Screenshot-led walkthroughs for the local browser UI (EMS SolarFlow Admin). Each guide follows the same shape: what the workflow is for, when to use it, what you need first, numbered steps with what you see and what changes, then warnings and recovery.
New here? Read what the Admin Console is first — product overview, install command, login, networking and HTTPS.
| You want to | Start here |
|---|---|
| Install EMS for the first time | Guided Setup |
| Update an installed EMS to a newer version | Guided Upgrade |
| Inspect, change or repair an installed EMS | Maintenance |
| Add, edit, disable or remove a device | Device management |
| Set up Local MQTT or Zendure Cloud MQTT | MQTT connections |
| Save a snapshot, or roll one back | Backup and restore |
| Something is wrong and you need evidence | Diagnostics and recovery |
| Open the console for the very first time | First start and login |
The start page detects your install state and recommends one of exactly two flows. It preselects, but it never acts on its own.
Guided setup
→ builds or recreates an installation
Maintenance
→ manages an existing installation conservatively
- Guided setup writes a fresh
config/config.json(backing up any existing one first) and prepares a deployment. Use it for a first install or a deliberate reinstall. - Maintenance works with what is already installed: upgrades, config edits, diagnostics, backups, restore and recovery. It changes as little as possible and previews before it writes.
Choosing Guided setup on a host that already has an installation requires an explicit confirmation first.
In v0.8.0-RC the Admin Console and EMS are one paired System Build. You
pick a single build; the console aligns both sides to it.
- There is no separate "Admin version" choice, and no supported way to run EMS on one build while the Admin stays on another.
- During a Guided Upgrade, Admin alignment is an automatic stage. If the Admin has to be replaced, the browser shows a full-screen reconnect overlay and the upgrade continues on its own afterwards.
- Selecting a build downloads nothing. Verify System Build is the step that downloads and proves the pair.
Background: System-build pairing.
Use this before you click something you are unsure about.
| Action | Reads | Writes config | Recreates containers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start page, Maintenance overview, Control & safety | Yes | No | No |
| Something looks wrong?, Device telemetry | Yes | No | No |
| Discovery / device scan | Yes | No | No |
| Config preview | Yes | No | No |
| Config apply (Setup or Maintenance) | Yes | Yes | Optional |
| Guided Upgrade | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create backup | Yes | No | No |
| Restore preview | Yes | No | No |
| Restore (confirmed) | Yes | Yes | Possibly |
Every writing action previews the change and asks for explicit confirmation. Config apply, Guided Upgrade and restore back up what they replace first.
The guides here are task-oriented. The full behavioural reference — every edge case, refusal, ownership rule and recovery state — lives in:
- Admin Console: Set up a new system
- Admin Maintenance
- Admin Console: Backup / restore
- Admin discovery (technical)
- Admin architecture (technical)
- EMS Dashboard guides — the everyday operating UI.
- Connection types — Local API vs Local MQTT vs cloud.
- Supported setups — whether your hardware fits.
- Safety — the pre-live checklist for hardware writes.