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Bootstrap Root User

Scope

bootstrap controls initialization behavior at startup. It is currently used to create the initial root user automatically.

This configuration should be used for first deployment or unattended initialization. After initialization, production deployments should disable bootstrap.create_root_user to avoid confusion from stale or accidentally changed root password settings.

Complete Example

bootstrap:
  create_root_user: true
  root_username: "root"
  root_email: "admin@example.com"
  root_password_file: "/run/secrets/root_password"

`bootstrap.create_root_user`

Type: boolean.

Default: false.

Purpose: checks at startup whether the initial root user should be created.

Enable it when:

This is the first deployment and an administrator must be created automatically.
Docker Compose or Helm production deployment needs unattended initialization.
Tests or prepared environments need a fixed initialization flow.

Disable it when:

Initialization is already complete.
Root user creation is handled by a separate management process.
The environment does not need a root user.

`bootstrap.root_username`

Type: string.

Default: root.

Purpose: username for the initial root user.

Example:

bootstrap:
  root_username: "admin"

The username is not a secret, but it can appear in audit records, admin UI, and log context. Avoid personal real names.

`bootstrap.root_email`

Type: string.

Default: empty string.

Purpose: email address for the initial root user.

Example:

bootstrap:
  root_email: "admin@example.com"

Set it when:

Email verification, password recovery, or email 2FA is enabled.
The root account should receive system emails.
Your operational process requires administrator accounts to have traceable emails.

If SMTP is not configured yet, leave it empty and add it later in the user profile.

`bootstrap.root_password`

Type: secret string.

Default: empty string.

Purpose: password for the initial root user.

Use a strong password in production, preferably injected from a file or secret:

SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE=/run/secrets/root_password

Generate at least a 16-character random password with a password manager.

Do not use:

admin
password
root
Project or domain names
Fixed values from documentation examples

Environment Variables

Environment variable	Configuration field
`SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_CREATE_ROOT_USER`	`bootstrap.create_root_user`
`SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_ROOT_USERNAME`	`bootstrap.root_username`
`SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_ROOT_EMAIL`	`bootstrap.root_email`
`SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_ROOT_PASSWORD`	`bootstrap.root_password`
`SYNCTV_BOOTSTRAP_ROOT_PASSWORD_FILE`	`bootstrap.root_password` file