8 > I'd like to see the user guide consist of the following sections:
9 > 1. background (general architecture/theory of operation from the user's perspective)
10 > 2. getting started / tutorials
11 > 3. how to (in depth topics)
12 > 4. tools reference (command line, workbench, etc)
13 > Currently the user guide is mostly just 2.
17 As a new user, you should take a quick tour of Arvados environment.
20 ### Log in to Workbench
22 Open a browser and point it to the Workbench URL for your site. It
23 will look something like this:
25 `https://workbench.{{ site.arvados_api_host }}/`
27 Depending on site policy, a site administrator might have to activate
28 your account before you see any more good stuff.
30 > "Good stuff" is vague.
32 ### Browse shared data angd pipelines
34 On the Workbench home page, you should see some datasets, programs,
35 jobs, and pipelines that you can explore.
37 > This would be a great place for a screenshot or at least a little
38 > more guidance on where to look (these things are all accessed
39 > through the menu bar)
41 ### Install the command line SDK on your workstation
45 > Is this really optional? All the tutorials are about how to use
46 > the command line SDK
48 Most of the functionality in Arvados is exposed by the REST API. This
49 means (depending on site policy and firewall) that you can do a lot of
50 stuff with the command line client and other SDKs running on your own
53 > "A lot of stuff" is vague.
55 Technically you can make all API calls using a generic web client like
56 [curl](http://curl.haxx.se/docs/) but you will have a more enjoyable
57 experience with the Arvados CLI client.
59 > I would mention this somewhere else, a new user isn't going to be using
62 See [command line SDK](sdk-cli.html) for installation instructions.
64 ### Request a virtual machine
66 > The purpose of this whole section is confusing, because after explaning that you
67 > can access arvados from your workstation with the client SDK, it then
68 > implies that you actually need to go and log into an arvados VM instance
71 It's more fun to do stuff with a virtual machine, especially if you
72 know about [screen](http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/).
74 > Screen is cool, but not relevant here.
76 In order to get access to an Arvados VM, you need to:
78 1. Upload an SSH public key ([learn how](ssh-access.html))
79 1. Request a new VM (or access to a shared VM)
81 > Needs some kind of discussion on how to request a new VM or discover
82 > the hostname of the shared VM