Set up your first site

Set up your first site

By the end of this tutorial you will have an organisation, a first site, and a teammate invited — everything you need to pair your first gateway and add cameras. This guide covers the first-run setup wizard on a self-hosted NovaVMS deployment.

Preview

This page documents a feature that is under active UI polish. Screenshots are placeholders until the Phase 1 capture pass completes.

What you will need

• The URL of your NovaVMS deployment. For a local Docker Compose install this is usually http://localhost:8090.
• The email address you want on the owner account.
• An AI provider API key if you plan to use Gemini or OpenAI. You can skip this step and add a key later.
• A storage bucket if you plan to use GCS or S3. MinIO is bundled with Docker Compose and needs no setup.

Step 1 — Open NovaVMS in your browser

1. Go to your deployment URL.
2. NovaVMS detects there is no admin account and redirects you to /setup.
3. You land on Step 1 of the setup wizard.

Step 2 — Create the owner account

1. Enter the owner email, a strong password, and a display name.
2. Confirm the password.
3. Click Next.

NovaVMS creates the owner user plus a default organisation and signs you in. You now hold the Owner role, which is immutable until a Transfer Ownership flow completes.

Step 3 — Pick your AI provider

1. Choose Gemini (recommended default), OpenAI, or Ollama if you run a local model.
2. Paste the API key, or enter your Ollama server URL.
3. Click Test Connection. A green checkmark means NovaVMS can reach the provider.
4. Click Next.

Note

You can change your AI provider later from org settings. See Configure org policies.

Step 4 — Pick your storage

1. Choose MinIO (bundled with Docker Compose), Google Cloud Storage, or Amazon S3.
2. If MinIO is detected, the fields come pre-filled — just click Test Connection.
3. For GCS or S3, paste your bucket name and credentials, then click Test Connection.
4. Click Next.

Note

You can change your storage provider later. See Configure org policies.

Step 5 — Create your first site

1. Enter a site name — the physical location these cameras live in, like Main Office or Warehouse.
2. Enter the site address (optional).
3. Pick a timezone. NovaVMS defaults to your browser’s timezone.
4. Click Next.

Step 6 — Finish and invite your first teammate

1. The wizard runs a health check on the database, storage, and AI provider. Three green checkmarks mean you are ready.
2. Click Finish Setup. NovaVMS drops you on the dashboard.
3. Click Admin → Users in the left nav.
4. Click Create User.
5. Enter the teammate’s email, pick a role (Admin, Operator, or Viewer), and click Create.

You have finished

Your organisation is live, your first site exists, and one teammate has an account. Next, you may want to:

• Pair your first gateway — ships in Phase 2. Until then, add a direct-RTSP camera via Add your first camera.
• Add your first camera
• Manage site access

If this didn’t work

• If the storage Test Connection fails, check your bucket name and access key, then retry. For MinIO on Docker Compose, the defaults should work out of the box.
• If the AI Test Connection fails, confirm your API key is active and your deployment can reach the provider’s endpoint. You can click Skip and configure AI later.