The first account can only be made in a 30-minute setup window

Family idea #5105, practice 8 (Scribe #5113), the operator's choice of
setup window over a setup code.

Before this, whoever reached /register first on an empty server became
its admin. On a fresh server at a public address, that could be a
stranger, and a new DNS name is found within minutes.

Now the first registration is refused once 30 minutes have passed since
the server started (create_app records STARTED_AT). A restart opens the
window again. It is a constant rather than a Setting, because there is no
admin yet to change one. Once an account exists it no longer matters, so
existing servers are unaffected. public-hosting.md says so, and two
integration tests cover both sides.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/public-hosting.md

@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ itself: the first account created becomes the admin *and* closes registration be
 it, so there is no window between "my account exists" and "I remembered to turn it
 off". A brand-new instance is never locked out of itself, and never left open either.
 
+**The first account has to be made within 30 minutes of the server starting.** After
+that, `/register` refuses the first account. Otherwise a fresh server on a public
+address would belong to whoever found it first. If you miss the window, restart the
+container and register straight away. Once an account exists, the window no longer
+matters.
+
 **Instances that predate this still need one manual flip.** The close fires when the
 first account is created, so a server whose admin already existed keeps whatever
 `allow_registration` was set to — which was **on** by default. Check **Settings →

src/inkwell/app.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import logging
 import mimetypes
 import os
 import secrets
+import time
 from contextlib import suppress
 from datetime import timedelta
 
@@ -64,6 +65,8 @@ class _AutoSecureSessionInterface(SecureCookieSessionInterface):
 def create_app() -> Quart:
     # static_folder=None: the SPA catch-all below owns static serving.
     app = Quart(__name__, static_folder=None)
+    # When this server started, for the first-account setup window (auth.py).
+    app.config["STARTED_AT"] = time.monotonic()
     # Ephemeral/env secret so the app (and DB-free unit tests) construct without a
     # database. before_serving swaps in the real, DB-persisted key before serving.
     app.secret_key = Config.secret_key_env() or secrets.token_urlsafe(48)

src/inkwell/auth.py

@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import functools
 import logging
+import time
 import uuid
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
-from quart import Blueprint, g, jsonify, request, session
+from quart import Blueprint, current_app, g, jsonify, request, session
 from sqlalchemy import delete, func, select
 
 from .common import iso
@@ -45,6 +46,20 @@ SESSION_KEY = "user_id"
 # no key and reads as 0, the epoch every account started at.
 EPOCH_KEY = "epoch"
 MIN_PASSWORD_LEN = 8
+
+# The first account can only be created this long after the server starts (family
+# idea #5105, practice 8). Without it, a fresh server on a public address belongs to
+# whoever reaches /register first, and a new DNS name is found within minutes.
+#
+# A constant, not a Setting: there is no admin yet to change one. Anyone who misses
+# the window restarts the server, which opens it again; once an account exists the
+# window no longer matters. Measured from `create_app` (STARTED_AT), so each start
+# counts afresh.
+SETUP_WINDOW_S = 30 * 60
+SETUP_CLOSED = (
+    "this server's setup window has closed. Restart the server, then create the "
+    "first account within 30 minutes"
+)
 DEVICE_NAME_CAP = 100
 
 
@@ -228,8 +243,11 @@ async def register():
     async with session_scope() as db:
         user_count = await db.scalar(select(func.count()).select_from(User)) or 0
         is_first = user_count == 0
-        # The first account bootstraps the admin and is always allowed, even when
+        if is_first and time.monotonic() - current_app.config["STARTED_AT"] > SETUP_WINDOW_S:
-        # registration is otherwise closed. After that, an invite lets one person in
+            logger.warning("registration refused (setup window closed) email=%s from=%s", email, client_address())
+            return json_error(SETUP_CLOSED, 403)
+        # The first account bootstraps the admin and is allowed, inside the setup
+        # window above, even when registration is otherwise closed. After that, an invite lets one person in
         # while it is closed (#5172). One that was offered is redeemed even while
         # registration is open, so the list still says who used it, and one that
         # doesn't hold is refused rather than ignored.

tests/test_integration.py

@@ -958,6 +958,28 @@ async def _admin_with_invite(app_client, **body) -> str:
     return (await resp.get_json())["token"]
 
 
+async def test_the_first_account_is_refused_once_the_setup_window_has_closed(db):
+    """A fresh server on a public address must not belong to whoever finds it first
+    (family idea #5105, practice 8). Past the window, nobody becomes admin."""
+    from inkwell.auth import SETUP_WINDOW_S
+
+    ratelimit.reset_all()
+    app = create_app()
+    app.config["STARTED_AT"] -= SETUP_WINDOW_S + 1
+    resp = await app.test_client().post(
+        "/api/auth/register", json={"email": "late@example.test", "password": _PASSWORD}
+    )
+    assert resp.status_code == 403
+    assert "setup window" in (await resp.get_json())["error"]
+    assert await db.scalar(select(func.count()).select_from(User)) == 0
+
+
+async def test_the_first_account_is_allowed_inside_the_setup_window(app_client, db):
+    resp = await app_client.post("/api/auth/register", json={"email": "prompt@example.test", "password": _PASSWORD})
+    assert resp.status_code == 201
+    assert (await resp.get_json())["is_admin"] is True
+
+
 async def _register(email: str, invite: str | None = None):
     """Register from a separate client, so the admin's session stays where it is."""
     body = {"email": email, "password": _PASSWORD}