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

# Build your first course

> A complete walkthrough in Mauvely Compose: create a course, add lessons and blocks, style it, preview it as a learner, and export a SCORM package.

This walks the whole path — empty course to a package you can upload to an LMS. Budget twenty
minutes.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Compose and start a course">
    Launch Compose. After signing in you land on the welcome screen. Choose:

    * **New course** for a blank course, or
    * **From a template** to start from a saved brand — colours, typefaces and any pinned blocks.

    If you would rather look at a finished example first, the welcome screen offers a sample course
    when you have no recent files.

    <Tip>
      Compose always starts on the welcome screen. If you work in one course at a time and would
      rather it reopened the last one, turn on **Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Starting up ▸ Reopen last
      course**.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the course">
    Use **Course ▸ Rename course…**, or click the course title in the title bar. The name becomes
    the heading learners see, the identifier inside the SCORM manifest, and the default export
    filename.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add lessons">
    A course is a list of lessons, and a lesson is a vertical stack of blocks. Learners move
    through one lesson per page.

    Open the **Outline** tab in the left panel (`Ctrl` `1`) to add, rename, reorder and delete
    lessons. Aim for one idea per lesson — the sidebar and the progress bar are both driven by the
    lesson list, so lessons are what learners perceive as progress.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill a lesson with blocks">
    Open the **Blocks** tab (`Ctrl` `2`) and click a block to add it to the current lesson, or use
    the **Insert** menu. There are 18 block types across three groups:

    * **Content** — Text, Rich text, Image, Video, Audio, Freeform, 3D model
    * **Interactive** — Multiple choice, Fill in the blank, Drag & drop, Matching, Hotspots,
      Flashcards, Branching, Interactive video, Timeline, Accordion
    * **Developer** — Custom code

    Select a block and its settings appear in the **Inspector** on the right. Start simple: a Text
    block for the explanation, an Image for the screenshot, a Multiple choice to check
    understanding.

    [The full block reference →](/compose/blocks)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make one activity required">
    Select your quiz and turn on **Required** in the Inspector. Learners cannot move to the next
    lesson until they have completed it, and required activities are also what SCORM completion is
    reported against.

    Add feedback for right and wrong answers while you are there — it is what turns a quiz from a
    test into teaching.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Style the course">
    Open the **Design** tab (`Ctrl` `3`). Pick one of the six presets — Daybreak, Nocturne, Slate,
    Forest, Ember, Paper — or set the accent, page, surface and text colours yourself.

    You can also add a logo for the learner's top bar, choose heading, body and code typefaces from
    the bundled library, set corner rounding, and pick a content width.

    [Everything in the Design tab →](/compose/design-tab)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    `Ctrl` `S`. Compose writes a `.course` file — a container holding your course and every image,
    video and audio file you added, so the course travels as one file.

    Autosave is on by default and runs a few seconds after you stop typing, but only once the
    course has been saved somewhere at least once.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview as a learner">
    Click **Preview** in the title bar (`Ctrl` `P`). This is not an approximation — it is the real
    exported course running inside the editor, so what you see is what your learners get.

    Use the device toggle to check tablet and mobile widths. Click **Back to editor** to return.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Clear the warnings">
    The status strip along the bottom lists problems Compose found: a text block with no text, an
    image with no alt text, a quiz with no correct answer marked. None of them block an export, but
    each is something a learner would notice.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export">
    **Course ▸ Export…** (`Ctrl` `E`) and pick a format:

    | Format         | Use it when                                                           |
    | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **SCORM 2004** | Your LMS supports it. The default, and the best-tracked option.       |
    | **SCORM 1.2**  | Your LMS is older, or rejects 2004 packages.                          |
    | **HTML5**      | There is no LMS. Runs from any web server, or straight from a folder. |

    Choose where to save it and Compose writes a `.zip` — that file is what you upload to your LMS.

    [SCORM in detail, and what gets tracked →](/compose/exporting-scorm)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What to do next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Interactive blocks" icon="list-checks" href="/compose/interactive-blocks">
    Drag and drop, branching scenarios, hotspots, interactive video and the rest.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Save your design as a template" icon="stack" href="/compose/templates">
    So the next course starts already branded.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Keyboard shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/compose/shortcuts">
    Every default binding, and how to change them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom code blocks" icon="code" href="/compose/custom-code">
    Write your own interaction in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>