cresdock.com / Docs / Getting Started — User Guide

Getting started with your workspace

Your provider has set you up with a personal workspace: your own apps for downloading, organizing and streaming your media, all managed from one simple web panel. This guide walks you from first login to watching your library — no technical experience needed.

Reading time: ~5 minutes · Applies to: all Cresdock workspaces

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Reading this without a workspace yet? Cresdock is a self-hosted seedbox & media panel you can run on your own server — take it for a test drive at cresdock.com. Free for one user, no card, live in minutes.

1.First login

  1. Open the set-password email

    Check your inbox for the set-password link from your provider and click it.

    Don't see it? Check your spam or junk folder — emails from the panel sometimes land there. If you find one, mark it as "Not spam" so future emails arrive normally.

  2. Choose a password

    Use a passphrase of a few words separated by dashes — at least 15 characters, with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and a digit.

  3. Sign in

    Go to your panel address (your provider gave you the link) and log in with your username and new password.

One login opens everything. When you open your apps from the panel, you're already signed in — no separate app passwords to remember.
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Forgot your password? Use Forgot password? on the login page and you'll get a reset link by email — if it's not in your inbox, check spam.

2.Meet your dashboard

After signing in you land on your dashboard. Every app you install appears here as a tile with a live status light — green means running. The sidebar is where you go to add more:

WhereWhat it does
DashboardYour installed apps, one tile each. Click a tile to open the app.
AppsThe catalog — browse and install new apps.
ProfileYour password, email and security settings (including two-factor authentication).

3.Install your first app

Click it. The panel builds it. You're in. There is nothing to configure — no settings, no passwords to invent, no wiring. You pick an app, the panel builds it for you and opens it with you already logged in.

  1. Open Apps in the sidebar

    The catalog lists everything by category:

    • Torrent clients — ruTorrent, qBittorrent, Deluge, Transmission
    • Media automation — Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr and friends
    • Media servers — Plex, Jellyfin, Emby and more
    • File tools, VPN and extras — File Browser, FTPS, web shell…
  2. Click the app you want — that's the whole install

    The panel builds the app, connects it to your other apps and handles every setting itself. Your Sonarr already knows your torrent client the moment both are installed.

  3. Tile turns green — click it, you're already signed in

    The new tile appears on your dashboard within moments. One click opens the app with auto-login — no separate username or password to type.

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Self-healing, so your apps just work. The panel health-checks every app after install and keeps watching it while it runs. If an install hiccups or an app crashes or misbehaves, the panel detects it and fixes it automatically — usually before you'd ever notice. You get working apps, not error pages.
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Not sure where to start? A classic first stack: one torrent client (qBittorrent) + Sonarr & Radarr for automation + one media server (Jellyfin). Install them in any order — they wire themselves together.
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The app list is growing. New apps are added to the catalog regularly — and if something you'd like isn't there yet, you can request it through the Request section on your dashboard, should you choose to.

4.Manage your apps

Each tile on your dashboard has a small menu (the gear) with everything you need day-to-day:

ActionWhen to use it
OpenLaunch the app in a new tab — you're already signed in.
RestartFirst thing to try if an app misbehaves or won't load.
Stop / StartPause an app you're not using; start it again any time.
LogsSee what the app has been doing — handy when something looks stuck.
ResetFactory-reset the app's settings and reinstall it fresh. Your downloads and media are kept.
RemoveUninstall the app. You'll be asked whether to keep its settings for a later reinstall — your files are never touched.

5.Your files

Your workspace has two folders, and every app already knows about them:

FolderWhat lives there
downloads/Everything your download clients fetch.
media/Your organized library — this is what media servers stream from.

Three ways to manage them

  • File Browser app — point-and-click file management in your browser.
  • FTPS — connect with FileZilla or any FTP client; the app card shows your address and credentials.
  • Web shell — a real terminal in your browser, if that's your thing.
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Your files are yours. Installing, updating, resetting or removing apps never touches your downloads/ or media/ folders.

6.Streaming

Media servers like Plex, Jellyfin and Emby get their own web address, so your TVs, phones and native apps can connect to them directly.

  1. Install a media server

    Pick one from the Apps catalog and click Install.

  2. Open it right away and finish the setup wizard

    The first person to open it gets a short one-time setup — create the app's admin account and click through. Do this straight after installing.

  3. Add media as your library

    When the wizard asks for your library folder, point it at the media folder. Your library appears — start watching.

  4. Connect your devices

    Use the app's own address (shown on its tile) in your smart-TV, phone or desktop apps.

7.Protect your account

  1. Open Profile → Security
  2. Enable two-factor authentication

    Scan the QR code with any authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Aegis, 1Password…) and enter the 6-digit code to confirm.

  3. Save your recovery codes

    They're shown once — store them somewhere safe. If you lose your phone, a recovery code (or the emailed reset link) gets you back in.

8.Need help?

  • Something misbehaving? Try Restart on its tile first — it fixes most hiccups.
  • Still stuck? Click 🐛 Report a problem on your dashboard and describe what's wrong. Your provider gets it directly, with the technical context attached automatically — no log-digging needed on your side.
  • Running out of space or speed? Use Request more resources on your dashboard to ask your provider for a bigger plan.
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Auto-report: faster hotfixes, privacy first. The panel can report technical faults directly to the Cresdock team the moment they happen, so issues come back fixed as an official patch in the next update — often before you'd have written a ticket.

It's built privacy-first: reports contain technical details only — app status and error logs with passwords, keys, email addresses and other personal data automatically scrubbed out. Your files, downloads and media are never read or included.

Enjoy! 🍿

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Like what you see? You can run this whole setup on your own server — start free at cresdock.com and have your own seedbox & media panel live in minutes.