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Configuration overview

An installed server asks for nothing beyond how to reach it. You set the domain, Cloudflare, backups, email, the private network and the rest afterwards in the admin panel, on the Settings page.

Where Settings lives

Section titled “Where Settings lives”

Settings is in the left rail of the admin panel and is visible to administrators only. You reach the panel at:

  • https://dash.yourdomain.com once you apply a domain;
  • http://localhost:9010 before that, through the SSH forward the installer keeps open (or reopens with uvx catena-installer connect --inventory <name>). Without the installer, the forward is:
Terminal window
ssh -N -L 9010:127.0.0.1:9010 -L 9000:127.0.0.1:9000 panel@<server-address>

Sign in with the admin email and the admin password shown once at install. See Installation.

How a save works

Section titled “How a save works”
  • Each section of Settings is its own form with its own button. Saving one section never touches another.
  • Every value is stored on the server and is part of every backup.
  • A blank field keeps the stored value. Typing a value replaces it. Secrets already stored carry a set badge and are never shown again; fields that must be filled carry a required badge.
  • A value the section cannot accept is refused as a whole: “Nothing was saved. Correct the fields marked below.”
  • Sections that end with Save and apply (Infrastructure app subdomains, Outgoing mail, Alerts and missed-job reporting, Sign-in requirements, Time zone and locale) bring the server up to date right away. The note under the button reads: “Saving applies these settings right away: the services that use them restart and are briefly unavailable.” Progress shows in Server configuration, further down the page.
  • Other sections have their own action: Apply for Domain, the join for Admin access tunnel, and a plain Save for the rest. Backup values are read by the backup itself and need no restart.
  • If the server is already updating its configuration, the section reports: “Saved. The server is already updating its configuration, and will apply this change as soon as that finishes.” The server applies the saved values in one more run right after the running one; there is nothing to repeat.
  • If applying can neither start nor be queued, the section reports: “Saved, but applying it did not start, most likely because the server is already updating its configuration.” Run Bring this server up to date once the other work finishes to apply the saved values. See Server settings.

First-time setup order

Section titled “First-time setup order”

The order below avoids dead ends: later steps rely on earlier ones.

  1. Subscription, if you bought a Catena Pro or Catena Business key. Saving the key first lets the later steps use the features it unlocks, such as faster schedules and extra domains.
  2. Domain and Cloudflare: the Cloudflare API token, the domain, then Apply. Until you do this, the server runs without public addresses.
  3. Backups and S3 storage: the repository and its keys, then Generate backup encryption password, then save the disaster-recovery keyset in a password manager.
  4. Schedules: turning on the backup schedule, at most once a week on every edition, and the maintenance schedules (Catena Pro or Catena Business).
  5. Outgoing email: the mail service used for password resets, invitations and alerts.
  6. Admin access and tailnet: the private network, then optionally Close SSH on public port 22.
  7. Alerts: the off-site heartbeat address and notification channels.
  8. Sign-in and people: second-factor requirement and accounts.
  9. Server settings: time zone, locale and the manual configuration run.

Other configuration pages

Section titled “Other configuration pages”
Section titled “Paid panels”

Some panels outside Settings need Catena Pro or Catena Business. A panel the subscription does not include is greyed in the menu and opens a short explanation. The editions are compared at catena.run.