First Run¶

Administrator setup¶

On the first start with an empty database, CaddyBuddy asks you to create the administrator password in the browser. The username is admin.

The password must include:

• at least eight characters;
• an uppercase letter;
• a lowercase letter;
• a digit;
• a special character.

Onboarding modes¶

The wizard supports Caddy running on the same host, in Docker, or being prepared for later installation. Available actions depend on whether CaddyBuddy can reach the Admin API and read or write the configured Caddyfile.

Existing configuration¶

When importing an existing Caddyfile, CaddyBuddy checks the file, creates a backup during takeover, and switches management to its generated configuration.

Fresh baseline¶

The default baseline includes:

• global JSON runtime logging with rotation;
• reusable standard and strict security-header snippets;
• the global ACME email once configured.

Admin API repair¶

For supported host deployments, the wizard can add the Admin API directive to the Caddyfile and restart Caddy after explicit confirmation.

After onboarding¶

Use Settings to configure the Caddy Admin URL, mounted Caddyfile path, rate limiting, SSL Labs registration, and rank-history retention.

Then create the first site under Sites or review the generated configuration under Caddyfile.