editor: the sidebar, switching workspaces, your plan and AI credits, AI chat, and where each setting lives.

## The layout

The sidebar on the left holds the workspace switcher, the pages, your plan and AI credits, and your name. The page you open fills the rest, and Formstep opens on **Forms**. **Ask anything**, bottom right, opens AI chat over any page.

Two shortcuts work anywhere: `⌘`+`K` / `Ctrl`+`K` opens search, and `⌘`+`A` / `Ctrl`+`A` opens and closes AI chat.

![The dashboard: the sidebar on the left and the Forms page with folders and forms](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/dashboard.png)

The sidebar on the left, folders and forms in the main area.

## Workspace switcher

Click the workspace name at the top of the sidebar to switch workspaces, create one, open **Workspace Settings**, or leave a workspace you don’t own. Only the owner opens Workspace Settings, which holds the name, timezone, email language, members and AI credit sharing. See the [workspaces overview](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/overview/).

![The workspace menu open from the top of the sidebar: two workspaces marked Owner, then Create workspace, Workspace Settings, and Leave workspace](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/workspace-switcher.png)

The workspace switcher, at the top of the sidebar.

## Sidebar pages

- Forms lists your forms and [folders](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/folders/), with **+ Form** and **+ Folder** to add more.

- Requests lists every request in the workspace with its status. See [the Requests page](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/).

- [Trash](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/trash/) keeps deleted forms for 30 days.

- Domains is where the owner adds [your own domains](https://formstep.io/docs/branding-domains/custom-domains/) for form links and emails (Pro).

- Integrations holds the accounts you connected, such as Google Sheets or Slack, for use on any form. See [integrations](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/overview/).

- OAuth and API Keys is for connecting your own tools and AI agents. See [Connect an AI agent](https://formstep.io/docs/guides/ai-agents/connect/).

Below them, **Templates** copies a ready-made form into the workspace, **Help** links to these docs and to support, and **Feedback and Roadmap** shows what is coming.

## Plan, credits, theme and language

The card above your name shows your plan, with **Upgrade** or **Manage**, and about how many AI chats your credits cover, with **Add credits**. Credits belong to you, not to the workspace. See [AI credits](https://formstep.io/docs/ai/ai-credits-usage/).

It also switches the dashboard between light and dark, and sets the dashboard language. Your forms keep [their own language](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/translating-form-content/#source-language).

![The account card with plan, AI credits, theme, and language rows](https://formstep.io/docs/images/introduction/sidebar-user-area.png)

The account card, above your name.

## Your account

Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar for **Settings** and **Log out**. Settings holds your photo, display name, sign-in method and **Delete Account**.

## Form settings

A form’s own settings are on the form page and in the editor: the gear icon opens [Settings](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/form-settings/), and the plug icon next to it opens the form’s [integrations](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/overview/).

## Next steps

[Understanding the editor](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/understanding-the-editor/) — Where everything is in the form editor

[Use AI chat](https://formstep.io/docs/ai/using-ai/) — Build, edit and analyze forms with AI

[Workspaces overview](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/overview/) — Members, settings and more than one workspace

[Getting started FAQ](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/faq/) — Accounts, workspaces and moving a form

# Getting started FAQ

Short answers to common first questions: whether respondents need an account, how accounts and workspaces differ, moving a form, and deleting your account.

## Do respondents need a Formstep account?

No. Anyone with the link can answer without an account. You can protect a share link with a password, or ask people to sign in first with an [authentication gate](https://formstep.io/docs/sharing-publishing/authentication-gate/).

## What’s the difference between an account, a workspace and a form?

Your account is you: your email, your plan and your AI credits. A workspace is a shared space for forms, requests, submissions, members, domains and integrations, and you can have as many as you like. A form holds questions, logic and a theme inside a workspace, and reaches people through requests and share links.

## Can I use Formstep without AI?

Yes. You can build every form by hand, and credits are spent only when you use AI. Without credits, everything except AI keeps working.

## Can I use Formstep on mobile?

Yes. The dashboard and the editor work in mobile browsers, and your forms fit any screen.

## Can I move a form or a workspace to someone else?

Not from the app. You can duplicate a form inside its workspace and invite people to the workspace. To move a form to another workspace, or to hand over a workspace, email [support](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/support/).

## Which tools does Formstep work with?

Submissions go to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, HubSpot, Slack, Discord, Linear, GitHub and webhooks. Zapier, Make and n8n can send requests and pick up answers. Cal.com adds bookings to a form, and Google Analytics and Axiom receive form analytics. All of them work on every plan. See [integrations](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/overview/).

## Can I delete my account and all my data?

Yes. Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then **Settings**. Under **Danger Zone**, click **Delete** and type your email address. This removes your forms, submissions, files and the workspaces you own, and cancels a paid plan. You are signed out at once, and for 24 hours you can stop it by signing in again and clicking **Keep my account**. After that, it cannot be undone.

## Next steps

If your question is not here, email support.

[Get support](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/support/) — What to send so we can help quickly

[Plans & pricing](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/plans-pricing/) — What each plan includes

# Get support

How to reach Formstep when you need help with your account, a form or a connected assistant. Email us, say what happened, and leave out passwords and API keys.

Email <support@formstep.io>.

Tell us what you were trying to do, what happened instead, and the name of the workspace and form. If you use Formstep through ChatGPT, Claude or another assistant, also tell us which one and what you asked it to do. Don’t send passwords, API keys or a recipient’s answers.

## Problems with a connected assistant

If the assistant can’t reach your forms, check that you connected the right workspace. A connection reaches only the workspace you chose when you signed in.

To remove a connection, open OAuth and API Keys in Formstep and revoke it. The assistant loses access straight away. To set a connection up, see [Connect an AI agent](https://formstep.io/docs/guides/ai-agents/connect/).

## Your personal data

To ask about personal data Formstep holds, or to use your rights under the [Privacy Policy](https://formstep.io/docs/legal/privacy-policy/), email the same address.

If you filled in someone else’s form and want an answer changed or deleted, contact the person or company who sent you the form. They decide what happens to the answers they collect.

## Next steps

[Getting started FAQ](https://formstep.io/docs/getting-started/faq/) — Answers to the first questions people ask

[Connect an AI agent to Formstep](https://formstep.io/docs/guides/ai-agents/connect/) — Set up ChatGPT, Claude or another assistant