http://localhost:8080 (or your domain), here’s what to do next.
Create your account
1
Sign up
Open
http://localhost:8080/signup in your browser.The first account created becomes the organization owner automatically. This account has full access to all settings and cannot be demoted.Enter your name, email address, and a password, then click Create account.If you haven’t configured a Resend API key, magic link sign-in won’t work yet — use email/password for now. You can add email configuration in settings later.
2
Name your organization
After signing up, Atrium prompts you to name your organization. This name appears in the client portal and in outbound emails, so use something your clients will recognize — typically your agency or freelance brand name.
Tour the dashboard
After setup you land on the dashboard — your team’s workspace. The key sections are:- Projects — all active and archived projects for your organization
- Clients — the people you’ve invited to access their portals
- Settings → Branding — colors and logo applied to the client portal
Understand the two interfaces
Atrium has two distinct sides:
When a client receives an invite and signs in, they land on
/portal — not the dashboard. They see only the projects they’ve been added to, can download files you’ve shared, and can pay invoices.
Roles
Three roles control what people can do:
When you invite a team member, you assign them the admin role. When you invite a client, they receive the client (member) role.
Create your first project
1
Go to Projects
From the dashboard, click Projects in the sidebar, then click New project.
2
Fill in the basics
Give the project a name and an optional description. You can also set a due date and assign it to a client at this stage — or do both later.
3
Set your status pipeline
Each organization has a shared status pipeline — the stages a project moves through (for example: Discovery, In Progress, Review, Complete).Go to Settings → Pipeline to customize the stages. Changes apply to all projects in your organization.
4
Upload a file (optional)
Inside the project, click Files and upload something. Files you upload here are visible to any client assigned to this project via the portal.The default storage backend saves files locally. To use S3, MinIO, or Cloudflare R2 instead, see the storage configuration docs.
Invite a client
1
Open the Clients section
Click Clients in the dashboard sidebar.
2
Send an invitation
Click Invite client, enter their email address, and send the invitation.Atrium emails them a sign-up link. When they accept and create their account, they’re assigned the client (member) role and added to your organization.
Client invitations require a configured email provider (
RESEND_API_KEY). If email isn’t set up yet, you can manually share the signup link displayed after sending the invite.3
Add them to a project
Once the client has an account, open the project you want to share with them and click Add client. Select their name from the list.They’ll see this project the next time they visit
http://localhost:8080/portal.What your client sees
When your client signs in, they land on/portal. From there they can:
- View all projects they’ve been added to and see the current status of each
- Download any files you’ve shared on those projects
- Read project updates you’ve posted
- View and pay invoices you’ve sent them via Stripe Checkout
Next steps
With your first project running and a client invited, you’re ready to explore the rest of Atrium:- Branding — add your logo and colors so the portal matches your brand
- Invoicing — create and send an invoice from inside a project
- File storage — connect S3, MinIO, or Cloudflare R2 for scalable file delivery
- Email — configure Resend so magic links and invite emails work automatically