Installation Guide

This page is for organization admins using Digest Engine inside the app, not for the team that deploys servers or configures infrastructure. By the time you need this guide, the platform should already be available at your organization’s Digest Engine URL.

Think of this page as your first-run workspace setup guide: the steps you take after the product has been installed for your organization and you are ready to make it usable for your team.

What This Page Covers

As an organization admin, your goal is not to install containers or manage databases. Your goal is to make sure your group can actually start using Digest Engine successfully.

That usually means:

• confirming you can access the workspace
• making sure the right people have access
• creating the first projects your team needs
• connecting initial sources
• checking that content is actually flowing into those projects

If the product is not reachable at all, or if login is broken before you can access the app, that is usually an IT or hosting issue rather than an in-app admin task.

Before You Begin

Before setting up your workspace, make sure you have:

• the correct Digest Engine URL for your organization
• an account with admin privileges inside the app
• a basic understanding of which teams, newsletters, or topic areas you need to support
• a list of the first people who should have access
• a short list of strong starting sources or newsletters to feed into the system

It is also helpful to decide ahead of time whether your team should use one shared project or several distinct projects for different audiences or editorial goals.

Step 1: Sign In and Confirm Admin Access

Start by signing into the app and confirming that you can access the parts of the interface needed for administration.

As an organization admin, you should be able to do things like:

• create or manage projects
• invite users or adjust membership
• review source and intake settings
• access the broader workspace configuration available to your role

If you cannot perform those tasks, the first issue to resolve is your access level.

Step 2: Create the First Project Structure

A project is the main workspace for one editorial focus. Many organizations start with one project per newsletter, publication stream, or topic area.

When creating initial projects, keep the structure simple and deliberate. Good early questions include:

• Which teams need separate editorial spaces?
• Which audiences or newsletters need distinct content feeds?
• Which topics are different enough that they should not share the same relevance model?

Avoid creating too many projects at the start. It is usually better to launch a few clearly defined projects first and expand later if needed.

Step 3: Add the Right People

Once your first projects exist, invite the people who need to work in them.

For each project, think about:

• who will actively review and curate content
• who only needs visibility into the output
• who should manage membership or intake settings

Grant access based on actual responsibility. Keeping project membership intentional helps protect focus and reduces confusion for editors.

For more detailed guidance, continue to Users & Access Management.

Step 4: Connect Initial Sources

After projects and people are in place, connect a small set of strong sources so each project has relevant content to ingest.

Good starting inputs often include:

• trusted RSS feeds
• industry publications
• topic-specific communities or channels
• curated newsletters that can be forwarded into intake

Start with quality over quantity. A few high-signal sources make it easier to confirm the project is working well than a large noisy source list.

For more on intake and trusted senders, see Sources & Allowlists.

Step 5: Perform a Workspace Smoke Test

Once your first project is configured, do a practical in-app smoke test.

Use a simple checklist:

1. Open the project and confirm the right members can access it.
2. Add or confirm at least one working source.
3. Wait for content to begin appearing in the project.
4. Open the content view and verify that items are being ingested.
5. If newsletter intake is enabled, forward one test newsletter and confirm it enters the project flow.

The goal here is straightforward: prove that a real team can use the workspace for its intended editorial work.

What to Do If Something Is Missing

If you can sign in but key functionality is unavailable, narrow down the problem before escalating it.

Common examples:

• If users cannot access the right projects, review roles and membership.
• If content is not appearing, review project sources and source health.
• If forwarded newsletters do not appear, review the allowlist and sender confirmation flow.
• If the app is reachable but behaving unexpectedly, gather details for troubleshooting.

If the issue appears to be deeper than project setup, use Troubleshooting & Logs and involve IT, your hosting provider, or platform support as needed.

What to Do Next

After your first workspace is usable, the next most important admin guide pages are:

• Initial Configuration: Review the settings and decisions that shape how your organization uses the product.
• Users & Access Management: Set up sustainable project membership and role handling.
• Sources & Allowlists: Manage source setup and newsletter intake access.
• Daily Operations: Build a repeatable admin routine for keeping projects healthy.

If your team can sign in, access the right projects, receive content, and start using the app for real editorial work, then your installation is successful from an admin point of view.