First time registration not showing locally on frontend localhost but a normal logon page

[ritapatel7]

Describe the bug

I have tried to install the github appointment version to start using appointments and have successfully got all the containers running and can see the database empty tables locally.

The github documentation mentions that when viewing localhost frontend first time it will let me register however I only get the normal login page requesting username and password, which fails because I have not had a chance to register.

I have the backend env file as per the readme and added my email address to the env file but not been able to get to the registration page. Could you please guide on this? I have attached screenshots of the backend .env file and error screen on my local. 

Also the backend url only shows text “Health check OK” is that correct?

To Reproduce

Followed the installation readme steps, when accessing http://localhost:8090/ I get a logon screen first time rather than registration and if I add username and password it fails

Expected behavior

Be able to register and create account when accessing frontend localhost first time

Actual behavior

Get a log on screen with access denied

Screenshots

System

Mac M1 pro

• OS: Tahoe 26.4.1 (25E253)
• Browser Version Chrome 147

Additional context

[davinotdavid]

Hi @ritapatel7 !

First of all, thank you so much for trying Appointment locally! May I ask some follow up questions about this?

From the screenshot provided, it seems that there's an error in the login request originating from the backend. I can't seem to reproduce this problem on my end after following the instructions in the README.md so I will need some more information about it.

Could you share the docker logs for the backend container after you press the login button? While having the containers running, you can either use Docker Desktop's GUI to see the logs or running the following in the terminal:

docker logs --tail 20 appointment-backend-1

--

Clarifying some other points:

The APP_ADMIN_ALLOW_LIST env variable is to access an admin panel within Appointment. This is unnecessary for a normal setup / usage as a standard user.

The APP_ALLOW_FIRST_TIME_REGISTER should be True (which is correct in your screenshot), and if you haven't registered (or attempted login) with any users just yet, it allows for any email / password combo to register the first user.

Please take note of the email and password used as extra users cannot be registered the same way. This is the line of code that controls this, in case you are curious.

Also the backend url only shows text “Health check OK” is that correct?

Yes, that's correct!

[ritapatel7]

docker logs --tail 20 appointment-backend-1

Hi @davinotdavid thank you for your response.

Please find below the log from docker for backend
INFO:     Application startup complete.

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - HTTP connection made

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [2] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5001), 'client': ('185.199.110.133', 28646), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'GET', 'path': '/', 'raw_path': b'/', 'query_string': b''}

INFO:     185.199.110.133:28646 - "GET / HTTP/1.1" 200 OK

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [2] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 200, 'headers': '<...>'}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [2] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<11 bytes>', 'more_body': True}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [2] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [2] Completed

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [3] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5001), 'client': ('185.199.110.133', 28646), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'GET', 'path': '/favicon.ico', 'raw_path': b'/favicon.ico', 'query_string': b''}

INFO:     185.199.110.133:28646 - "GET /favicon.ico HTTP/1.1" 404 Not Found

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [3] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 404, 'headers': '<...>'}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [3] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<22 bytes>', 'more_body': True}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [3] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - ASGI [3] Completed

TRACE:    185.199.110.133:28646 - HTTP connection lost

Also just to let you know I had to change all references to port 5000 to 5001 on my local as 5000 was not working for me.
In the logs I do notice that it skips 'First time set up' saying I've set up before even though I haven't. I have tried to delete and prune everything in my docker and tried building again but still same thing. I've only ever seen a logon step not a register step.
Thank you

[davinotdavid]

@ritapatel7 Thanks for the reply!

Also just to let you know I had to change all references to port 5000 to 5001 on my local as 5000 was not working for me.

If the port 5000 was not working for you, it seems like there was something else using it. Potentially a different application or docker container? To narrow the docker / ports configuration problem, I would highly recommend to make sure that you don't have any other applications using the ports specified in the README.md and then deleting all containers and volumes and starting again. Changing ports is fine but deviating from the instructions will make it significantly harder for me to help and know your specific case / configuration.

Just in case, to delete all the containers and volumes, while in the appointment folder:

docker compose down -v

and then

docker compose up -d --build

I've only ever seen a logon step not a register step.

Sorry perhaps I should have clarified this a bit better. There is no dedicated register page / step that reads "Sign up" or "Register" at the moment. You should still see a login step only – the difference here is that you can login with any email and password if you have not done so yet and that will be your first and only user.

[ritapatel7]

@ritapatel7 Thanks for the reply!

Also just to let you know I had to change all references to port 5000 to 5001 on my local as 5000 was not working for me.

If the port 5000 was not working for you, it seems like there was something else using it. Potentially a different application or docker container? To narrow the docker / ports configuration problem, I would highly recommend to make sure that you don't have any other applications using the ports specified in the README.md and then deleting all containers and volumes and starting again. Changing ports is fine but deviating from the instructions will make it significantly harder for me to help and know your specific case / configuration.

Just in case, to delete all the containers and volumes, while in the appointment folder:

docker compose down -v

and then

docker compose up -d --build

I've only ever seen a logon step not a register step.

Sorry perhaps I should have clarified this a bit better. There is no dedicated register page / step that reads "Sign up" or "Register" at the moment. You should still see a login step only – the difference here is that you can login with any email and password if you have not done so yet and that will be your first and only user.

Hi @davinotdavid
I searched what was using port 5000 and it was one of the Mac's app that automatically gets assigned to 5000. I have disabled this and now using all the original settings and port 5000. Now I can see first time set up in the backend logs on docker but getting a different error. Now when I log on on localhost:8090 instead of "something went wrong" it says "The provided credentials are not valid."

See logs below, any idea?

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:56898 - HTTP connection lost

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:48254 - HTTP connection lost

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - HTTP connection made

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - ASGI [6] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5000), 'client': ('185.199.108.133', 46112), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'GET', 'path': '/session-info', 'raw_path': b'/session-info', 'query_string': b''}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - ASGI [6] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 200, 'headers': '<...>'}

INFO:     185.199.108.133:46112 - "GET /session-info HTTP/1.1" 200 OK

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - ASGI [6] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<4 bytes>', 'more_body': True}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - ASGI [6] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - ASGI [6] Completed

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:46112 - HTTP connection lost

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - HTTP connection made

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5000), 'client': ('185.199.108.133', 47290), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'POST', 'path': '/can-login', 'raw_path': b'/can-login', 'query_string': b''}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Receive {'type': 'http.request', 'body': '<39 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 200, 'headers': '<...>'}

INFO:     185.199.108.133:47290 - "POST /can-login HTTP/1.1" 200 OK

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<4 bytes>', 'more_body': True}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [7] Completed

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5000), 'client': ('185.199.108.133', 47290), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'POST', 'path': '/token', 'raw_path': b'/token', 'query_string': b''}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Receive {'type': 'http.request', 'body': '<278 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

INFO:     185.199.108.133:47290 - "POST /token HTTP/1.1" 403 Forbidden

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 403, 'headers': '<...>'}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<52 bytes>', 'more_body': True}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False}

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - ASGI [8] Completed

TRACE:    185.199.108.133:47290 - HTTP connection lost

[davinotdavid]

@ritapatel7 Hi! Sorry for the super long delay on replying 🙇

From the logs you've provided, unfortunately I don't see anything in particular that points us to what's been going wrong.

However, since you've mentioned that you are having the error "The provided credentials are not valid." instead of Something went wrong makes me believe that we are progressing! This means that we are correctly connecting front end and back end together. Usually, this means that somehow you already have a user in your DB so may I ask you to check if your Subscriber table in your PostgreSQL is empty?

As I've mentioned before, for the very first user only, you can login with any email / password combo and that will create that user for you. You do need to remember exactly what has been inputted though! When in doubt, delete all containers and volumes (the -v option in docker compose down -v).

Regardless of the outcome, I'd also like to invite you to our official Matrix channel where you can be updated on all the latest discussions around Appointment (and much more!), chat with the team and the community directly.

Here's a link to it: https://matrix.to/#/#tb-services:mozilla.org

[ritapatel7]

Hi Thank you for the matric link, will look into this. Re appointment installation, I have checked the db and there is no subscriber even though it says "The provided credentials are not valid." See screenshot of subscriber table attached. Also below is the logs from my terminal when trying to log in, if that is any help Attaching to backend-1, celery-flower-1, celery-worker-1, frontend-1, mailpit-1, postgresql-1, redis-1 backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - HTTP connection made backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5000), 'client': ('185.199.110.133', 44433), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'POST', 'path': '/can-login', 'raw_path': b'/can-login', 'query_string': b''} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Receive {'type': 'http.request', 'body': '<39 bytes>', 'more_body': False} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 200, 'headers': '<...>'} backend-1 | INFO: 185.199.110.133:44433 - "POST /can-login HTTP/1.1" 200 OK backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<4 bytes>', 'more_body': True} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Started scope={'type': 'http', 'asgi': {'version': '3.0', 'spec_version': '2.3'}, 'http_version': '1.1', 'server': ('172.18.0.6', 5000), 'client': ('185.199.110.133', 44433), 'scheme': 'http', 'root_path': '', 'headers': '<...>', 'state': {}, 'method': 'POST', 'path': '/token', 'raw_path': b'/token', 'query_string': b''} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Receive {'type': 'http.request', 'body': '<274 bytes>', 'more_body': False} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [11] Completed backend-1 | INFO: 185.199.110.133:44433 - "POST /token HTTP/1.1" 403 Forbidden backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Send {'type': 'http.response.start', 'status': 403, 'headers': '<...>'} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<52 bytes>', 'more_body': True} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Send {'type': 'http.response.body', 'body': '<0 bytes>', 'more_body': False} backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - ASGI [12] Completed backend-1 | TRACE: 185.199.110.133:44433 - HTTP connection lost postgresql-1 | 2026-05-18 14:01:20.748 UTC [61] LOG: checkpoint starting: time postgresql-1 | 2026-05-18 14:01:22.430 UTC [61] LOG: checkpoint complete: wrote 16 buffers (0.1%); 0 WAL file(s) added, 0 removed, 0 recycled; write=1.659 s, sync=0.006 s, total=1.683 s; sync files=5, longest=0.005 s, average=0.002 s; distance=28 kB, estimate=976 kB; lsn=0/1A2B248, redo lsn=0/1A2B1F0 Thanks Rita ***@***.***?anonymous&ep=bwmEmailSignature> Book time to meet with ***@***.***?anonymous&ep=bwmEmailSignature>

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________________________________ From: Davi Nakano ***@***.***> Sent: 15 May 2026 16:57 To: thunderbird/appointment ***@***.***> Cc: Rita Patel ***@***.***>; Mention ***@***.***> Subject: Newsletter: Re: [thunderbird/appointment] First time registration not showing locally on frontend localhost but a normal logon page (Issue #1665) [https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/114549747?s=20&v=4]davinotdavid left a comment (thunderbird/appointment#1665)<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wm3gwfHrxsu5WERCZif?h=49g106z8alIFW1uib-ZEIhXyAI725NHriEOhuoQT634=&u=https://github.com/thunderbird/appointment/issues/1665%23issuecomment-4461285503> @ritapatel7<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wkxrkNqFHHV8gJseAa3?h=O2xiOsG75PZFq2ut53JHu-eCI3BNeAOEss8_3cdgphk=&u=https://github.com/ritapatel7> Hi! Sorry for the super long delay on replying 🙇 From the logs you've provided, unfortunately I don't see anything in particular that points us to what's been going wrong. However, since you've mentioned that you are having the error "The provided credentials are not valid." instead of Something went wrong makes me believe that we are progressing! This means that we are correctly connecting front end and back end together. Usually, this means that somehow you already have a user in your DB so may I ask you to check if your Subscriber table in your PostgreSQL is empty? As I've mentioned before, for the very first user only, you can login with any email / password combo and that will create that user for you. You do need to remember exactly what has been inputted though! When in doubt, delete all containers and volumes (the -v option in docker compose down -v). Regardless of the outcome, I'd also like to invite you to our official Matrix channel where you can be updated on all the latest discussions around Appointment (and much more!), chat with the team and the community directly. Here's a link to it: https://matrix.to/#/#tb-services:mozilla.org<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wm8X8wkUeUK2L9xkxsH?h=zTe6WUJ1h0_wH8U6sqOQ4KrI6iBzmXXqa_R3nOuZFOY=&u=https://matrix.to/%23/%23tb-services:mozilla.org> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wm3gwfHrxsu5WERCZif?h=49g106z8alIFW1uib-ZEIhXyAI725NHriEOhuoQT634=&u=https://github.com/thunderbird/appointment/issues/1665%23issuecomment-4461285503>, or unsubscribe<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wkt2Z6Ndbh5BrPL5mRR?h=vEaY4fBqNsJTuHl-iB4SJh70kTZeTjWMlW53Sm-QbYo=&u=https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AIOXTQODX2462PUQIXI3KCL42445TAVCNFSM6AAAAACYSZXSN6VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DINRRGI4DKNJQGM>. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wkoCMov1v6fF2TnXNGo?h=sFWdameZ3ljD3s_1XW2KBtvLUVI3VM1A0rDqq6ZkTsI=&u=https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct%3Dnotification-email%26mt%3D8%26pt%3D524675> or Android<https://clicktime.symantec.com/15wmDMLED6L4iyA5WKN1u?h=v3FuSOyLxM_Nhcp6LAJ0WiN_flo5232BqjphcjMvm24=&u=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id%3Dcom.github.android%26referrer%3Dutm_campaign%253Dnotification-email%2526utm_medium%253Demail%2526utm_source%253Dgithub>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***> This email is confidential and may also be privileged. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and remove it from your system. Please note that Barnardo's monitors email communications. Barnardo's is a charity (216250 and SC037605) and a company limited by guarantee (61625 England) Registered Office: Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, IG6 1QG

[devmount]

@ritapatel7 I tested this again on my end. I ran

docker compose down -v
docker compose up

and opened http://localhost:8090/login. I entered random credentials and was redirected to http://localhost:8090/setup. After clicking through the setup wizard, I got redirected to the dashboard. So this flow should work with the current main branch.

My guess is something about the backend/.env maybe. Did you set JWT_SECRET (can be any string) and SIGNED_SECRET (can be generated by openssl rand -hex 32)? Is APP_SETUP=True?