SENN Install and Initial Setup

Paste these five lines into your terminal, in order (pasting them all at once is fine too).

git clone https://github.com/macplanning-labs/senn.git
cd senn
cp .env.example .env
sed -i.bak "s|^DB_PASSWORD=.*|DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 24)|; s|^JWT_SECRET_KEY=.*|JWT_SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 48 | tr -d '\n')|" .env && rm .env.bak
docker compose up

• Line 3 creates the config file (.env).
• Line 4 fills in the database password and the login signing key with random values automatically (you don't need to decide these yourself).
• Line 5 starts everything. The first run downloads the pre-built images, which takes a few minutes (depending on your connection).

This does not write anything to your system settings.

When it's done, the terminal shows a line like this and stays in a waiting state.

senn-oss-backend  | … server listening on 0.0.0.0:8151

Don't close this terminal. Closing it stops SENN (see how to stop it properly).

Once it's started, type this into your browser's address bar.

http://localhost:8151

If you see a login screen like this, the install succeeded.

Click Sign up at the bottom of the login screen. On the screen that appears, fill in these three fields and click Sign up.

• Username — any name you like (must not already be taken)
• Email — a working email address (e.g. you@example.com)
• Password — 8+ characters

Only the first person (who set up SENN) can sign up freely. Everyone after that joins by invitation (Step 7).

Your email is used for things like ticket-due-date notifications, if you set up email sending. Everything you enter is stored only in the database on your own PC.

Once signed up, you're logged in automatically and land on the main screen.

In SENN, you need a team before you can create tickets (tasks, issues, QA items, etc.). Click the + next to "Teams" in the left sidebar.

Enter a team name (e.g. Sample Team) and click Create. Team prefix is the letters that go at the start of ticket keys (e.g. SMP → SMP-000001). If left blank, it is made from the letters and digits in the team name (TEAM if the name has none). Icon, color, visibility (Public / Private), description, and notification webhook are optional and can be changed later.

Once created, the team appears in the sidebar, and you can choose your next step, such as "Create a ticket".

Click Create a ticket and type a title. The Team field already has the team you just created selected. Click Create Ticket.

Scroll down and you'll find the Team field and the Create Ticket button.

Open Tickets in the sidebar to see the ticket you created in the list.

That's it — you're set up. From here, you can also use team members, projects, boards, and Gantt charts.

Before relying on this for real work, let's confirm you can log out and log back in.

Click your username at the bottom left, then click Log out in the menu that appears.

Back on the login screen, enter the username and password you signed up with, and click Log in. If the main screen appears, you're all set.

If you make a mistake, the screen tells you (the example below is an intentionally wrong password). Check upper/lower case and that you are not typing full-width characters. Note that you cannot simply sign up again with a different username: from the second person on, accounts are created by invitation.

From the second person on, accounts are created by invitation. If someone else tries the sign-up screen, SENN refuses and asks them to get an invitation from a team admin.

1. Open the team's Settings → Members.
2. Under Invite, enter the person's email address.
3. Choose Full Member. The default is Guest (can only view this team), so check this.
4. Click Send invitation.

If email is not configured (the default), SENN shows a link instead (“Share this link with the person (valid once)”). Send it to the person yourself, e.g. over chat. The link works once and expires after 7 days.

The person opens the link, chooses a username and password, and clicks Create account to join the team.