Getting Started

GregTech CE can be overwhelming for anyone, whether a veteran of the prior GT mods, or a veteran of the arguably similar IndustrialCraft. However, if you've played either of these mods, you should be able to follow along without too much difficulty. Before started, it is advised the player have a solid start to the game already - a home, a supply of food, and a small stockpile of ore (the more ore you process before you have machinery, the greater losses you incur), preferably iron, copper and tin.

Basic Tools
Gregtech CE is all about crafting and you will need tools and machines to craft everything. If you are not already familiar with the Just Enough Items(JEI) mod, you will need to at least learn the basics before reading on - please view a beginner's tutorial.

The following are the most basic tools that will get you started.

Tool recipes
Gregtech CE has many tools. There are several variants of each tool but they all have the same basic recipe. In JEI only one variant will be shown. Seeing the recipe for it will show the recipe for every variant of that type of tool. Every GTCE tool variant can be used interchangeably with the others. In the example of the hammer (see bellow), there is an iron variant, diamond variant, steel variant and many others. The only difference is normally durability. For example, the diamond hammer will last longer than the iron hammer.

Hammer
Similar to Industrial Craft, the first tool you'll be getting is the hammer (forge hammer in IC). Less forgiving than IC, the hammer costs 6 material, typically your choice of iron (recommended) or diamond. Other metals will likely be unavailable to you at this point. Your hammer will help you in the creation of more tools, and parts such as hulls for your first steam machines. Hammers can also be used to crush ore, for crude early game ore doubling in place of maceration (but typically yields less).

File
With access to the hammer, you're now ready to create your second tool, the file. Again, iron is a good choice here. This tool requires plates which for now can made with the help of the hammer.

Saw
A nice addition is a saw. In gregtech CE, you will need to use at least a saw to get the full 4 planks from each log. To do this, put a log with a saw on top of it in the crafting grid. Otherwise, you will only get 2 planks from each log. The crafting recipe for all types of saw can be found by clicking on one in JEI. This is the same for all tools.

As you progress, you will begin to rely more and more on machines but for now, you'll need quite a lot of tools to get your footing. I recommend a double chest devoted to storing your tools.