First-run setup wizard

When Coworkee starts against an empty database and DEMO is not set to 1, the first browser visit opens the setup wizard at /setup. This is how a real install is initialised — there is no default admin password to change and no sample data to clean up.

When does the wizard appear?

Only on an empty database with DEMO unset (or 0). If DEMO=1, the database is seeded with demo data instead and you go straight to the login page. See DEMO vs. real install.

What the wizard asks for

The wizard collects everything needed to create the first account and the company in one pass:

1. Administrator account — name, email and password for the first user. This account gets the Admin role and full access.
2. Company — the company name that appears in the app and in documents.
3. Language — the default interface language (German or English). Individual users can still change their own language later.
4. Theme — the initial style preset and appearance (light / dark). Configurable again afterwards under admin settings.

On submit, the wizard creates the admin user and the company record, signs you in, and drops you on the dashboard. The /setup route is then closed — once a company exists, the wizard is no longer reachable.

After the wizard

You now have an empty, real instance with one admin. Typical next steps:

• Add employees — Employees & org chart.
• Invite colleagues / create users and assign roles — Users & roles.
• Configure email so password resets and notifications can be sent — Mail / SMTP.
• Set your corporate identity — accent colour and logo under Theming.
• Set absence entitlements before people start requesting leave — Absence.

Resetting to run the wizard again

The wizard keys off "is the database empty?". To see it again on a test instance, start against a fresh database (drop the volume / use a new DATABASE_URL). Never do this on a production instance with real data.