Your first week with Roma
Seven days of small steps, from the first task to your first automation.
Your first week with Roma is seven small steps, one a day, each of them ten minutes or less. By the end you have your tasks in one place, the operator working in your mail and calendar, a list of your own, and an automation that runs without you. Skip a day if you like. Nothing depends on the order except the first step.
Day 1: your first task, said out loud
Sign in with Google or Apple at roma.app, or in the Mac or iPhone app, and let the operator walk you through the first task. Its message suggests a sentence and a button that starts the microphone. Say your own version, something you actually need done this week. Then answer "What else is on your plate today?" with everything on your mind, in one go. Each thing becomes a task. When the operator offers a Daily check-in that asks the same question every morning at 8, say yes. That one habit is most of what Roma asks of you. Create your account and sign in covers what else is set up for you.
Mara's first answer is "the vet on Thursday, the quarterly numbers before Friday's call, and a birthday present for Sam". Three tasks, two with dates, and the check-in set for 8.
Day 2: Roma where you are
Install the Mac app from roma.app/download and the iPhone app from the App Store, and sign in with the same account. On the Mac, try the quick chat shortcut (⌃⌥N) once from another app. On the iPhone, assign Talk to Roma to the Action Button in your iPhone's Settings and press it once. Both land in the same conversation you started yesterday. Where Roma runs explains what each place does best.
Day 3: connect your mail and your calendar
In Settings → Connections, connect Gmail and Google Calendar. The operator reads your newest mail and lists a few things it could do, each with a button: draft a reply, create a task, add a date to your calendar, leave a sender's list. Tap one or two. Connecting the calendar lists the invitations still waiting for your answer, with Accept and Decline. Two automations that were waiting switch on by themselves: Meeting prep, a short brief each morning on who you are meeting, and Mail check, which brings you what needs you in your mail. Connect an app to Roma is the guide.
Day 4: a list of your own
Think of something you keep track of that repeats with the same shape: books to read, apartments, gifts, wine, workouts. Tell the operator "start a reading list" and it creates the list with a few fitting properties. Then add to it by name: "add The Overstory to my reading list" fills in the author and the year from one web search. Try the table layout on the Mac or in the browser to see the values side by side. Create a list covers the other ways in.
Day 5: let the operator do a task
View one of your tasks and use its own conversation. Ask for the research ("find three options and the prices"), a first draft ("write the email to the landlord"), or a breakdown ("split this into steps"). The result lands in the task's chat, and the operator offers to add it to the task's body. Noor asks the operator to research movers for her moving date, gets three quotes with links in the task, and says "add these to the task". How to use the operator has more of the phrases that work.
Day 6: bring your old tasks over, and share one list
If you kept tasks elsewhere, import them from Todoist, Things or Apple Reminders in Settings → Import. Import your tasks explains what comes across. Then share one list with someone you work with: they see the same list, add to it, and each of you talks to your own operator about it.
Day 7: an agent, and a look at Settings
If you use ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor, connect it to Roma: each can read and write your lists through Roma's MCP server. The page at roma.app/agents has one set of steps per agent. Then take five minutes in Settings: Permissions decides what the operator may do without asking, Memory shows what Roma knows about you, and Notifications holds the reminder time and the badge.
Questions people ask
What if I miss a day?
Nothing breaks. The steps stand alone, and the check-in keeps asking each morning. Pick up wherever you left off.
Do I have to connect my mail?
No. Roma works as a to-do list without any connection. Gmail and Google Calendar are where the operator earns its keep for most people, but everything in the first two days works without them.
How much should I tell the operator?
Everything you would write on a notepad, in the words you would use. One thing at a time or a whole brain dump both work. The operator keeps every word you said, so you never have to be careful about how you phrase it.
When does the morning briefing arrive?
At 7 in your time zone, every day, from the first morning. It is an automation on your Automations page, where you can retime it, pause it or run it now.