# Phase 1: Foundation - Context

**Gathered:** 2026-03-04
**Status:** Ready for planning

<domain>
## Phase Boundary

Containerized Docker dev environment, multi-tenant data isolation (PostgreSQL RLS), authentication with email/password, role-based access control for 5 user types (Admin, Office Staff, Collector, Technician, Client), tenant onboarding, super-admin tenant management, and unit test harness. No business features — this is pure infrastructure and auth.

</domain>

<decisions>
## Implementation Decisions

### Tenant Onboarding Flow
- Self-service signup — ISP fills out form and gets instant access
- Signup collects: business name, owner name, email, password, business address, contact info
- Single URL with tenant resolved from login (app.netforge.com) — no subdomains
- New tenants start empty — only pre-configured Chart of Accounts is auto-provisioned
- One email tied to one tenant (no cross-tenant accounts)

### Login & Session Behavior
- Email/password only — no social login for v1
- Self-service password reset via email link (forgot password → email → new password)
- Session duration: Claude's discretion (reasonable default)
- Session persists across browser refresh

### Super-Admin Experience
- Claude's discretion on whether separate URL or same app with special view
- No tenant impersonation — view-only access to tenant information
- Super-admin sees per tenant: status (active/suspended), subscriber count, creation date, last activity, plus any other useful platform metrics (Claude's discretion)
- Tenant suspension with grace period (not immediate lockout)

### Role Permission Boundaries
- **Multi-role support**: A single user can hold multiple roles (e.g., Technician + Collector). Permissions are the union of all assigned roles
- **Admin**: Full access to everything within their tenant
- **Office Staff**: Can create/manage users and assign roles. Can view financial reports but not modify Chart of Accounts or accounting settings. Can manage subscribers, billing, ticketing
- **Collector**: Can view all subscribers but can only record payments for subscribers in their assigned zone. Can log field collections and submit remittances
- **Technician**: Sees only their assigned job orders, subscriber contact info for those jobs, and inventory checked out to them
- **Client**: Sees only their own account — bills, balance, payment history, plan details, ticket submission

### Claude's Discretion
- Session duration and refresh token strategy
- Super-admin panel location (same app vs separate URL)
- Additional super-admin metrics beyond the specified ones
- Password complexity requirements
- Login page design and layout
- Error messages and feedback patterns

</decisions>

<specifics>
## Specific Ideas

- Multi-role is important because in small ISPs, technicians often double as collectors — they install/repair and collect payment on the same visit
- Collector scoping: can see all subscribers (useful for context) but can only act on (record payments for) their assigned zone — prevents accidental cross-zone entries
- Grace period on tenant suspension is important because ISPs have paying subscribers who need service continuity even if the ISP owner is late on their SaaS payment

</specifics>

<deferred>
## Deferred Ideas

None — discussion stayed within phase scope

</deferred>

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*Phase: 01-foundation*
*Context gathered: 2026-03-04*