# Creating Your Course

This section explains how to create a new course in Chamilo and configure it for your needs.

## Creating a New Course

To create a course:

1. Click **My courses** in the sidebar
2. Click the **Create a course** button (or navigate directly to the course creation page)
3. Fill in the course creation form:

![The course creation form with fields for name, category, code, and language](https://3870221420-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSHilSeDtvDev0n1c7wbJ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-debc19b99c8a7068763d4f880d57bb0c856ebf25%2Fcourse-creation-form.png?alt=media)

| Field               | Required | Description                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Course name**     | Yes      | A short, descriptive title for your course (e.g., "Innovation Management")                                                          |
| **Course category** | No       | Select a category to help organize courses on the platform                                                                          |
| **Course code**     | No       | A short code using only letters and numbers (max 40 characters). If left blank, one is generated automatically from the course name |
| **Language**        | No       | The primary language of the course. Defaults to your current language                                                               |

4. Click **Create this course**

You will be redirected to your new course's homepage. A confirmation message will appear: "Course created successfully."

## The Course Homepage

Once your course is created, you land on its homepage. This is the central hub for your course, where you and your learners access all tools and content.

The homepage displays:

* **Course title** — The name of your course, shown at the top
* **Course introduction** — An optional description or welcome message. Click **Edit introduction** <img src="https://3870221420-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSHilSeDtvDev0n1c7wbJ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-6369c6135a9138074bead2ce94ad7693bf719058%2Fmdi-pencil.svg?alt=media" alt="Edit" data-size="line"> to add or modify it. This supports rich text with images, links, and formatting.
* **Tool grid** — A grid of all available course tools, each shown as a card with an icon and name

### Managing Tool Visibility

As a teacher, you can control which tools your learners can see:

* Click the **eye icon** <img src="https://3870221420-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSHilSeDtvDev0n1c7wbJ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-0b6b23a06a96f08bea32e8e7de1252b5982bdc4d%2Fmdi-eye.svg?alt=media" alt="Visible" data-size="line"> next to any tool to hide it from learners. Hidden tools show a **crossed-out eye** <img src="https://3870221420-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSHilSeDtvDev0n1c7wbJ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-94b85b47102e13a629e91e0c414d742d8c1facc7%2Fmdi-eye-off.svg?alt=media" alt="Hidden" data-size="line"> and are still accessible to you.
* Use the **Show all** and **Hide all** buttons to change all tools at once
* Click **Sort** to enable drag-and-drop reordering of the tool grid

### Student View

Click the **Student view** button to see the course homepage exactly as a learner would see it. This is useful to verify that hidden tools and unpublished content are not visible. Click the button again to return to the teacher view.

## Next Steps

* [Course Settings](https://docs.chamilo.org/2.x/teacher-guide/teacher-guide/creating-your-course/course-settings) — Configure access, enrollment, and other course-level options
* [Course Homepage](https://docs.chamilo.org/2.x/teacher-guide/teacher-guide/creating-your-course/course-homepage) — Detailed guide to customizing your course homepage