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nexusprism.org Community Extensions
Nexus Nexus

First-time setup

import { Steps } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

When you open Nexus in a browser for the first time after installation, you’ll be presented with a three-step setup wizard. This wizard runs once and cannot be accessed again after it completes.

The setup wizard

Section titled “The setup wizard”

  1. Step 1 — Site information

    Enter your forum’s name and a short description.

    • Site name — displayed in the browser tab, the sidebar logo area, and email notifications. Defaults to Nexus if left blank.
    • Site description — a short tagline shown in meta tags and the default email footer.

    Both can be changed later from the admin panel under Admin → General.

  2. Step 2 — Admin account

    Create the first user account. Because no users exist yet, this account is automatically assigned the admin role.

    • Email — must be a valid email address, maximum 160 characters. Used for login and notifications.
    • Username — 3 to 30 characters. Letters, numbers, and underscores only (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _).
    • Password — minimum 8 characters, maximum 72 characters.

  3. Step 3 — Registration settings

    Configure how new members can join.

    • Allow public registration — if enabled, anyone can create an account. If disabled, registration is closed and only admins can create accounts.
    • Require email verification — if enabled, new registrations must confirm their email address before they can post. Only meaningful if you have email delivery configured.

    Both settings can be changed at any time from Admin → Registration.

Once Step 3 is submitted, the wizard marks setup as complete and you are taken to the forum. The setup wizard cannot be accessed again.

What’s created automatically

Section titled “What’s created automatically”

When Nexus boots for the first time and runs database migrations, it seeds the following default content:

Spaces (sub-forums):

  • General
  • Development
  • Help
  • Showcase
  • Meta

Tags:

  • announcement, question, tutorial, discussion, feedback, bug, feature

Pages:

  • Privacy Policy (placeholder template)
  • Terms of Service (placeholder template)

These are starting points. Spaces, tags, and pages can all be created, edited, and deleted from the admin panel.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”

After setup is complete, a few things are worth doing before opening your forum to the public:

  • Configure email delivery — without this, password resets and email verification won’t work. See Email setup.
  • Review your registration settings — if your forum isn’t ready for public signups yet, disable open registration under Admin → Registration.
  • Update the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service — the seeded pages contain placeholder templates. Edit them under Admin → Pages before making the forum public.
  • Customise branding — set a logo, accent color, and theme under Admin → Appearance.