Signing in
This guide covers getting into the Coldsea Deploy web app: signing in, the two-factor setup and account setup you complete once, and how to get back in if you lose the device holding your authenticator app.
Before you start
You need an account and an authenticator app.
Most accounts are created from an invitation. If you do not have one yet, ask an administrator at your company to invite you.
Two-factor authentication is required. You cannot reach the app without it, so have an authenticator app ready on your phone or desktop before you begin. Any app supporting standard time-based one-time passwords will work.
No particular plan or role is needed to sign in. What you can do once you are in depends on the permissions your organization gave you.
Sign in
- 1
Open the sign-in page
Go to the Coldsea Deploy web app. If you are not already signed in, the sign-in page appears.
- 2
Enter your email and password
Fill in Email Address and Password.
- 3
Add your authentication code
Open your authenticator app and enter the current 6-digit code in Authentication code.
The field is labeled "(if enrolled)" because it stays on screen for everyone. Leave it empty if you have not set up two-factor authentication yet. You are taken to setup immediately after signing in.
- 4
Decide whether to stay signed in
Select Remember me to stay signed in on this browser for up to 7 days. Leave it clear and your session lasts around a day.
- 5
Select Login
The button reads "Signing in..." while the request is in flight.
If you belong to one organization you land on your dashboard. If you belong to several, you pick one first. If your account is not set up yet, you go to account setup first (see Finish setting up your account).
On a shared or public computer, leave Remember me clear and sign out when you finish rather than closing the tab.
Set up two-factor authentication
The first time you sign in without two-factor authentication, Coldsea Deploy takes you to the setup page. There is no way past it. You cannot use the rest of the app until you finish.
- 1
Scan the QR code
On the Set up two-factor authentication page, scan the QR code with your authenticator app.
If you cannot scan it, use the code under Or enter the secret manually and type it into your app instead.
- 2
Confirm with a code
Enter the current 6-digit code from your authenticator app in Authentication code and select Verify. The button stays disabled until you have entered all six digits.
If the code is rejected you see "That code did not match. Try again." Codes rotate every 30 seconds, so wait for a fresh one rather than retyping the same digits.
- 3
Save your recovery codes
Coldsea Deploy shows 8 recovery codes, each 10 characters long. Save them with the copy button or Download .txt, store them somewhere safe, then tick I've saved these codes in a safe place and select Continue.
Recovery codes are shown once and never again. Each one works a single time. Store them somewhere you can reach without your phone, such as a password manager or a locked drawer, and not only on the device holding your authenticator app.
Finish setting up your account
After two-factor setup, Coldsea Deploy asks for the few things your account needs: your name and, unless you already belong to one, an organization. Anything you have already done is not asked again, so if you were invited you only see the profile step, or nothing at all.
- 1
Complete your profile
Enter your First Name and Last Name and select Continue. The rest of the fields are optional.
Not ready? Select Skip for now.
- 2
Choose how to get started
If you are not in an organization yet, choose Create your own organization, Join an existing organization (with a join code from an administrator), or Decide later. Creating one takes you through naming it and choosing a plan.
If an organization has already invited you, the invitation is listed above these choices. Select Accept to join it. Joining an organization covers each option.
- 3
Continue into the app
The last screen sums up what was set up. Select Continue to go to your dashboard, or to My Organizations if you are not in an organization yet.
Select Back at the top left to return to an earlier step, for example to change your mind between creating and joining. Back is not offered once an organization has been created or a join request has been sent, since those cannot be taken back here.
Skipping is remembered. A step you skip, or the organization choice you put off with Decide later, does not come back when you next sign in. Finish it whenever you are ready: open Get Started in the sidebar while you have no organization, create or join an organization from My Organizations, or, once you are in an organization, update your name under Settings, then Preferences.
If you leave partway through without skipping, for example by closing the tab, the next time you sign in you are brought back to whatever you have not finished yet.
Sign in when you have lost your authenticator
Use one of the recovery codes you saved during setup.
- 1
Switch the field to recovery mode
On the sign-in page, select Use a recovery code below the code field. The field changes to accept a 10-character recovery code instead of a 6-digit one.
To switch back, select Use authenticator code.
- 2
Sign in with the code
Enter your email, your password, and one unused recovery code, then select Login.
- 3
Cross the code off your list
That code is now spent and will not work again. You have 7 left unless you have used others already.
You are signed in, but your account is still paired to the device you lost. Set up two-factor authentication again on a new device as soon as you can.
If you have no recovery codes left, see Sign-in problems for what to do next.
Signing out
Use the sign-out control at the top right of any page.
Related
- Sign-in problems for what each error message means.
- Run your first deployment