Quick start

These steps apply once a compatible native package is available for your deployment. The current native release target is Linux x64 (Intel/AMD). Check the download centre first: a configured build target does not mean an installer has been published.

1. Get the installer

From the download centre. The link is in your setup email; sign in with the same address and it emails you a fresh one.

Linux x64 package format	Filename pattern, when published
Debian package	plugboard_<version>_amd64.deb
RPM package	plugboard-<version>.x86_64.rpm

Verify it against the SHA256SUMS published beside it:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

Windows, macOS and Linux ARM native release targets are disabled. Their launcher/reference instructions do not promise downloadable packages. See installing it for the current scope.

2. Run it

As an administrator. It installs the bundle, registers a service, starts it, and opens the status panel at http://localhost:9090.

3. Answer three questions

The panel asks who administers this install, for your licence key, and for the address staff will type. It applies them on restart.

If you were sent a configuration file during onboarding, drop it into the install directory first and there is nothing left to answer.

4. Claim your account

The panel shows Create your first administrator with a one-time link. Follow it and choose your own password.

No password is generated, shown or emailed. The link lasts 72 hours, and restarting from the panel issues a fresh one if it lapses.

5. Look around

You are in. A fresh install starts with an empty desk.

To explore with fictional sample data instead, set PLUGBOARD_DEMO_DATA=1 before the first start. It applies to a new database only.

What to do next

1. Open Admin, Features and turn off the modules you will never use. See modules.
2. Open Admin, Connectors and switch one on in demo mode. Every feature that depends on it works against fictional data, so you can see what the product does before credentials arrive.
3. Open a ticket and work it through to closed, so you have seen the lifecycle.
4. Open /portal in another tab to see what a student sees.

Then follow the setup checklist. It is ordered so no step depends on a decision you have not made yet.

Evaluating without a server

An available Linux x64 package can be evaluated on a compatible machine or VM. If no matching asset is listed, arrange an evaluation deployment rather than assuming a Windows or macOS installer exists. Removing the program preserves data; follow the uninstall guidance.

Skip the certificate and the public address for that. It serves plain HTTP on the machine itself and says so in the log.