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Seeding Initial Users After Deployment

This guide explains how to automatically create initial admin users when deploying to production.

How It Works​

The application includes an auto-seeding service that runs on startup and creates an initial admin user if one doesn't exist.

Key Features:

  • âś… Safe to run in production (only creates users if they don't exist)
  • âś… Runs automatically on application startup
  • âś… Configurable via environment variables
  • âś… Can be disabled when not needed

Setup for Dokploy​

Step 1: Enable Auto-Seed​

Add these environment variables to your API application in Dokploy:

# Enable automatic user seeding
ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=true

# Admin user credentials (REQUIRED)
SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@emtb.consulting
SEED_ADMIN_PASSWORD=YourSecurePassword123!

Step 2: Deploy​

Once you add these variables and redeploy, the application will:

  1. Start up normally
  2. Check if an admin user exists with the email SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL
  3. If NOT exists → Create the admin user
  4. If exists → Skip (no action)

Step 3: Login & Change Password​

After first deployment:

  1. Login with the seeded credentials:

    • Email: admin@emtb.consulting (or whatever you set)
    • Password: YourSecurePassword123!

  2. Immediately change the password in the application

  3. (Optional) Disable auto-seed by setting ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=false

Environment Variables Reference​

VariableRequiredDefaultDescription
ENABLE_AUTO_SEEDYesfalseSet to true to enable auto-seeding
SEED_ADMIN_EMAILNoadmin@emtb.consultingEmail for the initial admin user
SEED_ADMIN_PASSWORDNoChangeMe123!Password for the initial admin user

Security Best Practices​

✅ DO:​

  • Use a strong, unique password for SEED_ADMIN_PASSWORD
  • Change the password immediately after first login
  • Use a real email address you control for SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL
  • Disable auto-seed (ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=false) after initial setup

❌ DON'T:​

  • Don't use weak passwords like "password123"
  • Don't commit these credentials to git
  • Don't share the initial password with anyone
  • Don't leave auto-seed enabled indefinitely

Manual Seeding (Development Only)​

For local development, you can use the manual seed script:

# From project root
cd apps/api
NODE_ENV=development pnpm run seed:users

This script:

  • Only runs in development mode (safety check)
  • Creates 3 test users: ADMIN, MANAGER, CLIENT
  • Shows credentials in a formatted table
  • Skips users that already exist

Test Users Created:

  • Admin: ayoub.hidri+emtb-admin@gmail.com / EmtbAdmin2024!
  • Manager: ayoub.hidri+emtb-manager@gmail.com / EmtbManager2024!
  • Client: ayoub.hidri+emtb-client@gmail.com / ClientEmtb2024!

Troubleshooting​

Auto-seed not working?​

Check logs in Dokploy:

  1. Go to API application
  2. Click "Logs" tab
  3. Look for messages like: 
    [SeedService] Starting automatic user seeding...
    [SeedService] âś… Created initial admin user: admin@emtb.consulting

If you see:

  • Auto-seed disabled → Check ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=true is set
  • Admin user already exists → User was already created (this is normal)
  • Failed to create initial admin user → Check database connection and logs

Can't login with seeded credentials?​

  1. Verify credentials are correct:

    • Check environment variables in Dokploy
    • Passwords are case-sensitive

  2. Check if user exists in database:

    • Use database management tool to verify user was created
    • Check the users table

  3. Database connection issues:

    • Verify API can connect to PostgreSQL
    • Check database credentials in environment variables

Want to reset and recreate admin user?​

Option 1: Delete from database

DELETE FROM users WHERE email = 'admin@emtb.consulting';

Then redeploy the API.

Option 2: Use different email Change SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL to a new email address and redeploy.

Example: Complete Dokploy Setup​

Here's a complete example of environment variables for your API application:

# Database
POSTGRES_HOST=emtb-db-s0tqyd
POSTGRES_PORT=5432
POSTGRES_DB=emtb
POSTGRES_USER=emtb_user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-db-password

# JWT
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret
JWT_REFRESH_SECRET=your-refresh-secret
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=1h
JWT_REFRESH_EXPIRES_IN=7d

# API
PORT=3001
NODE_ENV=production
HUSKY=0
TYPEORM_SYNCHRONIZE=false

# CORS
CORS_ORIGIN=https://app.emtb.consulting

# Email (Brevo)
BREVO_API_KEY=your-brevo-key
BREVO_SENDER_EMAIL=noreply@emtb.consulting
BREVO_SENDER_NAME=EMTB Consulting

# Auto-Seed (⬇️ ADD THESE)
ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=true
SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@emtb.consulting
SEED_ADMIN_PASSWORD=SuperSecurePassword123!

After adding these variables, click "Redeploy" and the admin user will be created automatically!

FAQ​

Q: Will this create duplicate users on every deployment? A: No! The service checks if the user exists first. If it exists, it skips creation.

Q: Can I seed multiple users? A: Currently only one admin user is seeded automatically. You can modify seed.service.ts to add more users if needed.

Q: What happens if I change SEED_ADMIN_EMAIL after the user is created? A: The service will create a NEW admin user with the new email. The old one remains.

Q: Can I use this for test/staging environments? A: Yes! Just set ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=true in those environments too.

Q: Should I keep auto-seed enabled forever? A: It's safe to keep it enabled, but you can disable it after initial setup if you prefer (ENABLE_AUTO_SEED=false).

Need help? Check the API logs in Dokploy for detailed seeding information!