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Getting Started

Welcome to SentriKat! This guide will help you get up and running quickly.

SentriKat is available as a fully managed SaaS or as an on-premises deployment. Choose the option that best fits your needs.

SaaS (Fastest) SaaS

No installation required. Sign up at app.sentrikat.com, deploy agents to your endpoints, and start scanning immediately. Free during Early Access — no credit card required.

New to SaaS? Follow the SaaS Quick Guides — 8 step-by-step guides from sign-up to team setup.

On-Premises On-Prem

For organizations that require full data sovereignty or air-gapped environments.

Prerequisites

Before installing SentriKat on-premises, ensure you have:

  • Docker 20.10 or later
  • Docker Compose v2.0 or later
  • 1 GB RAM minimum (2 GB recommended)
  • 500 MB disk space (more for database growth)

Installation Options

  • Docker Compose (Recommended)

    The easiest way to get started. One command to deploy everything.

    Docker Guide

  • Manual Installation

    For advanced users who want full control over the deployment.

    Manual Setup

  • Licensing & Activation

    Online activation, offline activation, license types, and management.

    Licensing Guide

Quick Start

1. Download from the Customer Portal

Download the latest release package from the SentriKat Customer Portal, then extract it:

tar -xzf sentrikat-<version>.tar.gz
cd sentrikat-<version>

2. Configure Environment

# Copy the example environment file
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with your settings
nano .env

Key settings to configure:

# Required
SECRET_KEY=your-random-secret-key  # Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-encryption-key  # Generate with: python -c "from cryptography.fernet import Fernet; print(Fernet.generate_key().decode())"

# Database
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-password

# Optional - Application URL (for emails/sharing)
SENTRIKAT_URL=https://sentrikat.yourdomain.com

3. Start SentriKat

docker compose up -d

4. Access the Application

Open your browser and navigate to:

  • HTTP: http://localhost:5000
  • HTTPS: https://localhost (if SSL configured)

Default credentials:

Username Password
admin admin

Change Default Password

Change the default admin password immediately after first login!

Next Steps

  1. Add your first products
  2. Deploy agents to collect inventory
  3. Configure alerts for notifications
  4. Set up organizations for multi-tenant

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Check the logs:

docker compose logs -f sentrikat

Database connection issues

Ensure PostgreSQL is running:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs postgres

Port already in use

Change the port in docker-compose.yml:

ports:
  - "8080:5000"  # Use port 8080 instead

For more help, see our FAQ or contact SentriKat Support.