---
title: 'Sign in for the first time'
description: 'Create the admin, find your password, and log into /admin — for any setup path (CLI, IDE agent, or a manual clone).'
canonical: 'https://cartwright.app/docs/getting-started/first-login'
---

# Sign in for the first time (/docs/getting-started/first-login)



Your storefront is public, but `/admin` is locked. This page gets you signed in the first time — whichever way you set the project up.

## TL;DR [#tldr]

```bash
npx create-cartwright@latest my-shop   # scaffolds, installs, AND prepares the DB
cd my-shop && pnpm dev
# open http://localhost:3000/account/login → Password tab
# email = brand.emails.admin (from brand.config.ts); password = cat .admin-credentials
```

The seed prints your admin **email + password** once and saves them to **`.admin-credentials`** (gitignored) in the project root. First login makes you set your own password, then the `/admin/setup` wizard opens.

## Step by step [#step-by-step]

<Steps>
  1. **Create the database + admin.** `npx create-cartwright@latest` does this for you through the engine's guarded setup command. If you cloned manually or used `--no-install`, use the same path from the project root:

  ```bash
  pnpm install
  pnpm db:setup           # apply schema + seed admin/demo; prints the login
  ```

  `db:setup` prints a banner with your admin email + password and writes them to `.admin-credentials`.

  2. **Start the app.**

  ```bash
  pnpm dev                # http://localhost:3000
  ```

  3. **Sign in with the password.** Open `/account/login` and use the **Password** tab:
     * **Email** — `brand.emails.admin` from `brand.config.ts`.
     * **Password** — the value in `.admin-credentials` (`cat .admin-credentials`), or the `db seed` output.

  4. **Set your own password.** First login redirects to `/admin/konto` and requires a new password. After that you land in the `/admin/setup` wizard (brand → theme → keys → first category).
</Steps>

<Callout type="info" title="Why password, not magic-link?">
  A brand-new shop has no email provider, so the login page shows **only the Password tab** — magic-link can't deliver yet. Once you set `RESEND_API_KEY`, the magic-link tab appears; in local dev the link is written to `.mail-previews/` instead of being sent. Password is the intended first-run path.
</Callout>

## Choose your own password [#choose-your-own-password]

Set `ADMIN_PASSWORD` before seeding and the admin is created with exactly that (and no forced change):

```bash
ADMIN_PASSWORD="your-strong-password" pnpm db:setup
```

## Troubleshooting [#troubleshooting]

| Symptom                                         | Fix                                                                                                          |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| "Wrong email or password" / no admin exists     | The setup did not finish. Run `pnpm db:setup`.                                                               |
| Can't find the password                         | `cat .admin-credentials` in the project root (it's gitignored), or re-read the `db seed` output.             |
| Login page shows only Password (no magic-link)  | Expected until `RESEND_API_KEY` is set.                                                                      |
| Magic-link "sent" but no email arrives          | In dev there's no real send — open the newest file in `.mail-previews/`.                                     |
| Boot error: `Missing required env: AUTH_SECRET` | Set `AUTH_SECRET` (`openssl rand -hex 32`) in `.env.local`. `create-cartwright` sets it; manual clones must. |
| `/admin/setup` bounces you to `/account/login`  | That's the auth gate — sign in first, then it opens.                                                         |

<Cards>
  <Card title="Setup wizard" href="/docs/getting-started/setup-wizard" />

  <Card title="Authentication reference" href="/docs/features/authentication" />

  <Card title="From code to live" href="/docs/getting-started/from-code-to-live" />
</Cards>