> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openfinance.tech/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Your first Alchemy run > Before you spend any credits, open a saved sample and follow it from the first click to the finished result, then try a live run with a question of your own. Reading about Alchemy only goes so far; the quickest way to get a feel for it is to watch a run. Samples are real runs saved earlier, so they open in seconds, need no sign-in and spend no AI credits. Start by finding one. ## Where the samples are The Alchemy page shows two lists under the event box. * **Example chips.** A row of example events. The ones tagged **Try me** are samples. Hover one and it says "Sample run: opens instantly, no credits used". * **Hot queries.** A short list under the **Hot queries** switch, labelled "What people are running". The first row, **Impact of AI Bubble crash**, is also a sample. ![Alchemy example chips, with JD Vance wins the 2028 election, Super El Niño this winter and Market impact due to increase in cyber hacks tagged Try me](https://mintcdn.com/openfinance/-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-/images/alchemy/alchemy-try-me-chips.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-\&q=85\&s=f4f8cec4dcba3f947bbc90269d9742b3) Example chips: the ones tagged Try me open a saved sample > [!WARNING] > > Chips and Hot queries rows without a sample behind them start a real run. Signed out, that asks you to sign in. Signed in, it spends AI credits. Stick to the **Try me** chips and **Impact of AI Bubble crash** while you explore. ## Walk through a sample With a sample picked out, here is the whole run, from the first click to the basket at the bottom. **1. Open Alchemy** Click **Alchemy** under **Trade Agent** in the sidebar, or go to openfinance.tech/alchemy. **2. Pick a sample** Click **Impact of AI Bubble crash** under Hot queries, or any chip tagged **Try me**. The event box folds into a slim bar at the top with your question in it. **3. Watch the steps** A checklist appears and ticks through the same eight steps a live run takes. A sample replays them in a few seconds. A live run shows a clock and the note "Can take 3–4 minutes". **4. Read the summary** The first card names the headline Polymarket question and its odds, then eight number tiles and the scenarios. See [Reading a result](https://docs.openfinance.tech/alchemy/reading-results.md) for each one. **5. Read the Alchemy take** The second card is Alchemy's call in its own words, with **Detailed analysis** on the right and three view tabs at the bottom. **6. Switch views** Click **Trade YES**, **Trade NO** or **Alchemy's pick**. Everything below the take follows the view you choose. **7. Look at the basket** **Basket trades** lists the trades for that view, sized to a \$10,000 budget by default. Switch between **Cards** and **List**. ![Alchemy replaying a sample run, with the summary card loading at the top and a checklist of steps below, the first four ticked and the fifth in progress](https://mintcdn.com/openfinance/-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-/images/alchemy/alchemy-run-steps.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-\&q=85\&s=201a0c64852e3af85250834a463df5ea) A run in progress: the summary fills in while the steps tick down ## The eight steps The checklist you watched in step 3 names each stage of the work. This is what Alchemy does in each one. | Step | What Alchemy is doing | | - | - | | Understanding the question | Reads your event and decides what it is really asking | | Researching | Gathers context on the event | | Comparing prediction markets | Searches Polymarket and picks the market that prices it | | Finding the driver variables | Lists the forces that move the outcome, such as rates or AI valuations | | Making connections across industries | Links each driver to the industries it reaches | | Generating second-order effects | Traces the knock-on effects one step further | | Estimating exposure across stocks, macro and crypto | Finds the instruments that carry each effect | | Building the trades and the AI pick | Sizes the trades and writes Alchemy's own pick | The summary card fills in early, as soon as Alchemy has found the market. You can read the market's odds while the rest is still working. ## What you just saw ![Alchemy result for the AI bubble sample showing the Polymarket question and its odds, eight stat tiles, the Scenarios and odds ladder, related markets and key dates](https://mintcdn.com/openfinance/-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-/images/alchemy/alchemy-result-summary.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=-pu5SodoQuhEwuR-\&q=85\&s=2289da1dec9d8114da24bed805ee054c) The top of a result: the market's answer, Alchemy's numbers and the scenarios In the AI bubble sample, the market prices the headline question low and Alchemy's own odds sit higher, so the **Edge** tile is positive and **Alchemy's pick** leans Yes. That gap between the two numbers is the whole thesis. The basket then shows how Alchemy would express it: a Yes share on Polymarket, short perps on the companies the event hits hardest, and a few hedges. > [!NOTE] > > Numbers in a sample are frozen at the time it was captured, shown at the bottom of the summary card. Charts inside the trade cards still load live prices. A sample also shows a **Replay** button, which plays the steps again. ## After the sample * Click **Start over** in the top bar to clear the result and return to the empty box. * Signed in, the sample is saved under **My history**, so you can reopen it later. * When you are ready, type your own event. [Writing good events](https://docs.openfinance.tech/alchemy/writing-good-events.md) shows how to phrase it. ## Your first live run When you want an answer to a question of your own, a live run takes four steps. **1. Sign in** A live run spends your AI credits, so Alchemy asks you to sign in first. **2. Type one event** One clear outcome with a date works best, for example "Fed cuts rates in December". **3. Pick a model, or keep the default** The model picker sits next to the send button. See [History, models and credits](https://docs.openfinance.tech/alchemy/history-and-models.md). **4. Send and wait** Press Enter or the arrow. The square button stops the run. You can move to another page of the app and come back; the run keeps going in that browser tab and shows in the sidebar's **Recents**. > [!TIP] > > Closing or refreshing the tab during a live run stops it, so the browser asks you first. Asking a second question while one is running opens the new one in a new tab. ## Next > [card] [Reading a result](https://docs.openfinance.tech/alchemy/reading-results.md) > > What each number and section means. > [card] [Writing good events](https://docs.openfinance.tech/alchemy/writing-good-events.md) > > Example events you can paste. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.