The Password Pusher Administration Dashboard provides a web-based interface for managing your self-hosted instance. It’s available at /admin and offers direct database access for viewing and managing pushes, users, and system settings.

Version Requirement: Make sure you are running v1.40.3 or newer to have access to the Admin Dashboard.

Prerequisites

To access the Admin dashboard, you must have:

  1. Logins enabled - The dashboard is only available when user logins are enabled (PWP__ENABLE_LOGINS=true)
  2. SMTP configured - Logins require email functionality for account registration and password resets
  3. Administrator account - An account that is registered, confirmed, and marked as “Administrator”

For instructions on enabling logins and configuring SMTP, see Enabling Logins and Email.

Security & Access

Important: Access to the Admin dashboard grants direct access to the application’s database. This includes the ability to view all pushes, user accounts, and system data.

Access is restricted to accounts that you specifically mark as “Administrator”. Make sure to:

  • Only grant administrator privileges to trusted personnel
  • Use strong passwords for administrator accounts
  • Regularly review the list of administrators
  • Consider using two-factor authentication if available

Restrict access to authorized personnel only to prevent unauthorized access and potential security breaches.

Managing Administrators

Administrator accounts can be managed using several methods. Choose the method that best fits your setup:

  • Application Console Commands (Recommended) - Use built-in scripts for easy management
  • Direct Database Access - SQL commands for direct database manipulation
  • Application Console (Older Versions) - Ruby commands for versions prior to v1.51.2

The easiest way to manage administrators is using the built-in command-line scripts. These commands provide a safe and straightforward way to create, promote, demote, and list administrators.

Version Requirement: The following commands were added in v1.51.2. If you are running an older version, see Managing Administrators on Older Versions.

Accessing the Application Console

Open an application shell by accessing the server (or Docker container) where the application code resides.

For Docker installations:

# Find your container ID or name
docker ps

# Access the container shell
docker exec -it <container_id_or_name> bash

# Navigate to the application directory
cd /opt/PasswordPusher

For non-Docker installations:

# Navigate to your application directory
cd /path/to/PasswordPusher

Available Commands

There are four commands available for managing administrators:

Command Description
./bin/create_admin Create a new administrator account
./bin/promote_to_admin Promote an existing user to administrator
./bin/demote_admin Demote an existing administrator
./bin/list_admins List all administrators

Create a New Administrator Account

Creates a new administrator account with the specified email address. The account will be automatically marked as “confirmed” and will not require email confirmation.

./bin/create_admin <email>

Example:

./bin/create_admin admin@example.com

Note: After creating the account, the user will need to set their password. They can do this by:

  1. Using the “Forgot Password” link on the login page
  2. Or you can set an initial password via the database if needed

Promote an Existing User to Administrator

Promotes an existing user account to administrator status. The user must already have a registered account.

./bin/promote_to_admin <email>

Example:

./bin/promote_to_admin user@example.com

Demote an Administrator

Removes administrator privileges from an account. The user account will remain, but will no longer have access to the admin dashboard.

./bin/demote_admin <email>

Example:

./bin/demote_admin user@example.com

List All Administrators

Displays a list of all user accounts that currently have administrator privileges.

./bin/list_admins

Example:

Via Direct Database Access

If you cannot access the application shell or prefer to work directly with the database, you can manage administrators using SQL commands.

Warning: Direct database access requires careful handling. Make sure you understand the database structure and have backups before making changes.

Accessing the Database

For SQLite (default):

# If using Docker
docker exec -it <container_id> sqlite3 /opt/PasswordPusher/db/production.sqlite3

# If using docker-compose
docker compose exec pwpush sqlite3 /opt/PasswordPusher/db/production.sqlite3

For PostgreSQL:

# If using Docker
docker exec -it <postgres_container_id> psql -U <username> -d <database_name>

# Or connect from your host if PostgreSQL is accessible
psql -h <host> -U <username> -d <database_name>

Granting Administrator Privileges

For SQLite:

UPDATE users
SET admin = 1
WHERE email = 'user@example.com';

For PostgreSQL:

UPDATE users
SET admin = true
WHERE email = 'user@example.com';

Revoking Administrator Privileges

For SQLite:

UPDATE users
SET admin = 0
WHERE email = 'user@example.com';

For PostgreSQL:

UPDATE users
SET admin = false
WHERE email = 'user@example.com';

Listing All Administrators

For SQLite:

SELECT email FROM users WHERE admin = 1;

For PostgreSQL:

SELECT email FROM users WHERE admin = true;

Note: The admin column is a boolean. Use 1/0 for SQLite and true/false for PostgreSQL.

On Older Versions of Password Pusher

If you are running a version of Password Pusher prior to v1.51.2, the command-line scripts are not available. Instead, you can use Ruby commands in the application console.

Note: These commands only work on pre-existing user accounts. The user must already be registered in the system.

Accessing the Application Console

For Docker installations:

docker exec -it <container_id> bundle exec rails console

For non-Docker installations:

cd /path/to/PasswordPusher
bundle exec rails console

Granting Administrator Privileges

PasswordPusher.grant_system_admin!('user@example.com')

Revoking Administrator Privileges

PasswordPusher.revoke_system_admin!('user@example.com')

Verifying Administrator Status

user = User.find_by(email: 'user@example.com')
user.admin?  # Returns true if user is an administrator

Accessing the Dashboard

Once you have an administrator account set up:

  1. Log in to your Password Pusher instance with your administrator account
  2. Navigate to /admin in your browser (e.g., https://pwpush.example.com/admin)
  3. You should see the administration dashboard

If you don’t see the dashboard or get an access denied error, verify that:

  • Logins are enabled (PWP__ENABLE_LOGINS=true)
  • Your account is marked as administrator (use ./bin/list_admins to verify)
  • You are logged in with the correct account

See Also

Updated: