Creating an Account, Signing In & First-Run Setup (Onboarding)

Before you put StitchKit to work as your personal bench, you'll create an account, sign in, and go through a short first-run wizard. This section walks you through the sign-up ("Sign up"), sign-in ("Log in"), password-reset ("Forgot password"), and email-verification ("Verify your email") screens, plus the first-run wizard that recommends a plan based on your machine and fabric. Creating an account is free, and you can get started on many core features without an account at all.

Tip — Every form on screen has switch links beneath it: from sign-in to sign-up, from sign-up to sign-in, and from forgot-password back to sign-in, all with a single click.

1. Creating an account ("Sign up")

The sign-up screen has three fields. Only email and password are required; the name is optional.

1. Click the "Don't have an account? Sign up" link on the sign-in screen (or open the sign-up page directly).
2. Type your name in the "Name (optional)" field — you can leave it blank if you like, as this field isn't required.
3. Enter a valid email address in the "Email" field. This address is both your sign-in ID and where your verification and password-reset emails are sent.
4. Enter a password that meets the password rules in the "Password" field (see "Password rules" below).
5. Click the "Create account" button. A loading indicator appears on the button while the request is in progress.

Once sign-up succeeds, you're automatically considered signed in, and the app takes you to the main flow (or, if it's your first time, to the first-run wizard below). If the email is already registered, the "This email is already registered" warning appears — in that case you'll need to switch to the sign-in screen.

2. Signing in ("Log in")

1. Fill in the "Email" and "Password" fields.
2. If you want to stay signed in on this device, leave the "Remember me" box checked (it's checked by default).
3. Click the "Log in" button.

If the email or password is wrong, the "Invalid email or password" message is shown. If the server can't be reached (no internet), a network error appears asking you to check your connection. If sign-in succeeds, the app moves to the main screen.

Windows — You can move between fields with Tab and submit the form with Enter. The password field is hidden; the characters you type are masked with dots.

3. Forgot password ("Forgot password")

The "Forgot password" link on the sign-in screen takes you to the reset page.

1. Type your account's email address in the "Email" field.
2. Click the "Send reset link" button.
3. A neutral confirmation appears on screen for security reasons: if this email is registered, a reset link has been sent; check your inbox.
4. Click the reset link in the email and set your new password. The new password must meet the same password rules.

Note — For security, the system won't reveal whether the address you entered is registered; the confirmation message is the same whether or not the address is on file. If the reset link doesn't arrive, check your spam/junk folder and make sure you typed the address correctly. The link expires after a while; if it has expired, request a new one.

After resetting your password, you can return to the sign-in screen with the "Back to login" link and sign in with your new password.

4. Email verification ("Verify your email")

After sign-up your account is up and running, but your email address hasn't been verified yet. The app sends you a verification link; clicking it verifies your address.

When your account isn't verified, you'll see an info banner at the top of the "Account" screen:

• It shows the "Verify your email" heading and the address the verification link was sent to.
• Verification unlocks access to support tools and license-recovery features.
• If the email didn't arrive, you can request the link again with the "Resend email" button. During sending, the button switches to a "Sending…" state, and once it succeeds you're prompted to check your inbox.

Tip — If you request resends too often, the system may temporarily limit them. Wait a few minutes and try again.

5. First-run wizard (first-run setup)

The first time you open StitchKit, a short setup wizard greets you. Your answers to three simple questions pre-configure your save format, the level of detail in the interface, and fabric-based stitch settings for you; then it recommends a plan. This wizard appears only once per device.

1. Welcome: You see the intro screen and move on with "Next →".
2. Machine ("What machine do you have?") — Step 1/3: Choose your brand: "Brother", "Bernina", "Janome", "Husqvarna", "Singer", or "Other". Your choice sets the default save format for "Save As".
3. Experience level ("What's your experience level?") — Step 2/3: Choose "Beginner", "Intermediate", or "Pro". This choice sets how clean or advanced the editor sidebar looks.
4. Fabric ("What fabric do you mostly embroider on?") — Step 3/3: Pick the fabric you work with most from "T-shirt knit", "Woven cotton", "Towel", "Denim", "Cap", or "Mixed". This pre-fills the density and underlay values in the Save2Sew tuner to match your fabric.
5. Summary and plan recommendation: A plan is recommended based on your answers. By experience level the recommendation goes: Beginner → "Starter", Intermediate → "Pro", Pro → "Ultimate". The recommended card is marked with a "RECOMMENDED" badge.

You have some flexibility at each step:

• To skip a question, use the "Skip" button in the top right; you can return to earlier steps by clicking the dots at the bottom, or go back one step with "← Back".
• On the plan screen, if you'd like to continue without paying, tap the "Continue with free version →" link; you'll keep working with the free version.
• You don't need an account to buy a plan; the purchase runs through the store (Apple). If you sign in later, your purchase is linked to your account and syncs across devices.

What your choices map to in the app:

Tip — These choices aren't permanent; you can always change the format, editor mode, and fabric settings later from the relevant settings screens. If you skip the wizard, safe defaults are used (DST + Basic mode + woven fabric).

6. Password rules

Passwords are checked with the same rules on both the client and the server:

• Must be at least 10 characters long.
• Must contain at least one letter.
• Must contain at least one digit.

If you enter a password that doesn't meet the rules, the sign-up screen warns you before submission: "Password must be at least 10 characters and include a letter and a number". This reminder also appears in the field label on the sign-up form: "Password (min. 10 characters)".

7. "Remember me", sessions, and tokens

StitchKit keeps your session alive with a two-part token system: a short-lived access token and a long-lived refresh token.

• With "Remember me" checked (the default): the refresh token is saved to your device; when you close and reopen the app, your session stays open and is restored automatically.
• With "Remember me" unchecked: the token is kept in memory for that session only and isn't written to disk. When you close the app, the session ends and you'll need to sign in again.
• The access token is short-lived; it's refreshed automatically in the background using the refresh token, without you needing to do anything.
• When you sign out, both the access and refresh tokens are cleared and the session ends. Tokens can be revoked by the server and are specific to the device you signed in on.

Note — On a shared or untrusted computer, leave the "Remember me" box unchecked. That way your session won't persist on the device, and you'll be automatically signed out when you close the app.