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First start

After you install SiteManager the service is running, and it works on the computer you installed it on. This page takes you from there to a working web interface. It then shows how to open SiteManager to other computers, if you want that.

Open the web interface on this computer

Open this address in a browser on the computer that runs SiteManager:

http://127.0.0.1:8790/

That is all. There is no setup token, no password and no certificate warning, because in local mode the service listens on this computer only and treats everyone at this computer as the administrator. http://localhost:8790/ works as well. http://[::1]:8790/ works only if you start the service with --listen [::1]:8790, because by default it listens on 127.0.0.1 only. Any other host name is refused. See Troubleshooting.

Everything you change is still recorded in the audit log, under the user name /local (the Audit page shows it as this computer (local mode)).

Who can use local mode

In local mode, every person and every program on this computer is the administrator. That includes every Remote Desktop session on a shared Windows PC and every account on a shared Linux computer. If that is not acceptable, open SiteManager to the network and give people their own logins.

Local mode uses plain HTTP, which is safe here because nothing leaves the computer. A browser allows 6 connections to one address over plain HTTP, and each SiteManager page keeps some of them open to follow live changes. About 5 SiteManager tabs can be open at once. Close tabs you do not need if pages start to wait.

Add your displays

The overview is empty at first. Open Discover to find displays on the network and add them. See Find and add displays.

Other things to do early

  • Set up alert channels so that you hear about problems.
  • Try the command line. On this computer it needs no login.
  • Build a wall layout if you write the Cornerstone files with SiteManager.

Opening SiteManager to the network

Open SiteManager to the network when people on other computers should manage the site. SiteManager then serves HTTPS and adds logins, the roles admin and viewer, API tokens and the first-run setup token. See Users, roles and security.

1. Switch network mode on

The address the service listens on decides the mode. A service that listens on 127.0.0.1 (or localhost) is in local mode. A service that listens on any other address, such as :8790, is in network mode.

  • Windows: run the installer again and tick Allow other computers to connect. For a silent installation use /NETWORK=yes. The installer adds a Windows Firewall rule. See SiteManager on Windows.
  • Linux: add --listen :8790 to SITEMANAGER_ARGS in /etc/default/sitemanager, then run sudo systemctl restart sitemanagerd. See SiteManager on Linux.
  • macOS, or when you start the service yourself: start sitemanagerd with --listen :8790. macOS then asks whether to allow incoming connections.

You need two things from the service now: the TLS fingerprint of its certificate, and the first-run setup token. The Windows installer and the Linux package show both when the service starts in network mode. If you did not write them down, read them again: see Windows, Linux or macOS.

2. Open the web interface

Open this address in a browser:

https://<computer>:8790/

Replace <computer> with the name or IP address of the computer that runs SiteManager. The default port is 8790. If you changed it with the --listen option, use your port.

If the page does not load from another computer, check Ports and firewall.

3. Accept the certificate

Network mode serves the web interface over HTTPS only. SiteManager creates its own certificate the first time it starts in network mode, so your browser does not know it and warns you that the connection is not private. This is expected.

Before you continue, check that you are talking to your service and not to something else on the network:

  1. Find the TLS fingerprint in the footer of the page. It is also in the footer of the setup and login pages.
  2. Compare it with the fingerprint the installer showed, or that sitemanagerd --print-fingerprint prints.
  3. If they match, accept the certificate in your browser.

The certificate stays the same until you delete tls.crt and tls.key from the state directory. If you ever replace it, the fingerprint changes and everything that pinned the old one, such as a stored command-line login, must be set up again.

4. Create the first administrator

The first time you open the web interface in network mode, SiteManager shows Set up SiteManager. Fill in:

Field What to enter
Setup token The first-run setup token.
User name The administrator's name. The form suggests admin.
Password At least 12 characters and at most 72 bytes.

Select Create login.

The setup token only works once. After the first administrator exists, the token is deleted and --print-setup-token prints nothing.

Note

The text on the setup page names the file /var/lib/sitemanager/setup-token. That is where it is on Linux. On Windows the file is in C:\ProgramData\MultiTaction\SiteManager, and on macOS it is in the folder you gave with --state-dir.

If the setup token is wrong, the page says wrong setup token. If setup was already done, it says setup is already done. Sign in with the account you created.

5. Sign in

Enter your user name and password on the Log in page. A browser login lasts 12 hours. After that you sign in again.

Too many wrong passwords from one address make SiteManager answer too many login attempts, try again later. Wait a few minutes. See Users, roles and security.

6. Create accounts and tokens

Going back to local mode

On Linux, remove --listen :8790 from /etc/default/sitemanager and restart the service. On Windows, run the installer again and clear Allow other computers to connect. On macOS, start sitemanagerd without --listen. The users and tokens you made are kept in the state directory but not used. If you open SiteManager to the network again later, they work again, with the same passwords.