Showcase server CLI

The Showcase server is also its own administration tool. Given a subcommand it opens the configured database, runs any pending migrations, performs the action, writes an audit-log entry, and exits — the server daemon does not start.

Use it for recovery operations that must not depend on a working browser session: a lost admin password, a locked-out account, a first admin on a machine that has no mail server.

The running server is unaffected

Subcommands act directly on the database and exit. You do not need to stop the service first, and running one does not restart it.

Running the CLI

The command is showcase-server. Where you find it depends on the platform.

Linux

The Debian package puts it on your PATH:

showcase-server users:create-admin --email alice@example.com --password 'SecurePassword123'

The database is owned by the mt-showcase-server service account, so the command re-runs itself as that user and tells you it has done so:

showcase-server: re-running as mt-showcase-server (owner of the database)

You will be prompted for your sudo password. Running the server's entry point directly as your own user fails with SQLITE_READONLY.

Windows

The installer does not add the server folder to PATH. Call the script by its full path from an ordinary Command Prompt or PowerShell:

"C:\Program Files\MT Showcase\server\showcase-server.cmd" users:create-admin --email alice@example.com --password "SecurePassword123"

Windows runs the server as the signed-in operator rather than a service account, so there is no privilege escalation step.

macOS

The command lives inside the application bundle:

"/Applications/MT Showcase.app/Contents/Resources/server/showcase-server" users:create-admin --email alice@example.com --password 'SecurePassword123'

The database is in your own home directory (~/.mt-showcase/showcase.db), so no escalation is needed.

Older installations

If showcase-server is not present, your build predates it. Invoke the server's entry point directly — the subcommands and exit codes are identical:

# Linux
cd /opt/mt-showcase-<version>/server
sudo -u mt-showcase-server env NODE_ENV=production \
  node/bin/node api/dist/index.js users:create-admin --email … --password …

On Windows use node\node.exe api\dist\index.js … from C:\Program Files\MT Showcase\server with NODE_ENV=production_win; on macOS use Contents/Resources/node/bin/node against Contents/Resources/server/api/dist/index.js.

Subcommands

users:create-admin

showcase-server users:create-admin --email <email> --password <password> [--display-name <name>]

Creates a role=admin status=active user, bypassing the setup wizard. Use it to seed the first administrator, or to regain access when no admin can log in.

Idempotent when the email already belongs to an active admin — exits 0 and changes nothing.
Refused with exit 65 when the email exists with a different role or status. The CLI never silently promotes, demotes, or re-enables an account.

users:reset-password

showcase-server users:reset-password --email <email> --password <new-password>

Overwrites the user's password and clears any active lockout (failed_login_count, locked_until). Exits 66 if no such user exists.

users:disable / users:enable

showcase-server users:disable --email <email>
showcase-server users:enable  --email <email>

Toggles the account between active and disabled. A disabled user cannot log in. Both are idempotent — running one against an account already in that state exits 0 and changes nothing.

users:unlock

showcase-server users:unlock --email <email>

Clears failed_login_count and locked_until for an account that tripped the lockout threshold. Equivalent to the Unlock button in the admin portal. Idempotent.

keys:rotate-signing

showcase-server keys:rotate-signing

Mints a new JWT signing key and demotes the previous key to a 30-day validity window, so tokens already issued keep verifying until they expire. Prints the new key ID.

This does not end active sessions

For immediate fleet-wide invalidation — a suspected compromise, say — use Admin → Security → Revoke all sessions in the editor instead. That revokes every refresh token and rotates the signing key in one transaction.

Exit codes

Scripts can branch on the exit status; every subcommand uses the same set.

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success, or a no-op (these subcommands are idempotent)
`1`	Unhandled error
`64`	Usage or validation error — a missing or malformed flag
`65`	The email exists with a conflicting role or status
`66`	User not found

Audit trail

Every subcommand writes a row to the audit_log table, so CLI recovery actions appear alongside actions taken in the editor. There is no separate CLI log to collect.