# Getting started
The following how-to guides cover the initial steps for setting up and accessing LXD.
## Perform initial setup
LXD is most commonly installed using its snap, but other installation methods are possible. Afterward, LXD can be initialized using an interactive CLI or a preseed file.
* [Install LXD](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/installing/index.html.md)
* [Initialize LXD](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/howto/initialize/index.html.md)
## Access the UI and offline documentation
The LXD UI client provides a graphical, browser-based alternative to the CLI for interacting with the LXD server. The offline documentation is especially useful for air-gapped deployments.
* [Access the UI](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/howto/access_ui/index.html.md)
* [Access documentation locally](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/howto/access_documentation/index.html.md)
## Watch videos
The following clip gives a quick and easy introduction for standard use cases:
A series of demos and tutorials is also available on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/LXDvideos):
## Related topics
Tutorial:
- [First steps with LXD](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/tutorial/first_steps/index.html.md#first-steps)
Explanation:
- [Containers and VMs](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/explanation/instances/index.html.md#containers-and-vms)
Reference:
- [Requirements](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/requirements/index.html.md#requirements)
- [Releases and snap](https://canonical.com/lxd/docs/latest/reference/releases-snap/index.html.md#ref-releases-snap)