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IntQuest Docs User Documentation

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Secure administrator bootstrap

Configure, rotate, and recover the master administrator without a published default password.

New installation

  1. Provide a unique random bootstrap password of at least 12 characters as SUPERADMIN_BOOTSTRAP_PASSWORD for the WebServer service. With the standard intquest-deployment setup, prepare.sh already generates one in secrets.env on the server; read it there with grep '^SUPERADMIN_BOOTSTRAP_PASSWORD=' secrets.env. Never commit its value to source control or an image.
  2. Start the deployment.
  3. Sign in as superadmin with that one-time password.
  4. In the mandatory Change password dialog, enter a different permanent password in New password and Confirm new password, then click Set new password. The password must have at least 6 characters, including an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a special character, and it must differ from the bootstrap password. The dialog can’t be closed until the password is changed; if the password doesn’t meet a rule, the dialog shows the error after you submit.
  5. Confirm that the application opens normally, then replace or remove the bootstrap secret according to your secret-management policy.

Until step 4 is complete, IntQuest allows only session checks, logout, and the signed-in account’s password-rotation request. Search, document, and administration APIs return Password change required.

Existing installations

IntQuest detects the previously published default hash and treats that account as uninitialized. It will not authenticate the published password directly. Configure a deployment-specific bootstrap secret, sign in once, and rotate immediately.

Recovery

  • Store the permanent master password in an approved password manager.
  • If it is lost, an authorized operator must mark the master database account for password change and provide a new one-time deployment secret using the documented operational procedure.
  • Record who initiated and completed recovery in the organization’s audit system.
  • Never restore the historical default hash or place a plaintext password in SQL, Compose files, tickets, or chat.

Troubleshooting

Administrator sign-in is unavailable means the bootstrap environment variable is missing or shorter than 12 characters. Correct the deployment secret and recreate the WebServer container.

Choose a password different from the bootstrap password. means the permanent password matches the one-time secret. Choose a different password.

Password change required from another API is expected until the mandatory rotation succeeds.