Files
HealthLog/docs/ops/password-reset.md
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Marc-André Bombeck c986efab30 Correct operator runbooks against the current code
- attempt-number-semantics: name the real bucket column
  (consecutiveFailuresByKind) and drop a drifted line citation
- backup-restore: show the smoke-test response inside the standard
  { data, error } envelope
- deploy: the manual migration step now uses the bundled Prisma CLI
  via node (the image strips pnpm); WHOOP vars are already on the
  shipped compose whitelist
- encryption-key-rotation: point at the encrypted-column registry
  instead of a five-model list several releases behind
- env-check: the CI gate shipped (env-check.yml); the partial-APNs
  example now shows the synthetic all-or-none row and the non-zero exit
- password-reset: the admin API reset route exists; only the
  self-service route does not
- tls-cert-pin: stop asserting client-repo pin-set details that cannot
  be audited from this repository
- drop v141-followup-issues.md: a v1.4.1 punch list whose items are
  fixed, removed, or superseded; keeping it under docs/ops invites
  re-fixing shipped work
2026-08-27 12:18:34 +02:00

2.6 KiB

Password reset (operator)

A self-hosted operator can reset a single user's password from inside the running container. This is an operator-only maintenance path — there is no self-service reset route for users, and it bypasses the normal account-recovery flow. Admins do have an in-app alternative: POST /api/admin/users/{id}/reset-password (cookie-admin only) sets a new password and destroys the user's sessions, tokens, and trusted devices. The CLI remains the path when no admin can log in. Use it only for an account you administer (for example, after a forgotten password on a single-user instance).

Operator-only. The script writes directly to the users table and is intended to be run by the host operator with database access. Treat the new password like any other secret: pass it on stdin (it is read without echoing) rather than as a shell argument where it would land in shell history and the process list.

Run it

The reset CLI ships in the image and runs under plain node against the built runtime (the standalone image strips tsx, so this is a .mjs that uses the in-image pg and @node-rs/argon2 directly and reuses the app's exact Argon2id parameters):

docker compose exec app node scripts/reset-password.mjs <username-or-email>

The script prompts for the new password without echoing it, then prints a confirmation that names only the user — never the password:

New password (input hidden):
reset-password: password updated for "alice"

You can also pass the password as a second argument for non-interactive use, but prefer the stdin prompt so the secret stays out of shell history:

docker compose exec app node scripts/reset-password.mjs alice 'a-strong-passphrase'

Behaviour

  • The identifier is matched case-insensitively against username or email, mirroring the login lookup.
  • The match must resolve to exactly one user. Zero matches exits non-zero with no user matches "<id>"; multiple matches exits non-zero and refuses to guess.
  • The new password must be at least 12 characters (the app's minimum).
  • The password is hashed with Argon2id using the same cost parameters as the application (src/lib/auth/argon2-params.mjs), so the stored hash is identical to one the app would mint.
  • DATABASE_URL is read from the environment — the same variable the app uses, honouring any sslmode= in the connection string.

Source checkout

From a source checkout (not the production image) the same script runs under Node directly:

DATABASE_URL='postgres://…' node scripts/reset-password.mjs <username-or-email>