diff --git a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.html b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.html
index 85ddb5d..94082b9 100644
--- a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.html
+++ b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.html
@@ -25,6 +25,29 @@
     <pre id="whoami-output"></pre>
   </main>
 
+  <dialog id="onboarding-dialog">
+    <form method="dialog">
+      <h2>Welcome to librenotes</h2>
+      <p>A few things to know before you start:</p>
+      <ul>
+        <li><strong>Notes are Markdown.</strong> The first
+            <code># Heading</code> line is the title.</li>
+        <li><strong>Wikilinks.</strong> Connect notes with
+            <code>[[note-id]]</code>. Click an unresolved link to
+            create the target.</li>
+        <li><strong>Offline-first.</strong> Edits queue locally and
+            push when you reconnect.</li>
+        <li><strong>Your data, your tenant.</strong> Notes live in
+            a sandboxed directory only you can read.</li>
+      </ul>
+      <p>We've seeded a <code>welcome</code> note as a starting
+         point. Edit it, link from it, delete it — it's yours.</p>
+      <menu>
+        <button value="ok" autofocus>Get started</button>
+      </menu>
+    </form>
+  </dialog>
+
   <dialog id="conflict-dialog">
     <form method="dialog" id="conflict-form">
       <h2>Sync conflict</h2>
@@ -51,6 +74,7 @@
   <script src="/auth-client.js"></script>
   <script src="/notes-cache.js"></script>
   <script src="/sync.js"></script>
+  <script src="/onboarding.js"></script>
   <script src="/app.js"></script>
   <script src="/pwa.js" defer></script>
 </body>
diff --git a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.js b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.js
index 3966e13..ac50479 100644
--- a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.js
+++ b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/app.js
@@ -81,4 +81,11 @@
   // Kick off the sync controller. It registers online/offline
   // listeners and runs an initial reconciliation pass when online.
   if (window.notesSync) window.notesSync.start();
+
+  // First-run onboarding. Skips silently for returning users.
+  if (window.notesOnboarding) {
+    window.notesOnboarding.start().catch(function (e) {
+      console.warn("librenotes: onboarding error", e);
+    });
+  }
 })();
diff --git a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/onboarding.js b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/onboarding.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..804ce0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/onboarding.js
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+// onboarding.js — first-run welcome flow.
+//
+// Triggered by app.js after the session is verified. Behaviour:
+//   1. Read the tenant-scoped key "onboarded" from localStorage.
+//      If truthy, skip silently — returning users never see this.
+//   2. Otherwise, seed a sample welcome note via the notes API
+//      (only if the tenant has zero notes — we don't overwrite an
+//      existing notebook that the user already populated).
+//   3. Open the welcome dialog. Dismissing the dialog persists
+//      "onboarded" so we never show it again on this device.
+//
+// Concepts surfaced in the welcome content match the user guide:
+//   notes-as-markdown, wikilinks, graph view (forthcoming),
+//   offline cache.
+
+(function () {
+  "use strict";
+
+  const STORE_KEY = "onboarded";
+  const SAMPLE_ID = "welcome";
+
+  async function listNotes() {
+    const resp = await window.authClient.apiFetch("/api/notes");
+    if (!resp.ok) throw new Error("list: " + resp.status);
+    return resp.json();
+  }
+
+  async function seedWelcomeNote() {
+    const sample = {
+      title: "Welcome to librenotes",
+      content: [
+        "You're in. This note exists so you have somewhere to start.",
+        "",
+        "## A few things to know",
+        "",
+        "- Notes are Markdown files. The first `# Heading` is the title.",
+        "- Link between notes with `[[note-id]]`. Targets that don't",
+        "  exist yet are created when you click the link.",
+        "- Edits sync automatically. Offline edits queue and push when",
+        "  you reconnect.",
+        "- Your data lives only in your tenant directory; no other user",
+        "  can read it.",
+        "",
+        "## Try it",
+        "",
+        "Edit this note. Create a new one. Link them with `[[..]]`.",
+        "When you're ready, see the [user guide](/docs/user-guide.md)",
+        "for more.",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    };
+    const resp = await window.authClient.apiFetch(
+      "/api/notes/" + SAMPLE_ID,
+      {
+        method: "PUT",
+        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+        body: JSON.stringify(sample),
+      }
+    );
+    if (!resp.ok) throw new Error("seed: " + resp.status);
+  }
+
+  function openDialog() {
+    const dlg = document.getElementById("onboarding-dialog");
+    if (!dlg) return;
+    if (typeof dlg.showModal === "function") dlg.showModal();
+    else dlg.setAttribute("open", "");
+  }
+
+  function dismissOnConfirm() {
+    const dlg = document.getElementById("onboarding-dialog");
+    if (!dlg) return;
+    const form = dlg.querySelector("form");
+    if (!form) return;
+    form.addEventListener("submit", function () {
+      const store = window.authClient.tenantStore();
+      store.set(STORE_KEY, true);
+    });
+  }
+
+  async function start() {
+    if (!window.authClient || !window.authClient.isAuthenticated()) return;
+    const store = window.authClient.tenantStore();
+    if (store.get(STORE_KEY, false)) return;
+
+    // Best-effort seed: only when the notebook is empty so we don't
+    // disturb a user who has already created their own notes (e.g.
+    // signing in on a second device for the first time).
+    try {
+      const notes = await listNotes();
+      if (Array.isArray(notes) && notes.length === 0) {
+        await seedWelcomeNote();
+      }
+    } catch (e) {
+      // If the seed fails (offline, transient error), still show
+      // the dialog — onboarding shouldn't block on a network round
+      // trip. We just won't have a sample note to point at.
+      console.warn("librenotes: onboarding seed failed", e);
+    }
+
+    dismissOnConfirm();
+    openDialog();
+  }
+
+  window.notesOnboarding = { start };
+})();
diff --git a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/style.css b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/style.css
index 0ddb877..06ff641 100644
--- a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/style.css
+++ b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/style.css
@@ -319,3 +319,29 @@ a:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
   background: transparent;
   color: var(--accent);
 }
+
+/* Onboarding dialog reuses the conflict dialog visuals but
+   needs a slightly different size and list styling. */
+#onboarding-dialog::backdrop { background: rgba(0,0,0,0.4); }
+#onboarding-dialog {
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 0.5rem;
+  background: var(--bg);
+  color: var(--fg);
+  padding: 1.75rem;
+  max-width: min(36rem, 90vw);
+  width: 100%;
+}
+#onboarding-dialog h2 { margin-top: 0; }
+#onboarding-dialog ul { padding-left: 1.25rem; }
+#onboarding-dialog li { margin: 0.4rem 0; }
+#onboarding-dialog menu { padding: 0; margin: 1rem 0 0; }
+#onboarding-dialog button {
+  padding: 0.55rem 1.1rem;
+  border-radius: 0.35rem;
+  border: 0;
+  background: var(--accent);
+  color: var(--accent-fg);
+  cursor: pointer;
+  font-weight: 500;
+}
diff --git a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/sw.js b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/sw.js
index 4c633f7..aeeda57 100644
--- a/cmd/librenotes/web/public/sw.js
+++ b/cmd/librenotes/web/public/sw.js
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ const PRECACHE = [
   "/auth-client.js",
   "/notes-cache.js",
   "/sync.js",
+  "/onboarding.js",
   "/login.js",
   "/verify.js",
   "/app.js",