Accounts and passwords
Accounts are created by an administrator, who chooses the initial password. That has a consequence worth being explicit about: until the account changes it, two people know that password.
Kinkeep gives the administrator three settings to deal with that, on the user form.
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Require a new password at first sign-in | The account must set its own password before it can do anything else |
| Stop this account changing its own email address | The address can only be changed by an administrator |
| Stop this account changing its own password | The password can only be changed by an administrator |
Requiring a first change
This is the one to use for an ordinary personal account. After signing in, the account lands on a form asking for a new password and its confirmation, and every other page sends it back there until it is done. Once set, the requirement clears itself.
Locking an address or a password
These are for accounts that are not somebody's personal property: a shared account at a clinic, an account for a technician, or the accounts a demonstration instance hands out.
Without them, the first person to use a shared account can change its address and password and quietly take it over.
A lock binds the account, never the administrator: an administrator can always change the address or reset the password of an account they administer.
:::warning Locking the address removes self-service recovery An account that cannot change its address cannot receive a password reset at a new one, which leaves the administrator as the only way back in. That is the right trade for a shared account and the wrong one for a personal account. :::
:::danger Two settings that cannot be combined An account cannot be both required to change its password and stopped from changing it. That combination locks it out permanently, so Kinkeep refuses to save it. :::
The first administrator
The account created through /setup on a fresh install is exempt from all of
this. They chose their own password, so nobody else knows it and there is
nothing to force.