Howllo Product guides
The Howllo field guide

Know where to click.
Know what happens next.

Follow practical, click-by-click guides for workspace owners and staff. Learn how to create boards, invite your team, moderate feedback, and show customers where to take part.

For tenant staff · 7702Howllo App

Create boards, invite teammates, choose your public look, and moderate your workspace.

For customers · 7703Howllo Web

Customers browse boards, submit ideas or bugs, vote, comment, and follow progress.

For platform operators · 7701Howllo Admin

Operate the Howllo service itself: manage tenants, platform settings, and audit activity.

01

Create your workspace

Your workspace represents one product or project. Its boards, staff, theme, and customer community belong together.

1
Open Howllo App and sign in as staff

Go to app.howllo.dev. Staff sign in with the workspace’s configured provider (RooIAM on the current hosted setup).

2
Create the workspace

On Your workspaces, enter your product or project name under Create a workspace, then click Create workspace. Howllo creates a workspace slug and starter boards; you become its owner.

3
Open the workspace card

The card shows its URL slug, board count, and member count. Click the card to open Manage workspace.

Howllo App · Your workspaces
Your workspacesStaff invitations

Your workspaces

Open a workspace to manage its boards, or create a new one.

Northstar Product
/northstar · 3 boards · 1 member
Open workspace
Workspace ≠ one board. A workspace is the shared home for a project. Create separate boards inside it for feature requests, bug reports, discussions, or announcements.
02

Create and share boards

Use the Boards tab in Howllo App to shape the public feedback spaces inside this workspace.

1
Open the Boards tab

In Manage workspace, choose Boards. The left list shows boards already in the workspace.

2
Click Create board

Enter a board name, URL slug, description, and type. Choose whether it is private. Click Create board.

3
Select the board and adjust its display

Choose a board from the list. Set its name, description, type, background color, icon, public/private access, enabled state, and which dashboard sections to show. Click Save changes. Turning a board off hides its URL without deleting its posts.

4
Preview and share

Click Open board to preview it, or Copy public link to share it. Private boards are available only to workspace members.

Manage workspace · Boards
StaffBoardsPublic brandingUsersModeration

Your boards Create board

Public boards appear on your workspace site.

Feature requests
feature-requests · feature-requests
Open board ↗
Bug reports
bugs · bug-reports
Public
Slug becomes part of the public URL. Keep it short and readable, such as bugs or feature-requests.
03

Customize your public site

Public branding changes Howllo Web for this workspace. The staff app keeps its separate Howllo identity and blue-green theme.

1
Choose Public branding

Open Manage workspace → Public branding.

2
Set the name, logo, and colors

Upload your public logo, pick an accent and page background, then review the live preview. PNG, JPG, and WebP are supported; uploads up to 5 MB and 4096 × 4096 pixels are accepted and resized to fit.

3
Choose which workspace pages appear

Turn the Boards directory, Feed, and Roadmap on or off independently. Each has its own path under your workspace URL, such as /your-workspace/feed. Hidden paths show Howllo’s branded 404 page. To hide only one board, use its enabled switch in the Boards tab.

4
Save and preview

Choose whether to show “Powered by Howllo”, click Save public branding, then use Open public Web to see your changes.

04

Invite your team

Staff members help run this workspace. Their roles apply to the whole workspace rather than to only one board.

1
Open Staff

In Manage workspace, select Staff. Under Invite a teammate, enter their email and choose admin or moderator.

2
Click Send invite

The invitation appears in the invitations list. Email delivery is not configured on the current hosted setup, so send the invitee the app link yourself.

3
Ask them to sign in and accept

The invitee opens Howllo App, signs in with RooIAM, and accepts or declines the invitation shown there.

RoleTypical useWorkspace access
OwnerPerson responsible for the workspaceManage boards, staff, branding, sign-in, users, and moderation
AdminTrusted teammate managing the product boardManage workspace settings and boards
ModeratorTeammate reviewing incoming postsModeration queue
05

Review posts

Keep incoming ideas useful and the public boards readable.

1
Open Moderation

In the workspace manager, select Moderation. The queue shows posts under review or hidden across the workspace.

2
Choose an action on a post

For a post under review, click Plan or Decline. Click Hide to remove a post from public view; click Show to restore a hidden post.

06

Manage public users

Workspace staff can restrict a customer from participating across every board in this workspace.

1
Open Users

Choose Users in Manage workspace to see customers who have joined this workspace through its public boards.

2
Select the restriction and explain why

On the person’s row, choose Temporary suspension and a duration (1, 7, 30, or 90 days), or Ban until lifted. Enter a reason.

3
Click Apply

The restriction takes effect across this workspace’s boards. To restore access, click Lift restriction.

Workspace-wide action. A suspension or ban applies to all boards in the workspace, not just the board where the person first posted.
07

Connect an existing customer login (optional)

Customers can use Howllo accounts. If your product already has accounts, you can connect your own sign-in flow instead.

1
Open Sign-in (SSO)

Select Sign-in (SSO) in the workspace manager and click Enable SSO.

2
Use the workspace secret only on your server

Your backend signs a short-lived user token and exchanges it with Howllo to start a board session. Follow the code example in the SSO tab and the authentication docs.

Never put the workspace secret in browser code. Treat it like a password. Rotate it if it is exposed.
08

What customers see

Give customers the workspace link or a direct link to a board. The public site uses your workspace branding.

Howllo Web · your-product
DashboardRoadmapSign in

Your product boards

Pick a board to browse and share feedback.

Feature requests
Suggest an idea or vote on a request
Open board →
Bug reports
Report an issue for the team
Open board →

Dashboard

Browse this workspace’s boards and featured activity. Click a board to see its posts.

Board feed

Read reports and ideas, search or filter posts, open a post for details, and add your own post with the board’s Share feedback action.

Roadmap

See posts the team has planned, started, or completed. The workspace owner can hide the roadmap from Public branding.

Account and activity

Sign in to vote, comment, and follow updates. Use your account menu to edit your public profile or see your activity.

Typical customer journey

1
Open the workspace or board link

The workspace link opens the board directory; a direct board link opens that board.

2
Browse before signing in

Customers can read public feedback and the roadmap. Private boards require workspace membership.

3
Sign in to participate

Choose Sign in to create or access a Howllo customer account. RooIAM is for tenant staff; it is not the customer login.

4
Post, vote, and follow up

Open a board to submit a bug or idea, vote on existing requests, and check status changes later.

09

Create a customer account

Howllo Web accounts are for people using the public boards. They are separate from RooIAM staff accounts.

1
Click Sign in on the public site

Enter your email and create a password in the Howllo sign-in panel.

2
Save the recovery code shown after registration

The recovery code is shown once. Store it somewhere safe; it is required to recover the account if you forget the password.

3
Return to the board

After signing in, you can post, vote, comment, and manage your profile from the customer account menu.

10

Use Howllo Admin (platform operators)

This surface is for the operator of the Howllo service. Tenant staff should use Howllo App instead.

Howllo Admin can affect the whole installation. Give access only to trusted platform operators. It is separate from tenant owner and staff accounts.
MenuWhat it doesWhen to open it
DashboardSummary of platform activityCheck overall service status and activity
WorkspacesList and inspect tenant workspacesSupport an organization or investigate a workspace
PlatformGlobal platform configurationChange installation-wide settings
BoardsInspect boards across the platformOperator support and troubleshooting
Roadmap / ContentReview roadmap items and contentPlatform-level support or moderation
Tags / MembersManage platform taxonomies and member recordsMaintain shared platform data
IntegrationsInspect connected integrationsDiagnose provider or webhook setup
AuditReview recorded administrative eventsTrace who changed platform data
SettingsInstallation settingsConfigure the running Howllo instance

First-time platform sign-in

Open admin.howllo.dev. On a fresh installation, enter the server’s bootstrap key and set the admin password. After setup, sign in with that password. The bootstrap key belongs in the server environment; it is not a workspace invitation code.

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Keep learning

Use these links when you need more detail than the UI walkthroughs.

Authentication setup

Configure local accounts, RooIAM staff sign-in, or another OIDC provider.

Authentication docs ↗