planet/docs/technical/en/quickstart.md

Quickstart

This quickstart is for Planet end users who just received an access URL and need the shortest path from "open the browser" to "first useful configuration done". Every action happens in the browser.

If you are responsible for deployment or operations, read the Planet Ops Runbook instead.

1. Open the URL

Open the URL your administrator gave you, e.g. http://planet.example.com. A local demo is usually http://localhost:3000.

Entry points are split in two:

• Public: /earth (3D situational view), /docs (public documentation)
• Login required: /admin (console), /ai (AI), /settings (system configuration)

2. Register

1. Open /login and click "Register" under the form.
2. On /register, fill in username, email, password (≥ 8 characters).
3. After submission, check your inbox for a 6-digit verification code (valid for 10 minutes).
4. Enter the code on the verify page and click "Verify and Sign In". You are taken to the console automatically.

If the email does not arrive:

• Check spam and your enterprise mail gateway
• The "Resend Code" button has a countdown; you can resend once it ends
• A "Email service not configured" message means your administrator has not yet set up SMTP — please ping them

The default role is viewer: you can sign in but only see public pages. For collectors, user management, or system settings, ask the admin to promote your role or add Gatekeeper groups.

3. First Sign-In Checklist

After landing on the /admin dashboard, here's a recommended walk-through:

1. /settings?tab=collector_credentials: pick a collector and click the plug icon to test connectivity. Free collectors (e.g. open BGP) usually work right away; credential-bearing ones like AISStream or BarentsWatch need an API key / client secret first
2. /ai?tab=providers: fill an LLM provider (e.g. minimax / openai), model, base URL, API key, and click the plug at the end of the base URL to test. WebSearch / OCR tools are optional
3. /datasources or /data: check whether the collectors have produced data
4. /alerts/system: verify system alerts look right
5. /users (super_admin only): open accounts for teammates or adjust their groups

4. Open Earth

Visit /earth. This is a public page — no login required.

Once in, verify:

• The globe renders, and the right-side layer panel can toggle layers
• Search finds cables, satellites, compute centers, BGP events
• Compute-center and BGP collector detail cards can collect coordinate candidates and preview them on Earth
• Mouse drag, wheel zoom, and the zoom percentage indicator work
• The settings panel can switch rotate / cruise / motion modes

5. Recover a Lost Password

Open /forgot-password, enter your email, receive a code, then enter the code plus a new password. The same confirmation is shown for unknown emails (to avoid enumeration).

6. Read the Docs

/docs is the docs site. Without login you can read: this Quickstart, the Manual, the FAQ. Authenticated users with docs_user / docs_developer / docs_admin groups see additional technical documents.

Next Steps

• Full UI walkthrough: Planet Manual
• Troubleshooting and configuration questions: FAQ
• Detailed Earth coordinate candidate flow: Earth Location Candidate Collection User Guide
• Deployment / operations commands: Planet Ops Runbook