  The successful launch and operation of NASA's Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer
open a new era for the multi-wavelength study of the very early afterglow phase
of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). GRB early afterglow information is essential to
explore the unknown physical composition of GRB jets, the link between the
prompt gamma-ray emission and the afterglow emission, the GRB central engine
activity, as well as the immediate GRB environment. Here I review some of the
recent theoretical efforts to address these problems and describe how the
latest Swift data give answers to these outstanding questions.
