Post-Setup Steps

Table of Contents

After the setup wizard is finished, LinkAce can save links immediately. Use this checklist to enable the features most users expect: correct generated URLs, email, cron, backups, visibility defaults, imports, and the Bookmarklet.

If you want a guided first session after completing these checks, continue with First Steps After Setup.

Post-Setup Checklist

1. Set APP_URL

Set APP_URL in your .env file or environment variables to the exact URL users open in the browser.

APP_URL=https://links.example.com

This value is used for generated links, emails, trusted host checks, and reverse-proxy setups. If LinkAce shows 400 Bad Request or generates wrong URLs, start with Troubleshooting.

2. Configure Mail

Email is needed for password resets, user invitations, dead-link notifications, and backup notifications.

Configure the mail variables in .env or your environment. The full list is available in Advanced Settings.

Common SMTP settings:

MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=[email protected]
MAIL_FROM_NAME=LinkAce
MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=smtp.example.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=[email protected]
MAIL_PASSWORD=change-me
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

3. Test Mail

Run the mail check command:

# Docker
docker compose exec app php artisan mail:check

# PHP installation
php artisan mail:check

If the test fails, see Troubleshooting Mail.

4. Configure Cron

Cron is required for imports, automated link checks, Wayback Machine backups, and application backups.

Open System Settings from the user menu. The System Cron section shows the cron token and cron URL.

Your cron must run every minute. See System Settings for examples.

You can test one scheduler run manually:

# Docker
docker compose exec app php artisan schedule:run

# PHP installation
php artisan schedule:run

5. Configure Backups

Exports are not full backups. Configure application backups if you want a recovery path for the database and application data.

See Application Backups for local and S3-compatible backup setup.

6. Choose Guest Access

Open System Settings and decide whether guests should be able to browse public links, lists, and tags.

Leave guest access disabled if LinkAce should be private. If you enable it, review which links, lists, and tags are public.

See Guest Access and Settings.

7. Choose Default Visibility

Open User Settings and choose default visibility for new links, lists, tags, and notes.

For a private archive, set defaults to Private. For a shared team instance, Internal may be more useful. You can still change visibility per item while creating or editing it.

See User Settings: Privacy Settings.

If you already have bookmarks, import an HTML bookmark export from your browser. See Import Browser Bookmarks.

If you want to save pages while browsing, install the Bookmarklet from User Settings. See Bookmarklet.

Security Tips

  • If you expose LinkAce to the internet, configure your reverse proxy or web server carefully and set APP_URL correctly.
  • Metadata is not fetched for private IP ranges by default. Only enable META_ALLOW_PRIVATE_IP_RANGES for trusted private deployments. See Troubleshooting Metadata.
  • Keep backups and .env secrets out of public directories and source control.