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Enterprise Server 3.1
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Enterprise administrators
Enterprise Server 3.1
English

� 

This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2022-06-03. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Accessing the management console

In this article

You can use the Management Console to manage virtual appliance settings such as the domain, authentication, and SSL.

About the Management Console

Use the Management Console for basic administrative activities:

  • Initial setup: Walk through the initial setup process when first launching your GitHub Enterprise Server instance by visiting your GitHub Enterprise Server instance's IP address in your browser.
  • Configuring basic settings for your instance: Configure DNS, hostname, SSL, user authentication, email, monitoring services, and log forwarding on the Settings page.
  • Scheduling maintenance windows: Take your GitHub Enterprise Server instance offline while performing maintenance using the Management Console or administrative shell.
  • Troubleshooting: Generate a support bundle or view high level diagnostic information.
  • License management: View or update your GitHub Enterprise license.

You can always reach the Management Console using your GitHub Enterprise Server instance's IP address, even when the instance is in maintenance mode, or there is a critical application failure or hostname or SSL misconfiguration.

To access the Management Console, you must use the administrator password established during initial setup of your GitHub Enterprise Server instance. You must also be able to connect to the virtual machine host on port 8443. If you're having trouble reaching the Management Console, please check intermediate firewall and security group configurations.

The Management Console password hash is stored in /data/user/common/secrets.conf, and that file is automatically synced from the primary appliance to any high-availability replicas. Any change to the primary's password will automatically be replicated to high-availability replicas. For more information about high availability, see "About high availability configuration."

Accessing the Management Console as a site administrator

The first time that you access the Management Console as a site administrator, you must upload your GitHub Enterprise license file to authenticate into the app. For more information, see "Managing your license for GitHub Enterprise."

  1. From an administrative account on GitHub Enterprise Server, in the upper-right corner of any page, click .

    Screenshot of the rocket ship icon for accessing site admin settings

  2. If you're not already on the "Site admin" page, in the upper-left corner, click Site admin.

    Screenshot of "Site admin" link

  3. In the left sidebar, click Management Console. Management Console tab in the left sidebar

  4. If prompted, type your Management Console password. Management Console unlock screen

Accessing the Management Console as an unauthenticated user

  1. Visit this URL in your browser, replacing hostname with your actual GitHub Enterprise Server hostname or IP address: 
    http(s)://HOSTNAME/setup
  2. If prompted, type your Management Console password. Management Console unlock screen

Unlocking the Management Console after failed login attempts

The Management Console locks after ten failed login attempts are made in the span of ten minutes. You must wait for the login screen to automatically unlock before attempting to log in again. The login screen automatically unlocks as soon as the previous ten minute period contains fewer than ten failed login attempts. The counter resets after a successful login occurs.

To immediately unlock the Management Console, use the ghe-reactivate-admin-login command via the administrative shell. For more information, see "Command line utilities" and "Accessing the administrative shell (SSH)."

Troubleshooting failed connections to the Management Console

If you cannot connect to the Management Console on your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, you can review the following information to troubleshoot the problem.

Error: "Your session has expired" for connections through a load balancer

If you access your GitHub Enterprise Server instance through a load balancer and connections to the Management Console fail with a message that your session has expired, you may need to reconfigure your load balancer. For more information, see "Using GitHub Enterprise Server with a load balancer."