# Getting started

How to sign in, find your way around Merlin, and switch between accounts.

## Signing in

Merlin authenticates with an email address and a password. There is no social login option of
any kind — the Google and Meta connections read your marketing platforms, they are not a way
to sign in.

1. Go to your Merlin address. If your agency runs Merlin under its own brand, that is their
   domain rather than ours.
2. Enter your email address and password.
3. If you have forgotten your password, use the reset link and follow the emailed instructions.

Accounts are provisioned by your agency as part of a services engagement. There is no
self-serve sign-up form.

## The shell

Every screen sits inside the same shell:

- **Sidebar** — the modules your account has. Anything outside your engagement is shown
  locked rather than hidden, so it is always clear what else exists.
- **Topbar** — global search, the notifications bell, the account switcher and your profile.
- **Merlin AI** — a floating button in the corner that opens the assistant over whatever you
  are looking at.

## Switching accounts

If you have access to more than one business, use the account switcher in the topbar. Every
screen — dashboards, CRM records, bookings, invoices — reloads for the account you pick.
Data is scoped per account on every request, so you only ever see what you have been granted.

## Light and dark

Merlin ships both themes. Use the theme control in your profile or the topbar to pin light or
dark; with nothing pinned it follows your operating system. On a white-label brand the palette
is that brand's, not ours.

## Getting help

The **Support** page in the sidebar opens a form that reaches the team running your account.