---
url: /user-guide/getting-started.md
---
# Getting started

Falcon brings your capture devices, media processing, and captured photos and videos into one place. Start by signing in and choosing the site you want to work with.

You can return to this guide using **User Guide** on the sign-in page or in the user menu in the top right. Use **Open Falcon** at the top of the guide to return to the app.

## Sign in

Open Falcon at the address provided by your team. Enter your email and password, or choose one of the sign-in providers shown on the page.

![The sign-in page with email and password fields](/screenshots/getting-started/sign-in.webp)

If you received a site invitation, open the link in that email to join the team. Use the email address the invitation was sent to.

If **Sign up** is available, you can create your own account. When signing up with a password, follow the confirmation link sent to your email address to activate the account. Some deployments provide a starter site and device group after activation.

## Choose a site

A **site** is a workspace containing devices, media, and the people who can access them.

* To see your sites, open the user menu in the top right and choose **My sites**.
* If you belong to more than one site, use **Switch site** in the user menu.
* Check the site name in the sidebar before changing settings or registering devices.

![The user menu opened over a site's home page](/screenshots/getting-started/user-menu.webp)

![The My sites page listing the sites you belong to](/screenshots/getting-started/my-sites.webp)

If you have no site yet, accept a pending invitation or use **Add site** on the sites page when that action is available. Ask your site owner if you expected to have access to an existing site.

## Understand the main sections

![A site's home page with the sidebar sections, activity chart and recent media sets](/screenshots/getting-started/site-home.webp)

| Section | What you use it for |
| --- | --- |
| Home | See an overview of the current site's activity and devices. |
| Media sets | Browse captured media and download available files. |
| Devices | Register devices, check connections, and manage configuration. |
| [Media schemes](./media-schemes.md) | Configure the processing steps applied to captured media. |
| Device groups | Organize devices and the media they capture. |
| Site users | Owners invite people and manage access. |
| [Usage](./plans-and-billing.md#check-usage) | Owners and admins review the site's plan allowances and current usage. |
| [Billing](./plans-and-billing.md#subscribe) | Owners manage the site's subscription, prepaid balance, payment method and invoices. |
| Settings | Owners update the site's details. |

The sections and actions you see depend on your role in the current site. Your access can differ between sites.

## Make your first capture

1. Check that you are in the right site and have a device group ready.
2. [Register your capture device](./devices.md#register-a-device).
3. Open the device and check its connection and configuration.
4. Capture using the controls supported by your device.
5. Open **Media sets** to find the result and check its processing status.

Continue with [Sites and team access](./sites-and-team.md), [Media sets](./media-sets.md) or [Plans and billing](./plans-and-billing.md).

## Recover access

For a password account, use the password reset link on the sign-in page. Follow the email instructions, then sign in with your new password.

If your account uses your organization's sign-in provider, use that provider to sign in. Contact your organization if you cannot access the provider account.

---

---
url: /user-guide/account.md
---
# Your account

## Delete your account

You cannot delete your account while you own a site. For each site you own, either delete it from **My sites** after removing everything in it, or keep it for your team: in **Site users**, make another member an owner, then change your own role to admin.

Then open **My profile** from the user menu and select **Delete account**.

---

---
url: /user-guide/sites-and-team.md
---
# Sites and team access

Each site has its own devices, device groups, media, and team members. A person can belong to several sites with a different role in each one.

## Open or create a site

Open the user menu in the top right and choose **My sites**, then select a site. If you belong to several sites, you can also use **Switch site** in the user menu.

To create a site, choose **Add site** on the sites page, enter its name, review its timezone, and select **Create**. The person who creates the site becomes its owner. This action requires an active account with permission to create sites.

Site owners can open **Settings** in the site's sidebar to update its details. Review the name and timezone when setting up a starter site.

![The site Settings form](/screenshots/sites-and-team/settings.webp)

## Understand roles

| Role | Typical responsibilities |
| --- | --- |
| Owner | Manage site settings and membership, as well as devices, processing, and media. |
| Admin | Manage devices, device groups, processing, and media. Site settings and membership are managed by the owner. |
| Operator | View devices and media, work with media sets, and use available device commands and adjustments. Configuration and team management are handled by an owner or admin. |

Your role applies to one site. Being an owner in one site does not grant access to another. Owners also manage the site's plan and subscription, described in [Plans and billing](./plans-and-billing.md).

## Invite a colleague

Site owners can invite people from **Site users**:

1. Select **Invite member**.
2. Enter the colleague's email address.
3. Choose the role they need for this site.
4. Send the invitation.

An invitation becomes a membership only after the recipient accepts it. Invitations are listed in their own **Invitations** table. A pending invitation can be resent or revoked from its actions menu.

![The Site users page with the members table and the Invitations table](/screenshots/sites-and-team/site-users.webp)

Use **Single sign-on only** when the person should sign in through their organization account. These accounts use a sign-in provider rather than a password.

## Accept an invitation

Open the invitation email and follow its link. If you already have an account, sign in with the invited email address and accept the invitation in Falcon. You can also find pending invitations on **My sites**.

If you are new to Falcon, the invitation guides you through creating an account and joining the site. If you have several invitations, accepting one does not accept the others.

## Organize device groups

Device groups help organize devices within a site, for example by attraction or capture location. You also use them to filter media sets.

Owners and admins can open **Device groups** and choose **Add device group**. Give the group a recognizable name and, if useful, a code. Select the appropriate group when [registering a device](./devices.md#register-a-device).

---

---
url: /user-guide/devices.md
---
# Devices

The **Devices** section shows the capture devices in your current site. You can filter the list by device group and open a device to see more detail.

![The devices list with device group, type, media scheme and online columns](/screenshots/devices/devices-list.webp)

## Register a device

Owners and admins can create a registration for a device:

1. Open **Devices** in the correct site.
2. Select **Register device**.
3. Choose the device group the device should belong to, if it is not already selected. The QR code appears.
4. Scan the displayed QR code using the capture device's registration flow, or select **Download JSON** and use the file with the device's setup process.

![The Register new device dialog with a device group and its QR code](/screenshots/devices/register-device.webp)

The QR code and JSON file contain the same registration credentials. The registration is single-use; create a separate one for each device. Check the expiry shown in the dialog and create a new registration if it expires before you finish.

The final setup steps depend on the device. If the dialog is still open when registration succeeds, the new device's page opens.

A capture device takes a free seat when it is registered and captures nothing without one; see [Seats and devices](./plans-and-billing.md#seats-and-devices).

## Check the connection

Use **Online** and **Last seen** in the device list to check whether Falcon can currently communicate with a device. Open the device to see the controls and status information it supports.

![A device's detail page](/screenshots/devices/device-detail.webp)

If a device is disconnected, check its power and network connection first. A device that is listed in Falcon has been registered, but it still needs a working connection for live controls.

## Review configuration

Owners and admins can edit a device's details and configuration. The fields shown depend on the device type and its supported features.

After saving a configuration change, check **Config status**:

* **Pending sync** means the device has not yet acknowledged the current configuration.
* **Synced** means the device has acknowledged it.

If a change remains pending, check that the device is connected.

A **media scheme** defines how captured media is processed. Assign the appropriate scheme when your setup requires processing; the scheme must belong to the device's site.

## Use live controls

Depending on the device's capabilities, its page can show live snapshots, adjustments, commands, status values, and logs. Available controls vary between devices.

The device page also lists recent media sets. Open a result there, or use **Media sets** in the sidebar to browse the site's captures.

Continue with [Media sets](./media-sets.md).

---

---
url: /user-guide/media-sets.md
---
# Media sets

A **media set** groups the files and information for a capture. It can contain original photos or videos and files created during processing.

## Find captured media

1. Open the site you want to work with.
2. Select **Media sets** in the sidebar.
3. Use the device group filter to narrow the list when needed.
4. Open a media set to inspect its details and files.

You can also open recent media sets from a device's page.

![The media sets list with thumbnails, status and expiry](/screenshots/media-sets/media-sets-list.webp)

## Follow processing progress

The status describes where a media set is in processing:

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `new` | Processing has not been queued yet. |
| `pending` | Processing is queued and waiting to start. |
| `processing` | Processing has started and is not yet complete. |
| `completed` | Processing has finished. |
| `paused` | Processing has stopped before completion, or waits for a visitor to unlock the media set. |
| `quota` | Processing is paused until processing credits are available. The capture is kept. |
| `failed` | Processing stopped because of an error. |

A media set in `quota` is processed automatically once credits are available: when the period resets, when a site owner buys balance, or when auto-reload tops the balance up. To see how much is left, ask a site owner or admin to review **Usage**. See [When an allowance runs out](./plans-and-billing.md#when-an-allowance-runs-out).

If processing fails or appears stuck, give them the media set's ID and the device that produced it so they can investigate.

## Preview and download files

Open a media set to see its files grouped by category. Supported photos and videos can be previewed from the file tiles. Use the download icon beside a file name when a download is available.

![A completed media set with its details and file tiles](/screenshots/media-sets/media-set-detail.webp)

The file list can change while capture uploads or processing are still in progress. If no files are shown yet, check the status and revisit the media set after processing completes.

## Check expiry

Review **Expires at** to see when the media set expires. Download files you need to keep before that time. Retention depends on the site's setup.

## Delete media

Owners and admins can delete media sets. Use a media set's actions menu, or select multiple entries in the list and choose **Delete selected**. Review the confirmation carefully: deletion cannot be undone through the app.

---

---
url: /user-guide/media-schemes.md
---
# Media schemes

A **media scheme** defines what happens to a capture after it is uploaded: the processing steps, the files they produce, and how long the media set is kept before it expires.

On Free, media is kept at most 7 days.

## Temporary output

Files from a step with **Temporary output** are not stored with the media set. Put the steps that use them directly after it, with only other **Temporary output** steps in between. Processing can resume after any other step, such as **Pause processing**, and a resumed run no longer has those files.

::: warning TODO
This page is not written yet.
:::

---

---
url: /user-guide/workers.md
---
# Workers

Coming soon.

---

---
url: /user-guide/plans-and-billing.md
---
# Plans and billing

A site's **plan** sets its allowance of [processing credits](#processing-credits) and storage, and the limits that apply to its captures. Processing credits are an amount per period. Storage is a limit on how much the site holds at any time. Every new site starts on the Free plan.

A period is one month, counted from the day your current plan began: the day the site was created on Free, or the day of your first payment on Base. Subscribing starts a new period on the day you pay; what was used on Free before then no longer counts. The **Usage** page shows the date the current period ends.

Base is priced per [seat](#seats-and-devices). A seat is one capture device. Each seat adds its included credits and storage to the site's pool, which all of the site's devices share.

Free and Base are in a **launch and stabilization period through 31 March 2027**, ending on 1 April 2027. Features, workflows, allowances and credit calculations may change frequently under the Terms of Service. The end date does not promise particular features or service levels; the ordinary change and discontinuation rules continue to apply afterward.

## Plans

| | Free | Base | Enterprise |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | EUR 100 per seat per month | Agreed with Captomatic |
| Seats (capture devices) | 1 | As many as you buy | Agreed with Captomatic |
| Processing credits per period | 500 | 15 000 per seat | Agreed with Captomatic |
| Storage | 500 MB | 50 GB per seat | Agreed with Captomatic |
| Beyond the included credits | Processing waits for the next period, if the media has not expired by then | Paid from the [prepaid balance](#prepaid-balance) | Not metered |
| Beyond the included storage | Uploads are refused | Paid from the prepaid balance | Not metered |
| Media kept for | Up to 7 days | Set by your [media scheme](./media-schemes.md) | Set by your [media scheme](./media-schemes.md) |
| Selling media to guests | No, free unlock and vouchers only | Yes | Yes |
| Longest single processing job | 2 minutes | 5 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Processing queue | After paid sites | Ahead of Free | Ahead of Free |

Base is billed monthly in advance and before taxes. The exact price is confirmed at checkout. On every plan, a single file a device uploads may be at most 1 GB.

Enterprise allowances and pricing are agreed with Captomatic, and a site on Enterprise has no **Billing** page.

The numbers above are the standard allowances. The **Usage** page always shows your site's actual allowance.

Plans, allowances, credit calculations and rates may change under section 14 of the Terms of Service. Free does not guarantee continued availability or future allowances; it may change or end without an additional contractual advance notice period, subject to legally required notice. Ending Free does not enrol you in a paid plan.

## Processing credits

Processing credits measure the media work a media scheme does on your captures: decoding, resizing, overlays and encoding. Steps that do no media work, such as labelling or deleting files, cost nothing. Under the same credit calculation rules, the same capture and scheme cost the same number of credits, whichever worker runs it. One credit is roughly one second of processing on our standard worker under the current calculation rules.

How many credits a capture uses depends on its media scheme and the size of its files. As an indication, a set of 25 photos costs about 2 credits, a short video made from them about 3, and a 10-second 4K clip about 11. **Daily credits by media scheme** on the **Usage** page shows what your own captures cost, so use it to estimate how far an allowance goes.

Credits are counted per period and unused credits do not carry over. When they run out, new captures are kept and processed once credits are available again, if the media has not expired by then. See [When an allowance runs out](#when-an-allowance-runs-out).

Processing done by [site workers](./workers) appears in **Daily credits by media scheme** but is not counted in the **Processing credits** meter, and files kept on your own storage are not counted in **Storage**. Neither is charged. If a site worker is offline and our workers take over its jobs, that work consumes credits as usual.

## Seats and devices

You buy seats; capture devices claim them. A capture device takes a free seat when you register it and keeps it. When no seat is free, the device is still registered, but its captures are refused until it has a seat, and you are emailed. On Base with one seat, a second camera is registered but captures nothing until you buy a seat or move the seat to it. Devices that do not capture, such as signage screens, never take a seat.

To release a device's seat when you replace it or keep it as a spare, edit the device and untick **Has seat**. Tick it to give a free seat to a device that has none. A device whose seat you release stops capturing at once.

Removing seats takes effect at the end of the paid period, see [Change seats](#change-seats). The seat you released is the one that goes away, so it cannot be given to another device while the reduction is pending, and a newly registered device only gets a seat if one is free under the next period's count. If the device should keep capturing until then, release and reduce towards the end of the period.

The Free plan has one seat. The first device you register takes it, and a second camera's captures are refused until you move the seat to it. If you return to Free with several devices still holding seats, captures are refused until you release all but one.

## Check usage

Owners and admins can open **Usage** in the site's sidebar. The page shows the site's plan and seat count, then one meter per allowance:

* **Processing credits** used in the current period. When the site has a [balance](#prepaid-balance) to spend, owners also see **Your balance covers N more credits** under the bar.
* **Storage** used by the site's files.

Each meter shows how much of the allowance is used. Processing credits also show the date they reset. Storage has no reset date: it shows how much the site holds right now, and it goes down only when files expire or are deleted. The bar turns amber at 70 % and red at 90 %. An allowance that does not apply reads **Unlimited**.

![The Usage page with processing credits and storage](/screenshots/plans-and-billing/usage.webp)

**Captures waiting** appears when media sets are waiting for processing credits. They are kept and processed once credits are available. **Previous periods** lists the credits used in earlier periods, and **Daily credits by media scheme** breaks down the current period's processing by scheme.

Owners are emailed when the site has used 70 %, 90 % and 100 % of its included credits and of its storage, once per period for each step. If usage passes several steps at once, you get one email about the highest of them. On Base the email tells you what the balance pays for past the allowance, and at what rate, or warns you that the balance is spent. An email is dropped if the allowance resets or grows before it goes out, so what it says is true when you read it.

On a paid plan, owners are also emailed when processing stops because the included credits and the balance are both used up, and again each time it stops after resuming. A separate email warns you when stored media exceeds the allowance with no balance to pay for it, see [Storage you no longer pay for](#storage-you-no-longer-pay-for).

## When an allowance runs out

Processing credits reset at the start of each period, and unused credits do not carry over.

* **Processing credits**: on Base, the extra work is paid from the [prepaid balance](#prepaid-balance). When the included credits and the balance are both used up, processing pauses: captures are still uploaded and kept, and their media sets wait with the status `quota`, and visitors cannot unlock media sets that still need processing. Processing resumes by itself when the period resets, when you buy balance, or when auto-reload tops it up. On Free, it resumes when the period resets. Work done by [site workers](./workers) never waits for credits.
* **Storage**: on Free, new uploads are refused. On Base, the extra storage is charged daily to the prepaid balance, and uploads are refused once it is spent. Either way, storage you are not paying for is kept for 14 days and then the oldest media sets are deleted until the site is within its allowance. See [Storage you no longer pay for](#storage-you-no-longer-pay-for).

To try Falcon with more than the Free allowance, write to <support@captomatic.com>.

## Prepaid balance

On Base, work beyond the included credits and storage is paid from a prepaid balance in EUR that you top up in advance. The balance buys usage at the applicable rates; it does not lock in a quantity of future processing or storage. Usage is never charged to your card directly: your card is only charged to refill the balance, by you with **Buy more** or by auto-reload at the amount you set.

| Usage beyond the included amount | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| Processing credits | EUR 1 per 1 000 credits |
| Storage | EUR 0.02 per GB per month, charged daily for what is held above the included amount |

When the included credits and the balance are both used up, processing pauses and captures wait until the period resets or the balance is topped up; see [When an allowance runs out](#when-an-allowance-runs-out). The balance never goes below zero: once it is spent, the daily storage charge stops, uploads above the included storage are refused, and the [storage grace](#storage-you-no-longer-pay-for) starts.

The rules for the money on the balance:

* Money is spent oldest first and **expires six months after purchase**. Top-ups are final and are not refunded; unused money is forfeited at that date.
* The balance pays for usage only. It never pays for seats, and it is spendable only while the site has a paid plan.
* When the subscription ends, the balance freezes: nothing is spent from it, and it keeps expiring on schedule. Subscribing again before it expires makes what is left spendable again.
* Deleting the site forfeits the balance.

The discontinuation refunds in section 6 of the Terms of Service and mandatory refund rights take priority over these non-refund and forfeiture rules.

### The Balance card

Once the site has been billed at least once, the **Billing** page shows a **Balance** card with:

* The balance in EUR, and **Covers N processing credits** while it can be spent.
* **€X expires on {date}**: the next amount to expire and its date.
* **Balance frozen**, when the site has no paid plan. The balance can only be spent while the site has a paid subscription; until then it stays frozen and still expires on its date.

**Buy more** and **Auto-reload** appear only while the site is on Base.

### Buy more

1. On the **Balance** card, select **Buy more**.
2. Enter a whole-euro **Amount (EUR)** and select **Continue to checkout**.
3. Complete the payment in Stripe Checkout. You return to Falcon afterwards.

Back in Falcon you see **Payment received. The balance updates within a minute.** The balance is added once the payment is confirmed, and processing that was waiting for credits resumes at the same time.

### Auto-reload

Instead of topping up by hand, let Falcon buy balance for you. Select the pencil beside **Auto-reload** on the **Balance** card and set:

* **Reload when the balance falls below (EUR)**: the threshold that triggers a reload.
* **Reload amount (EUR)**: how much each reload buys. It is charged to the subscription's payment method without asking you.
* **Reload budget per billing period (EUR)**: the most auto-reload may spend in one period. Leave it empty for no limit.

Leave the threshold or the amount empty to turn auto-reload off. The card then shows **Off**; otherwise it shows **Buys €X when the balance falls below €Y**.

Reloads are always the whole amount, so a budget that is not a multiple of the amount buys only the reloads that fit: a budget of EUR 50 covers 2 reloads of EUR 20. Once the budget is used up and the balance is spent, work waits until the next period or until you use **Buy more**.

A reload is attempted as soon as processing takes the balance below the threshold, and when you save the settings. Use **Daily credits by media scheme** on the **Usage** page to size the threshold.

If the card is declined, nothing is bought, and once the balance is spent processing waits. Falcon emails the site's owners when processing stops and retries the reload once a day, or as soon as you save the auto-reload settings. Update the payment method with **Manage billing** or use **Buy more** meanwhile.

Auto-reload stops with the subscription.

## Subscribe

Only site owners see **Billing** in the site's sidebar; admins do not. Owners subscribe from there:

1. Select **Subscribe**.
2. Enter the number of **Seats**, one per capture device, and select **Continue to checkout**.
3. Complete the payment in Stripe. You return to Falcon afterwards.

The new allowance appears within a minute of the payment being confirmed. The **Your plan** card then shows the **Current plan**, the **Seats** with how many of them devices hold, the **Next invoice** date with the expected total of that invoice beside it, and the subscription **Status**. Once the subscription has ended, the card offers **Subscribe** again.

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Active | The subscription is paid and the allowance applies. |
| Payment overdue | A renewal payment failed and Stripe is retrying it. |
| Unpaid | Payment retries have run out and the allowance is withdrawn. Pay the open invoice with **Manage billing** to restore it. Captures waiting for credits resume within minutes of the payment. |
| Ends at period end | The subscription is cancelled and remains active until the paid period ends. |

Billing belongs to the site. Every owner sees the same subscription and balance, and an owner who leaves the site takes nothing with them. Receipts go to the email address of the owner who subscribed until it is changed with **Manage billing**.

## Change seats

1. Open **Billing** and select the pencil beside **Seats**.
2. Enter the number of seats for the next period in **Change seats** and select **Save**.

More seats apply at once, and the difference is invoiced immediately. If that payment fails, nothing changes. The change is also refused when your card needs authentication: update the payment method with **Manage billing** and try again. The larger allowance appears within a minute.

Fewer seats is refused while more devices hold seats than the new count, so release seats first. Fewer seats take effect at the end of the current period. You keep the allowance you paid for until then, nothing is refunded, and the next invoice is for the new seat count. Until then, **Seats** shows the current count with **N from next period** beside it. You can change the count again before the period ends: entering your current count cancels the pending reduction, and a higher count applies at once.

The minimum is one seat. To stop paying altogether, cancel the subscription with **Manage billing**.

## Manage payment, invoices and cancellation

Once the site has been billed at least once, the **Billing** page shows a **Payment and invoices** card. It stays after cancellation, because the invoices outlive the subscription.

* **Payment method** shows the card the subscription is charged to, as **{brand} ending in {last4}** with its expiry date, while a subscription exists.
* **Invoices** lists every invoice with its **Number**, **Status**, **Total** and **Date**. Select **View** to open the invoice in Stripe, where you can download it.
* **Manage billing** opens the Stripe customer portal, where you update the card, the business name and tax id, and cancel the subscription.

After cancelling, the plan stays in place until the paid period ends. The **Your plan** card shows **Access until** with that date and the status **Ends at period end**. The site then returns to the Free plan if it remains available. Your period dates do not change. Settings, devices, team access and media schemes are kept, so you can subscribe again later while the Service and paid plan remain available.

If several devices still hold seats, every capture is refused until you release all but one, see [Seats and devices](#seats-and-devices). Media already stored expires 7 days after capture, older media at once. Storage above the Free allowance is deleted after 14 days, see [Storage you no longer pay for](#storage-you-no-longer-pay-for). Links already shared with your guests keep working until the media expires.

If a renewal payment fails, Stripe emails you and retries the payment for two weeks. The allowance stays in place while Stripe retries. If the payment keeps failing, the site runs on the Free allowance, with the same consequences as cancelling except that stored media keeps its expiry, until you pay the open invoice with **Manage billing**; the balance is frozen meanwhile.

There is no pause. To stop for a season, cancel and subscribe again later. Keep the six-month expiry of the balance in mind when you do.

A site with a subscription cannot be deleted. Cancel the subscription first.

### Storage you no longer pay for

Storage above the allowance that nothing pays for is not kept for free. This applies to a site on Base that is over its allowance with its balance spent, and to a site that returned to Free with more than 500 MB stored.

1. You are emailed with the amount over the allowance and a deadline 14 days away.
2. Until then, uploads are refused. Top up, add seats or delete media sets to get within the allowance, or subscribe again if the site is on Free.
3. After the deadline, the oldest media sets are deleted until the site is within its allowance.

A site that cancels with 15 GB of media therefore keeps it for 14 days after the paid period ends, then loses all but the newest 500 MB.

For a formal Data Act exit, the retrieval periods in the Terms of Service take priority for the affected data.