Admin Dashboard Overview

The admin dashboard provides a centralized interface for configuring your self-hosted Hawkra instance. All platform settings are managed through a single page at /admin/settings, organized into logical categories for easy navigation.

Accessing the Admin Dashboard

1. Log in to your Hawkra instance with an admin account.
2. Navigate to /admin/settings directly, or click Settings in the admin sidebar.

The admin sidebar provides access to all administrative sections:

Section	Description
Dashboard	Platform overview and statistics
License	License status, upload, and instance ID
Users	User management (create, edit, delete, reset passwords)
Workspaces	Workspace management and oversight
Settings	Platform configuration (this page)

A Back to App link at the bottom of the sidebar returns you to the main application dashboard.

Configuration Categories

The settings page organizes all configurable options into 8 categories, each displayed as a collapsible card with an icon and title:

Category	Icon	Description
Scanning	Radar	Nmap installation and network scanning (self-hosted only)
Platform Settings	Settings	Platform name, support email, and general configuration
Access Control	Shield	Registration and email verification toggles
Email (SMTP)	Mail	SMTP server configuration for email notifications
AI Configuration	Brain	LLM mode, model selection, and API keys
API Keys	Search	Third-party OSINT and enrichment API keys
Storage	HardDrive	File storage backend configuration (local or S3)
Maintenance	AlertTriangle	Maintenance mode and messaging
General	Layers	Backend URL, dashboard layout, and other general settings

Each category contains one or more individual settings displayed as rows within the card.

How Settings Work

Setting Types

Settings come in three value types, each with an appropriate input control:

• String — A text input field for entering freeform values (hostnames, URLs, email addresses, etc.).
• Boolean — A toggle switch for enabling or disabling features.
• Integer — A numeric input field for port numbers and other numeric values.
• Dropdown — Certain settings with predefined options (such as storage backend, LLM mode, SMTP encryption, and Gemini model) display a dropdown selector instead of a text input.

Encrypted Fields

Settings that contain sensitive data (API keys, passwords, secret tokens) are marked with a purple Encrypted badge. These values are encrypted at rest in the database using the platform's encryption service.

When viewing the settings page:

• Encrypted fields display a masked value (••••••••) rather than the actual content.
• A Change button appears next to the masked value.
• Clicking Change opens an editable password input field where you can enter a new value.
• A Cancel button appears to discard the change and return to the masked view.

Encrypted values are only sent to the server when you explicitly click Change, enter a new value, and save. Viewing the page never exposes the actual decrypted content.

Change Detection

The settings page tracks all modifications you make before saving:

• Modified settings display a yellow Modified badge next to the setting name.
• The input field border changes to yellow to visually indicate unsaved changes.
• A floating notification bar appears at the bottom of the screen showing the number of unsaved changes, with a Save button for quick access.
• The Save Changes button in the top-right header shows a count of pending changes (e.g., "Save Changes (3)").

Save and Reset

• Save Changes — Sends all modified settings to the server. Each changed setting is updated individually. On success, a green confirmation banner appears: "Settings saved successfully." On failure, a red error banner displays the error message.
• Reset — Discards all unsaved modifications and restores settings to their last-saved values. This button only appears when there are pending changes.

Settings Resolution Priority

Settings configured through the admin dashboard are stored in the database. However, environment variables defined in your .env file or Docker configuration always take priority. The resolution order is:

1. Environment variable — If the corresponding env var is set and non-empty, it wins.
2. Database value — The value configured through the admin dashboard.
3. Default — The built-in default value (if applicable).

This means you can override any dashboard setting by defining the equivalent environment variable, which is useful for automated deployments or when you want to lock a setting outside the UI.

Last Updated Metadata

Each setting displays metadata showing when it was last updated and by whom. This provides an audit trail of configuration changes:

Last updated: Mar 3, 2026, 10:30 AM by admin@example.com

First-Time Setup

After completing your initial configuration, restart the server to ensure all changes take effect:

cd /opt/hawkra && docker compose restart

note

Some settings (particularly SMTP configuration and storage backend changes) may require a server restart to take full effect. The admin dashboard saves values to the database immediately, but services that cache their configuration at startup will pick up changes on the next restart.