First-Time Setup
Get Rize installed, tracking, and tuned to how you work
The introduction explains what Rize is. This is the hands-on checklist: download the app, grant the permissions tracking depends on, confirm your first entries appear, and set your schedule and notifications so Rize fits your day instead of interrupting it.
Before you start
Rize captures metadata about your active window — app name, window title, URL, and timestamps — and turns it into reviewable time entries. It never takes screenshots, records keystrokes, or captures window contents. If you are rolling Rize out to a team, share what Rize tracks before install day; it is the single biggest driver of adoption.
Install and grant permissions
Download and sign in
Get Rize from app.rize.io/downloads for macOS or Windows, then create your account or sign in.
Grant Accessibility (macOS)
Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and enable Rize. This lets Rize read the active app and window title so it can categorize your work.
Grant Screen Recording (macOS)
In the same Privacy & Security section, enable Screen Recording for Rize. Despite the name, Rize uses this only to read window titles and browser URLs — it does not record your screen.
Restart Rize if prompted
macOS sometimes requires a relaunch for new permissions to take effect. Quit and reopen Rize, and confirm the tracking indicator is active.
Accessibility and Screen Recording are what make automatic tracking possible. Without them, Rize can see that an app is open but not which document, page, or URL you are working in — so its suggestions will be far less accurate. See tracking overview for the full detail on what each permission exposes.
Confirm tracking is working
Once permissions are granted, Rize begins capturing activity immediately. Within a minute of working you should see entries appear on the day calendar in real time.
- Open your dashboard — entries build as you work.
- Click a time entry to open the review panel, where you will see a description, tag suggestions, and context tabs.
- Approve or correct a suggestion. Every correction teaches Rize your patterns, so the first day of review pays off for weeks.
If nothing appears after a few minutes, re-check Accessibility and Screen Recording — a missing permission is the most common cause.
Set your tracking schedule
Go to Settings > Activity > Automatic Tracking Schedule and match it to your working hours. Rize will start and stop tracking automatically on that schedule. Prefer to track around the clock? Leave the default in place.
Set up notifications
Rize's desktop notifications are how it nudges you toward focus, breaks, and upcoming meetings — so it is worth tuning them on day one rather than muting everything later. Open Settings > Notifications, where the controls are grouped into sections:
Desktop sessions
Focus and break session start/end nudges, smart focus and break suggestions, upcoming and ending meetings, and a work-hours-reached alert.
Planning
Lead-time reminders for planned focus sessions, breaks, and meetings, plus a heads-up when the next day's schedule is ready.
AI
Personalized guidance from the AI coach with insights to improve how you work.
Your master email toggle. The legacy daily and weekly digests live here too — both are replaced by the automatic summaries in Reports.
Start with the Desktop sessions group on and the smart suggestions off, then enable more as you learn which nudges help. You can change any of these at any time.
Where to go next
Improve tagging accuracy
Set confidence thresholds and train suggestions with rules, keywords, and corrections so entries land on the right client and project.
Build a daily habit
The practical routine: track in the background, review what needs attention, correct tags, and let Rize get smarter over time.
Rolling out to a team?
Set up a workspace, invite members, choose a billing model, and establish a review routine before broad rollout.