Create the first administrator

The web registration flow cannot bootstrap its own administrator. Create the first local account with the CLI, then assign the built-in Owner role.

Replace alice, alice@example.com, and replace-with-a-unique-password with the owner’s username, email address, and password:

sudo -u plamenu /usr/local/bin/plamenu \
  --config /etc/plamenu/plamenu.toml account add alice \
  --email alice@example.com --password 'replace-with-a-unique-password'
sudo -u plamenu /usr/local/bin/plamenu \
  --config /etc/plamenu/plamenu.toml account set-role alice Owner

Use the same username in both commands. Role names are case-insensitive. To inspect the roles available in this release, run:

sudo -u plamenu /usr/local/bin/plamenu \
  --config /etc/plamenu/plamenu.toml role list

For the Compose deployment, run these commands from the deployment checkout:

docker compose --env-file deploy/.env -f deploy/compose.yml exec plamenu \
  plamenu --config /etc/plamenu/plamenu.toml account add alice \
  --email alice@example.com --password 'replace-with-a-unique-password'
docker compose --env-file deploy/.env -f deploy/compose.yml exec plamenu \
  plamenu --config /etc/plamenu/plamenu.toml account set-role alice Owner

On another OCI runtime, execute the same two plamenu --config … commands as UID 10001 in the running application container.

Open the configured HTTPS domain and sign in. The Admin link should now be available in the main navigation. Use it to set the server name and description, registration policy, server rules, moderation defaults, retention, and mail behavior before inviting members.

Do day-to-day browsing from a separate ordinary account when practical. Keep the owner account protected with a unique password, two-factor authentication, and a recovery path tested by another authorized operator.

All other CLI commands and current flags are in the generated command-line reference.