This guide is for event organizers and ops teams running a Turnpike instance. For installation and deployment, see [INSTALLATION.md](INSTALLATION.md).
## First Login
On first startup with `TURNPIKE_ADMIN_USER` and `TURNPIKE_ADMIN_PASSWORD` set, Turnpike creates a bootstrap admin account. Log in at `https://your-instance/` with those credentials.
After logging in, create accounts for your team under **Users**. Each user gets a username, password, and role. The admin bootstrap credentials are only used on initial setup — they have no effect on subsequent restarts.
## User Roles
| Role | What they see | What they can do |
|------|--------------|------------------|
| **admin** | All pages + Settings | Everything: attendee import, user management, SMTP config, departments, shifts, volunteers |
| **gate** | Full-screen Gate UI | Check in attendees (search + QR scan). No access to other pages |
Ticketing and ops staff should use the **admin** role. The `ticketing` role exists in the codebase but is effectively unused — admin covers all ticketing functions.
Volunteer leads are scoped to a single department. When creating a volunteer_lead user, assign their department.
## Event Setup
1.**Configure your event** — go to the Dashboard and set the event name and dates.
2.**Create departments** — under Departments, add each department your event needs (e.g., Gate, Greeters, Rangers, Build, LNT).
Turnpike provides a public signup form for volunteers at `/#/volunteer-signup`. No login is required.
### Signup flow
1. Volunteer visits the signup form and fills in: preferred name (required), ticket name, email (required), pronouns, phone, department preference, and an optional note.
2. Turnpike creates a volunteer record and auto-links it to an existing attendee by email match, or creates a new attendee record.
3. A confirmation email is sent with a unique link (`/#/confirm/{token}`).
4. The volunteer clicks the link to confirm their email.
5. If shift signups are already open, the confirmation page includes a link to the kiosk for shift selection.
Duplicate signups with the same email silently succeed — no error is shown and no duplicate is created. This prevents email enumeration.
### Configuring the signup form
In **Settings**, the "Volunteer Signup" card controls:
- **Note field label** — customize the label shown on the form (default: "Additional note")
- **Note field required** — when checked, volunteers must fill in the note to submit
### Opening shift signups
In **Settings**, the "Shift Signups" card has an open/close toggle:
- **Opening** signups generates kiosk tokens for all confirmed volunteers and emails them their shift signup links. A confirmation dialog warns before sending.
- **Closing** signups prevents new kiosk links from being issued on confirmation, but existing links continue to work.
If a volunteer confirms their email while signups are already open, they receive their kiosk link immediately in the confirmation response and via email.
- Link a volunteer to an existing attendee record (for dual check-in at the gate)
- Assign volunteers to departments
- Check in volunteers
Volunteers are separate from attendees. A person can be both an attendee (ticket holder) and a volunteer (shift worker). Linking them enables the gate team to check in both records simultaneously.
From the Schedule page, assign volunteers to shifts. Turnpike checks for conflicts — if a volunteer already has a shift on the same day with overlapping times, you'll see a warning and can choose to force the assignment.
The kiosk lets volunteers self-select shifts without logging in.
### Setup
1.**Generate tokens** — on the Attendees page, click "Generate Tokens." This creates a unique 8-character code for every attendee that doesn't have one.
2.**Distribute tokens** — two options:
- **Export CSV** — downloads a file with columns `Email Address`, `First Name`, `Token`, `Signup Link`. Import this into MailChimp, Zeffy, or any email platform.
- **Email directly** — if SMTP is configured (see below), use "Email All" to send token links, or email individually per attendee.
3.**Set base URL** — in Settings, set the public base URL (e.g., `https://turnpike.example.com`). Token links use this URL.
### Volunteer experience
Each volunteer receives a link like `https://turnpike.example.com/#/v/ABC12345`. This opens a mobile-friendly page showing:
- Their name and department
- Currently assigned shifts
- Available shifts with remaining capacity
Claiming a shift checks for time conflicts. If a conflict exists, the volunteer sees which shifts overlap and can confirm to proceed anyway.
No login is required. The 8-character token authenticates the request.
### Token format
Tokens use the character set `A-Z, 2-9` (excluding 0/O, 1/I/L to avoid ambiguity when reading aloud or on printed badges).
## Gate Check-In
Users with the **gate** role see a dedicated full-screen UI:
- **QR scanner** — uses the device camera via the BarcodeDetector API. Scanned codes populate the search field.
- **Search** — type a name to filter attendees in real-time (searches local IndexedDB, works offline).
- **Party check-in** — for attendees with `party_size > 1`, the gate UI shows progress ("2/3 checked in") and offers "Check in 1" or "Check in all remaining."
- **Volunteer dual check-in** — if an attendee is linked to a volunteer record, the gate UI shows their volunteer status and offers to check in both simultaneously.
- **Recent check-ins** — the last 10 check-ins are shown for quick reference.
Gate devices should install Turnpike as a PWA (Add to Home Screen) for the best experience. Check-ins are stored locally and sync when connectivity is available.
SMTP enables token email distribution and test emails. Configure in **Settings** (admin only):
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| SMTP Host | Mail server hostname (e.g., `smtp.fastmail.com`) |
| SMTP Port | `587` for STARTTLS (default), `465` for implicit TLS |
| SMTP User | Login username |
| SMTP Password | Login password |
| From Address | Sender email address |
| From Name | Sender display name |
After saving, use "Send Test Email" to verify the configuration.
SMTP can also be set via CLI flags (`--smtp-host`, etc.) which override database values.
## Offline Mode
Turnpike is a Progressive Web App (PWA). After the first load, it works offline:
- **Gate check-ins** are stored in the browser's IndexedDB and sync when connectivity returns.
- **Real-time updates** use Server-Sent Events (SSE). When the connection drops, the client reconnects automatically.
- **Sync** pulls all changes from the server on startup and periodically thereafter. Local changes are queued in an outbox and flushed in order.
Install Turnpike as a PWA (Add to Home Screen on mobile, or Install App in desktop Chrome) for the best offline experience.
## CSV Exports
Two CSV exports are available from the Attendees page:
- **Attendee export** — all attendee records with check-in status
- **Token link export** — columns: `Email Address`, `First Name`, `Token`, `Signup Link`. Only includes attendees with tokens. Compatible with MailChimp and Zeffy for bulk email campaigns.