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Desktop app first run: sign in with the browser (or paste an API key)

You might be here because: “the app says waiting for browser confirmation forever” · “sign in with browser didn’t open anything” · “authorization expired, click sign in with browser to try again” · “where do I enter the verification code” · “do I need a license key” · “cloud or self-hosted, which do I pick” · “setup wizard stuck / can’t get past sign in” · “how do I log in to the app” · “just installed, what now” · “download the app” · “browser sign-in is not set up on this server”

Short answer

There is no license key to buy or find. On first launch, choose Cloud or Self-hosted, then click Sign in with browser: the app opens the dashboard, shows you a short verification code, and waits. Enter the code in the browser, confirm, and the app continues on its own — the app gets its own API key for your account, saved securely on this computer. Pasting an API key is the fallback, not the normal path.

Check first

  • Do you have a dashboard account and a verified email? Browser sign-in signs into that account.
  • Did the browser open? If not, the wizard offers Paste an API key instead after a short wait.
  • Is the code you typed the one currently shown in the app? Never share it with someone who contacted you.

Likely causes and fixes

  1. “Waiting for you to confirm in the browser…” doesn’t finish. The app polls every 2 seconds for up to 5 minutes. Finish in the browser: sign in, enter the code, confirm. The app updates automatically.
  2. “Authorization expired. Click “Sign in with browser” to try again.” More than 5 minutes passed, or the server marked the code expired. Click the button again for a fresh code.
  3. Browser tab never opened. Wait for the “Taking a while?” hint, then either retry or Paste an API key instead — create one in the dashboard’s API keys page.
  4. “This server does not support secure browser sign-in.” Self-hosted: the server is older than the app. Update both, or paste a key made on that server.
  5. “Browser sign-in is not set up on this server. Paste an API key made on this server instead, or ask the server admin to set MFA_ENCRYPTION_KEY and restart the server.” Self-hosted servers only. That server was started without MFA_ENCRYPTION_KEY, so it has no browser sign-in, and Try again gives the same answer (no browser tab opens) until the server’s admin sets the key and restarts the server. To sign in now, click Have an API key? Paste it instead and paste a key made in that server’s dashboard. If you run the server: set MFA_ENCRYPTION_KEY in the server’s environment to 32 random bytes, base64-encoded (44 characters), for example the output of node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('base64'))", then restart the server. If the value does not decode to exactly 32 bytes, the server refuses to start. Keep that value once set: the server encrypts other stored secrets with it too (such as two-factor sign-in secrets and saved provider keys), and changing it later makes those stored secrets unreadable: everyone using two-factor sign-in must set it up again, and saved provider keys must be entered again. The server’s own answer (in its logs, or to a direct API call) starts “CLI authorization is not configured on this server.” Older versions of the app may instead say “The service is temporarily unavailable. Try again shortly.” for the same server state; the fixes above are the same. If you see this sentence on Cloud, it is a fault on our side: press Talk to a person.
  6. “The server’s sign-in page address wasn’t one this app expects, so it wasn’t opened.” Check the server address in Settings, or paste a key.
  7. “Authorized, but the API key couldn’t be saved. Check system credential access and try again.” The browser step worked; the computer’s secure storage refused the save. See App can’t use the computer’s secure storage.
  8. “Device verification code does not match.” You typed a different code than the app shows; retry with the current one.
  9. Wrong deployment picked. Cloud uses Driftstack’s server; self-hosted is your own URL. A cloud key never works on a self-hosted server and vice versa.

If it still fails

Press Talk to a person in this chat (or open Help) and include the exact sentence in the wizard, cloud or self-hosted, and the app version from Settings. Nothing here needs a person unless your dashboard account itself can’t sign in.