# Open Your First Model

This walks through opening a checkpoint for the first time, from launching Tensormorph to seeing a populated model tree. By the end, you'll have a model loaded and ready to explore in [Explore a Model Architecture](/docs/get-started/explore-a-model-architecture).

## What you'll need

Any model checkpoint Tensormorph reads - a local [safetensors](/docs/working-with-models/safetensors) file is the simplest starting point, but a [Hugging Face Hub](/docs/working-with-models/hugging-face-models) model reference or an [ONNX](/docs/working-with-models/onnx) graph both work the same way.

## Steps

1.  From the command palette (`Ctrl+P`), run **Open Model** - or use **File → Open Model** from the menu.
2.  Choose a local file, or paste a Hub-style reference (`org/model` or `org/model@revision`).
3.  Tensormorph reads the checkpoint's header first - for a safetensors file, this is a single small read, so the model tree populates before any weight bytes are downloaded or loaded, even for a very large checkpoint.
4.  The **Outliner** on the left fills in with the model's structure, and the [Architecture view](/docs/editors/architecture-editor) opens showing the whole model at once.

If you can see your model's layers listed in the Outliner and a 3D structure in the Architecture view, you've opened your first model successfully.

## What just happened

Opening a checkpoint reads it into the [Semantic Model Graph](/docs/core-concepts/model-architecture-layer-module) using a `ModelAdapter` matched to its architecture (or the fallback adapter, if none matches) - this is what turns a flat file into a navigable, addressable tree rather than an opaque blob.

## Next step

Continue to [Explore a Model Architecture](/docs/get-started/explore-a-model-architecture) to navigate the model you just opened.

## Related resources

-   [Safetensors](/docs/working-with-models/safetensors) - why the model tree appears before weights finish loading.
-   [Model, Architecture, Layer and Module](/docs/core-concepts/model-architecture-layer-module) - what the Outliner and Architecture view are actually showing you.