Homestead

Creating Users ​

Homestead is multi-user: each member of your household gets their own account. This page covers claiming a fresh instance and adding everyone else.

Table of Contents ​

Claiming a New Instance ​

A brand-new instance starts unclaimed — there are no accounts yet. The first time you open it, the login screen asks you to create the admin account instead of signing in:

  1. Open the app in your browser.
  2. Enter an email and a password (at least 8 characters) for the admin (superuser) account.
  3. Submit. You're now signed in as the superuser.

This is a one-time step. Once claimed, the instance shows the normal login screen, and only a superuser can create more accounts.

Adding Users ​

User management lives in the Users app, visible to superusers under Settings → Users.

  1. Go to Settings → Users.

  2. Click Add User.

  3. Fill in the form:

    FieldNotes
    EmailRequired. Used to sign in.
    Display NameOptional. Shown around the app.
    TypeRegular or Superuser. Superusers manage users, settings, and access.
    TagsOptional labels for grouping users — see Access & Tags.
    PasswordRequired. Must be at least 8 characters.

  4. Save. The account is ready to use immediately.

There's no email invite flow — you set each user's password when you create the account and share it with them. They can use it to sign in right away.

Superuser vs. regular. Superusers can manage accounts, edit household settings, and control which apps each person can reach. Regular users just use the apps they have access to. Keep the superuser role to the people who actually administer the household.

Editing and Removing Users ​

From the same Users screen:

  • Edit a user to change their email, display name, type, or tags. Leave the password field blank to keep the existing password; type a new one to reset it.
  • Delete a user to remove the account. You can't delete your own account.

Recovering a Lost Password ​

If a superuser is locked out, reset the password from the command line on the server:

bash
homestead admin reset-password

This sets a new superuser password without needing access to the UI.