Signing in

Step-by-step sign-in on the SolarLayout desktop app, plus how to fix sign-in problems.

Updated for v0.3.0. SolarLayout switched from pasting a license key to signing in through your browser. If you're on v0.2.x, update from the download page — your projects, history, and remaining calcs are untouched. See the Migration Guide for what to expect on first launch.

The first time you open SolarLayout on a new machine, you sign in. The app opens your browser, you sign in at solarlayout.app, and the app picks up automatically. After that the machine stays signed in until you sign out.

If you're new to how the account model works, the two-minute read at How sign-in works sets the context.

Signing in for the first time

Open SolarLayout

The first launch on a new machine shows a welcome screen with two buttons: Sign in and Create account. Pick the one that applies.

If you already have an account (you've signed in on another machine, or you bought a pack on solarlayout.app), click Sign in.

If this is your first time with SolarLayout, click Create account.

Finish in your browser

Your default browser opens to solarlayout.app. The page shows SolarLayout's sign-in form (or sign-up form, depending on which button you clicked). Sign in or create your account there.

The form supports email + password and "Continue with Google". Either works.

If you started with Sign in but realise you actually need to create an account, there's a "Sign up" link at the bottom of the form (and the reverse — a "Sign in" link at the bottom of the sign-up form). You can switch without going back to the desktop app.

Come back to SolarLayout

Once you finish on the website, the browser briefly shows a confirmation page that says something like "You can close this tab." The desktop app picks up automatically — usually within a second or two — and lands you on the Home screen.

If the desktop app doesn't pick up after about ten seconds, see the troubleshooting section below.

You're in

Your name shows in the top-right of the app, and your remaining-calc count appears next to it. You can start creating projects right away.

Closing and reopening the app does not ask you to sign in again. The machine stays signed in until you click Sign out from the user menu in the top-right.

If you're signed in and don't see your projects, click the user-menu avatar and check the email address shown — you may be signed in with a different account than you expect.

Signing out

In the user menu (top-right), click Sign out. The welcome screen reappears.

Signing out only disconnects this machine. Your account, projects, remaining-calc balance, and uploads on the cloud are untouched. Sign in again with the same account and everything is right where you left it.

Troubleshooting

The browser opened but the app didn't pick up

This usually means the browser couldn't finish handing you back to the desktop app. A few common causes:

You closed the desktop app between clicking Sign in and finishing in the browser. Reopen SolarLayout and click Sign in again.
An aggressive firewall or VPN is blocking the handoff. The handoff uses a small local connection on your own machine — no outbound traffic. If your security tool blocks local connections, allow the desktop app's listener (it only runs during sign-in).
The browser opened to the page but you signed in to a different account, then went back to the desktop and clicked Sign in again. Each Sign in click starts a fresh handshake; the older one is abandoned. Use the most recent browser tab.

If none of these match, sign in again — the handshake is short-lived by design, so a fresh attempt usually works.

"Already signed in" but the calc count looks wrong

The desktop app caches your account state between launches. To force a refresh: close the app and reopen it. The latest calc count loads from the cloud on each launch.

If the count still looks wrong after a relaunch, the dashboard at solarlayout.app shows the authoritative number. If those two disagree, contact support with your account email.

"We couldn't reach SolarLayout"

The sign-in handshake talks to solarlayout.app and api.solarlayout.app over HTTPS. If your network blocks either:

Try a different network (a mobile hotspot rules out corporate-network egress filters quickly).
Confirm your firewall allows outbound HTTPS to *.solarlayout.app.

Day-to-day work in the app also needs the cloud — every Generate click talks to api.solarlayout.app. Persistent network blocks affect more than just sign-in.

For restricted-network deployments, email support — we can advise on which hostnames need to be allowed.

What happens to my license key from v0.2.x?

If you're updating from v0.2.x, your existing license key is matched to your account automatically the first time you sign in. Your remaining calcs, project history, and uploads carry over. You don't need to enter the key anywhere. See the Migration Guide for the full first-launch walkthrough.

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