Accounts and sign-up

The first visit to a new instance creates your account: a name, an email address and a password of at least eight characters. There is no default account and no default password.

By default, sign-up then closes. Every later attempt to register is refused by the server.

Letting other people in

Two settings decide who may register and how. Both default to the answer for a server you run for yourself.

Setting	Default	The other value
AUTH_SIGNUP	closed: one account, made on the first visit	open: anybody who reaches the page may register
AUTH_EMAIL_VERIFICATION	off: the address is taken as given	required: a link is sent, and nobody signs in until they open it

Opening sign-up changes whose keys pay

With AUTH_SIGNUP=open, the provider and model keys in .env are not offered to other accounts. Each person pastes their own on the Connections and Models screens, and a job with no key does not run. This stops a stranger from spending money on your keys.

If you do want to pay for everyone, set MACHINE_KEYS=instance. Then every account uses the keys in .env, and the bill is yours.

Always verify addresses when sign-up is open

Without verification, anybody can register with an address they do not own, and receive the email digests meant for the real owner. So with AUTH_SIGNUP=open, also set AUTH_EMAIL_VERIFICATION=required.

Verification needs email. The app refuses to start with required and no SMTP_HOST or SMTP_FROM, because every sign-in would then wait for a link that is never sent.

What a person sees when verification is on:

1. They register, and the screen says check your email. No session starts.
2. They open the link. The address is confirmed and they are signed in.
3. A link works for 24 hours. If they sign in before opening it, the sign-in is refused and a new link is sent.

Sessions

A session lasts seven days. Each day you use SignalScout, it is extended, so daily use never signs you out. Sign out ends the session on the server, not only in the browser.

Locked out

Stuck waiting for a verification email? If mail is broken, confirm the address by hand in the database:

docker compose exec postgres psql -U intentwatch intentwatch \
  -c "UPDATE users SET email_verified = true WHERE email = 'them@example.com';"

Forgot the password? The self-hosted build has no password reset, because most installs have no mail server to send the link. The way back is the database, which you own: make a new account, then move the old account's data to it. With sign-up closed, delete the old account first, so the next visit may create one. The repository's docs/accounts.md has the exact SQL. Back up first.