---
title: Build your Mind
sidebarTitle: Custom Mind Setup
icon: "gear"
---

This guide walks you through connecting your data and creating a Mind that can answer questions using your data.

## Step 1. Connect your data

Navigate to the **Datasources** tab and click the **New datasource** button.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/DatasourcesTab_Minds.png"/>
</p>

Select one of the [supported data sources](/minds/data_sources).

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/DatasourcesType_Minds.png"/>
</p>

Enter the connection parameters for your selected data source and click the `Connect` button.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/DatasourcesConn_Minds.png"/>
</p>

The `Name your datasource` and `Description` fields are required for all data source types. The `Name your datasource` field stores the name of your data connection, while the `Description` field stores the description of your data. Note that the `Description` field can contain verbose instructions on what data is stored and how to use it. [Learn more about best practices for data descriptions](/minds/quickstart_best_practices).

## Step 2. Create a Mind

Navigate to the **Minds** tab and click the **New Mind** button.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/MindsTab_Minds.png"/>
</p>

Enter a name for your Mind in the `Mind name` field and select one of the connected data sources. Note that upon checking the data source, you can limit the connected tables by clicking the `Select tables` button.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/NewMind_Minds.png"/>
</p>

Now click the `Create` button to complete the creation of the Mind.

Note that in the *Settings* tab, you can add a system prompt to provide further instructions or specific personality to a Mind. [Learn more about best practices for system prompts]_practices).

## Step 3. Chat with the Mind

When you enter a Mind, you'll see the chat interface where you can interact with the Mind and observe its thought process as it works through your queries.

<p align="center">
  <img src="/assets/minds/MindChat_Minds.png"/>
</p>

The chat interface is divided into three sections:

1. The left pane displays conversation threads that you can revisit anytime.
2. The center pane iprovides the main chat window for interacting with the Mind.
3. The right pane contains four tabs:
    - The Thoughts tab displays thoughts of the Mind, including its reasoning and decision-making steps, as it works through your requests.
    - The Code tab provides a quickstart Python code for integrating the Mind into your applications.
    - The Data tab lists connected data sources. Note that you can connect multiple data sources to a Mind.
    - The Settings tab displays key configurations, including name and prompt instructions.
