Getting Started
Getting Started
Install ChartVault, activate your lifetime license, and add your first client in a few minutes.
This section takes you from zero to a working practice: install the app, activate your license, and create your first client. None of it requires an internet connection beyond the one-time license activation — ChartVault runs entirely on your own computer.
What you'll do
- Install ChartVault — download the Windows installer and get past the one-time "unknown publisher" prompt.
- Activate your license — enter the lifetime key that arrives by email; it's verified offline.
- Add your first client — enter birth data once and pick the exact birth city, so every chart is accurate from the first field.
- Find your way around the dashboard — the sidebar, the stat cards, and the opportunity feed.
Before you start
- ChartVault is a desktop app for Windows (
.exe/.msi). - You need a lifetime license key (a one-time purchase) or an active free trial.
- A Google Gemini API key is optional — the AI interpretation and assistant features use it, but every chart and CRM feature works without one.
Your data never leaves your computer
ChartVault stores everything in an encrypted in-browser database (PGlite). There is no server and no cloud account. Backups are a single file you control — see Backup & migration.