Server admins & signup

Server admins manage settings that apply to every workspace on your installation: who can sign up, who else is a server admin, and application email. Server admin is separate from workspace roles. A workspace owner isn't automatically a server admin.

Server admins see two extra pages: Settings → System status and Settings → Signup & admins.

The first account is the server admin

On a new installation, the first person to sign up becomes the server admin. If several people sign up at the same moment, exactly one wins.

Important: Sign up yourself right after installing, before you share the URL with anyone.

After that first account exists, new servers switch to Invite only.

Choose who can sign up

Open Settings → Signup & admins. Invitations always work, whatever the policy.

Policy	Who can create an account
Invite only (default)	Only people with an invitation
Approved email domains	Anyone with an address on your listed domains. Each subdomain must be listed separately
Anyone	Anyone who can reach the server

Approved email domains always requires a verified email address, because anyone could type an address on your domain. That policy therefore needs working application email. Google sign-in counts as verified.

Blocked signups receive a 403 with the code signup_restricted.

Invite teammates

Invite people from Settings → Members. Without application email, the invitation is still created: select Copy invite link and send the link yourself. Links expire after seven days.

Add or remove server admins

In Settings → Signup & admins, add any existing account as a server admin by email, or remove one. The last server admin can't be removed.

To guarantee access from configuration, which is useful for recovery or infrastructure-as-code, list addresses in .env:

HELPIN_ADMIN_EMAILS=ops@example.com,cto@example.com

Matching accounts become server admins at startup once their email is verified. Unverified accounts never qualify, so nobody can claim admin by registering a listed address before you. Admins listed here can only be removed by editing the variable.

Choose which products are enabled

All products are enabled by default: Support, Docs, Projects, CRM, Automation, and Agents. To limit what's available on this server:

HELPIN_ENABLED_MODULES=support,docs,agents

Support requires Docs. Workspace roles and module access still apply within the enabled products. A module left out here can't be reached through direct URLs or the API.

Public read-only demo (optional)

Show prospects a live, read-only workspace at /demo:

1. Create an account with the viewer role in a single workspace, without 2FA, and not a server admin.

2. Set DEMO_VIEWER_EMAIL to that account's email, then restart.

Every non-read request from the demo account is rejected. Set DEMO_REQUIRE_EMAIL=true to ask visitors for their email first, and DEMO_LEAD_WEBHOOK_URL to receive those emails.