> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gravitygtm.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Install the Helium Slack app and run your first search

> Install the Helium Slack app, create your account and pick a plan if you don't have one, and ask your first fundraising research question in a channel or DM.

Helium's Slack app is the fastest way to use Helium — no code, no API key
to manage yourself. Ask fundraising research questions in plain English in
a channel, a DM, or with a slash command, and the same research engine that
powers the REST API and MCP server does the work.

<Tip>
  Building your own agent or workflow instead? See the [Quickstart](/helium/quickstart)
  for the REST API, or [MCP Install](/helium/mcp-install) to wire Helium into
  Claude, Cursor, or another MCP client.
</Tip>

## 1. Click Add to Slack

Go to [`lite.gravitygtm.com/api/helium/slack/install`](https://lite.gravitygtm.com/api/helium/slack/install).
Helium is a **separate Slack app from Horizon** — Horizon's own install
link doesn't cover it — but a single workspace can install both, sharing
the same account and credit balance.

* **Already have a Horizon or Helium account, signed in?** You'll land
  straight on Slack's consent screen — skip to
  [step 3](#3-approve-the-slack-consent-screen).
* **New here, or not signed in?** You'll be sent to sign in or create an
  account first, then straight back to this same link automatically — pick
  up at [step 2](#2-create-an-account-and-pick-a-plan).

## 2. Create an account and pick a plan

If you don't already have an account (from Horizon or a prior Helium
signup), signing up takes an email/password (or SSO) Clerk account, then a
plan — see [Horizon's install page](/horizon/slack-install#2-create-an-account-and-pick-a-plan)
for the full plan list, since it's the identical account/billing system.
Already have a key from the REST/MCP side, or from Horizon? Sign in, and
the dashboard's "link an existing key" option connects it instead of
starting a new plan.

## 3. Approve the Slack consent screen

Helium requests the same category of bot scopes Horizon's app does —
enough to reply in channels/DMs, react with a status emoji, read thread
history it's already participating in, read a dragged-in file's content
(e.g. a LinkedIn connections export you want imported), and upload CSV
exports for large result lists — nothing beyond what those features
require. Approve it for your workspace and the install completes
immediately.

## 4. Ask your first question

Three ways to talk to Helium:

* **@mention** it in any channel it's in: `@Helium find seed-stage fintech investors`
* **DM** it directly, no @mention needed
* **Slash command**: `/usehelium find seed-stage fintech investors`

The first time you ask it to search, Helium has a short conversation to
collect your fundraising fit profile (stage/sector/geography, or fund
thesis/target LP types if you're raising from LPs) if you haven't set one
yet — it only asks for what's actually missing, and only once; future
searches reuse the stored profile. Helium replies in a thread, with a short
progress update if the request takes a few tool calls, and a final answer
that ends with what it spent — e.g. `_Spent 12 credits · 988 remaining_`.

## Buying more credits

Same shared balance as Horizon — see [Credits & Pricing](/helium/credits-and-pricing).
Slack, REST, and MCP all draw from the same balance across both products.

## What's next

See [Using Helium in Slack](/helium/slack-usage) for the full rundown —
profile intake, investor/LP chaining, network import, automated Gmail
outreach sequences, the spend-confirmation card, and the free-tier daily
limit.