---
url: https://pencel.ai/docs/concepts/home.md
description: >-
  Home is where everything that needs you comes together, from every Program.
  Make decisions, approve drafts, answer Pencel's questions and ask for anything
  new.
---

# Home

Home is the first thing you see when you open Pencel. It gathers everything that needs you from every Program in one place, with the most important item first. If you only check one screen each morning, check this one.

## What's on Home

From top to bottom:

* **A greeting and a count**, such as "3 decisions waiting".
* **The message box**, where you can ask Pencel for anything. See [Ask Pencel for anything](#ask-pencel-for-anything).
* **Your cards**, ranked with decisions first.
* **Today's calendar and your To-dos**, in the column on the right.

The first time you open Pencel, Home also shows **setup cards** that help you pick your first Program and tell Pencel about your business. See the [Quickstart](/getting-started/quickstart).

## Cards

Each card is one thing a Program found, finished or needs from you. Click a card to open its details on the right.

**Decisions come first.** These are cards you can act on right from Home:

| Card | What you do |
|---|---|
| An approval, such as a reply ready to send | **Approve** or **Reject** |
| A bid Pencel thinks fits, "Pursue …?" | **Pursue** or **Pass** |
| A bid you submitted | Mark it **Won** or **Lost** |
| A to-do that's due | **Mark done** or **Run with agent** |
| Work that "couldn't finish" | **See why**, then fix or retry |

**Updates come next.** A briefing or result from one of your rooms. Open it to read the full result, or go to the room to follow up.

**"Pencel needs" cards** ask for a fact only you know, such as your payment terms or your service area. Type or pick an answer and click **Save**. Every room uses your answer from then on, and it's saved in [Knowledge](/concepts/knowledge). If the question doesn't apply to you, click **Not relevant** and Pencel won't ask again.

**Source cards** tell you when Pencel couldn't reach something it needed, such as "HigherGov wasn't searched". Each one says why and offers a fix, like **Add my own key** or **Sign in**. The card disappears on its own once the next search works.

::: tip Home shows signal, not noise
A room that found nothing new doesn't post "nothing to report". Each subject gets one card, so a bid that needs a decision shows up once as a decision, not twice. Routine updates stay in their rooms.
:::

## Sort and filter

The row above your cards lets you narrow the list:

* **Needs action** shows only cards waiting on you. **All** shows everything.
* Topic chips such as **Customers**, **Money** and **Operations**, and record chips such as **Opportunities**, filter by subject.
* The search chip finds a card by its words.
* The order menu switches between **Importance**, **Most recent** and **Oldest**. With Importance, **How Home prioritized this view** explains the ranking.

To clear a card you don't need, click **×** (**Dismiss from Home**). The toast that appears has **Undo** if you change your mind.

## Ask Pencel for anything

The message box at the top of Home works in two modes:

* **Run** ("Ask, do, or automate anything…"). Ask a question or give a one-off task: "Summarize my week", "What did the bid room find yesterday?", "Draft a thank-you note to the Acme team." Attach a file with the paperclip, or click the microphone to speak.
* **Build** ("Describe a process to build…"). Describe something you want done regularly and Pencel helps you turn it into a routine. See [Turn a request into a routine](/guides/run-and-build).

Type `/todo` to add a to-do with a title, priority and due date without leaving Home.

## Today's calendar and To-dos

The column on the right shows:

* **Today's calendar** (once you connect Google). Click **Prep** on a meeting and Pencel gets you ready for it, or add a **To-do** or **Follow-up to-do** for it.
* **To-dos**. Type in "Add a to-do and press Enter…", check items off, or click ▶ to have a teammate work on one. **See all** opens the full To-dos page. See [To-dos](/concepts/todos).

## Common questions

**Home is empty. Is something wrong?**
No. Home fills as your Programs work. If you haven't set one up yet, click **Add a program**, or go back to the [Quickstart](/getting-started/quickstart). Rooms that found nothing new stay quiet on purpose.

**Where did Pulse go?**
Pulse was Pencel's older results page. Everything it showed now lives on Home, your to-dos have their own page, and run history is in [Studio ▸ Jobs](/concepts/studio).

**Do I have to act on everything?**
No. Cards that need an approval wait until you decide, and nothing is sent or changed without you. Updates are for reading. Dismiss anything you don't need.

## Related

* [Programs and rooms](/concepts/programs)
* [Review and approve work](/guides/reviewing-and-approving)
* [Knowledge](/concepts/knowledge)
* [To-dos](/concepts/todos)