The first hour
A fresh install begins with creating the first administrator through the setup flow. Protect access to that flow until the administrator has been created.
Creating the first administrator
Section titled “Creating the first administrator”On-premises and self-hosted. Start the application and open it. The setup flow asks for a name, an email and a password. That account gets the wildcard role, meaning every permission.
Managed. The first administrator is invited during onboarding, using the name and email you entered on the confirmation page. Check your inbox, including the spam folder, for the invitation.
If you seeded demo data, the sign-in is [email protected] with the password
switchboard. Change it, or better, create your own account and deactivate that
one before anything real goes in.
Guided desk setup
Section titled “Guided desk setup”Starting with 0.13.0-rc.1, the first administrator of a new installation is guided through six steps. Existing installations can open Admin → Desk setup when they are ready to review their configuration.
In 0.14.0, the main Admin link opens your first permitted settings page. It no longer opens the completed “Plugboard is ready to use” workflow. Choose Desk setup explicitly to review onboarding again.
- Your desk. Set its name and colours, then choose built-in ticketing, an existing ticketing system or no ticketing.
- Workflows. Choose the modules the team will use. Department desks and additional operational tools appear where the licence permits them.
- Self-service. Decide whether staff/students and parents need their own portals, and review the remaining identity and request-channel setup.
- People and access. Follow the links to administrator MFA, team roles, single sign-on and campus access. Opening a settings page does not configure it or invite anybody.
- Connections and backups. Configure the systems relevant to the desk and inspect the actual backup settings. Enabling daily backups is an explicit action that takes effect immediately and preserves the existing storage and retention settings.
- Review and launch. Check the choices and apply them, then work through the launch checklist using representative accounts and requests.
Save and leave keeps your progress on the server. A reminder on the dashboard returns you to the draft, including from another device. The desk name, colours and module choices take effect when you apply the review. Connector edits and the explicit backup action take effect separately when saved.
Completing setup is not a connectivity test or a backup restore drill. Test email delivery, sign-in, the chosen request paths and recovery before real work depends on them. Module choices can be changed later under Admin, Features.
The shell
Section titled “The shell”Every staff page shares the same frame.
The top bar carries your institution’s logo and name on the left, the global search box in the centre, and the theme toggle, an alert bell, your account and sign out on the right.
The navigation row underneath holds the main sections. Items appear only if the matching module is enabled, so your menu is shorter than the full list until you turn things on. A missing section usually means the module is off.
The assistant orb, bottom right, opens a chat that can answer questions and run commands. See the assistant.
Under Admin there is a second row of tabs for the configuration pages. The
Admin item points at Connectors because that is the useful landing page, but
everything under /admin belongs to it.
Four things to change now
Section titled “Four things to change now”1. Branding
Section titled “1. Branding”Admin, Branding. Product name, logo, theme colours. Two minutes, and it changes how the rest of the setup feels because every screen is now recognisably yours. It also applies to the public self-service pages, which is where it matters most. See branding.
2. Modules
Section titled “2. Modules”Admin, Features. Each available module has a switch. Turn off what you will never use. Every module you disable is a navigation item, a set of endpoints and a page of documentation you never have to think about again.
Start conservatively. You can turn something on later in one click. See modules.
3. Workflow
Section titled “3. Workflow”Admin, Workflow. Statuses, priorities, repair types with their coverage, and the parts list with prices.
Do this before anyone lodges a real submission. Changing a status later means deciding what happens to the submissions sitting in it. Twenty minutes now saves that. See workflow.
4. Your own security
Section titled “4. Your own security”Account, top right. Turn on two-factor authentication for yourself before you invite anybody else. It takes a minute, and it means the account with every permission is the best-protected one rather than the worst. See your account.
The order everything else goes in
Section titled “The order everything else goes in”Configuration has dependencies. This order avoids doubling back:
- Branding, modules, workflow. Above.
- Email. Configure SMTP or Google Workspace and send yourself a test. Everything downstream is silent until this works: tracking links, ready-for-collection notices, receipts, alerts, scheduled reports.
- People. A directory or SIS connector, so people exist. A repair needs somebody to belong to.
- Devices. An MDM connector, so a serial number resolves to a model and an owner.
- Roles, then users. Build the roles first. Creating twelve accounts and then discovering the role is wrong means fixing twelve accounts.
- Single sign-on, once there are accounts to sign in to.
- Everything else as you need it.
The full list with checkboxes is the setup checklist.
Demo mode is your friend, briefly
Section titled “Demo mode is your friend, briefly”Most connectors have a demo mode that returns realistic fictional data instead of calling the real system. Turn it on to see a feature work before the credentials arrive, then turn it off.
Leaving demo mode on in production is the most common configuration mistake in the product. The connectors page flags it, and the compliance page counts it.
Where things are
Section titled “Where things are”| You want to | Go to |
|---|---|
| Resume or review guided setup | Admin, Desk setup |
| Connect a system | Admin, Connectors |
| Turn a feature on or off | Admin, Features |
| Change statuses, priorities, repair types, parts | Admin, Workflow |
| Set response and resolution targets | Admin, SLA |
| Automate triage | Admin, Automation |
| Change the product name, logo or colours | Admin, Branding |
| Edit the wording of an email the product sends | Admin, Email messages |
| Add a technician | Admin, Users |
| Change what a technician can do | Admin, Roles |
| Turn on SSO | Admin, SSO |
| Write help articles | Admin, Knowledge base |
| Issue an API key or a webhook | Admin, API and webhooks |
| Install a connector agent | Admin, Connector agents |
| Schedule backups | Admin, Backups |
| Answer a privacy assessment | Admin, Compliance |
| Check the plan | Admin, Licence |
| See who did what | Logs |