Getting Started with Vacua

Welcome to Vacua — a messaging platform built for communities, friends, and creators. This guide walks you through everything you need to get up and running.

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Creating your account

1. Go to vacua.app and click Sign up.
2. Enter your email address, choose a username, and set a strong password.
3. Check your inbox for a verification email and click the confirmation link.
4. Once verified, you'll be taken directly into the app.

Tip: Your username is unique across Vacua. Pick something you'll be happy with long-term — you can change it later, but your display name can be customized per server.

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The interface at a glance

When you first open Vacua, you'll see three main panels:

Server list (far left)

The vertical strip on the far left shows your servers (communities). Each icon represents one server. The home icon at the top takes you to your direct messages and friend activity.

Channel list (left panel)

Once you select a server, the left panel shows all its channels grouped into categories. Channels prefixed with # are text channels; those with a speaker icon are voice channels.

Main content area (center)

This is where you read and send messages, participate in threads, and view pinned announcements.

Member list (right panel)

The right panel lists all online and offline members of the current server, organized by role.

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Joining your first server

There are two ways to join a server:

Via an invite link
If someone shares a link like vacua.app/invite/xxxxxxxx, just click it — you'll be prompted to join the server directly.

By searching (if the server is public)
Some servers are listed in the public directory. Browse and click Join.

Once inside, start by reading the #rules or #welcome channel if one exists.

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Sending your first message

1. Click any #text-channel in the left panel.
2. Click the message box at the bottom and start typing.
3. Press Enter to send. Hold Shift + Enter for a line break without sending.

Useful message shortcuts

• @username — mention a specific person
• @everyone — notify all members (requires permission)
• :emoji_name: — insert an emoji
• / — open the slash command menu

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Customizing your profile

After joining, take a minute to personalize your profile:

1. Click your avatar at the bottom-left (or go to User Settings → Profile).
2. Upload a profile picture (JPG, PNG, GIF — animated GIF requires Vacua+).
3. Add a display name and a short bio.
4. Set a custom status to let others know what you're up to.

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What's next?

• Explore channels — browse everything your new server has to offer
• Enable notifications — configure what you want to be notified about (see our Notifications guide)
• Invite friends — grab an invite link from Server Settings → Invites
• Try voice — jump into a voice channel and say hello (see Voice Channels guide)