# Confirming your email address

If you signed up yourself, Lalabase sends you an email containing a confirmation link. One
click is all it takes — after that you are done with the topic.

## Why confirm at all?

Confirming proves that the address you entered really belongs to you. That protects you twice
over:

- **Nobody can create an account on your address.** Without confirmation, anyone could sign up
  using it.
- **You can get back in if you forget your password.** A new password always goes to the
  stored address. If you mistyped it during signup, it reaches nobody — and the account would
  be lost.

## The three-day window

You do not have to click straight away. After signing up you keep working as usual, and a
banner at the top of the page shows how many days are left.

Once the window closes, signing in is blocked until the address is confirmed. Nothing is lost
in the meantime: the moment you click the link, your account and all its data are available
again. The link from the original email stays valid for a week, so it still works for a few
days after the window has closed. If you are already locked out, **Resend confirmation link**
on the sign-in page gets you a fresh email.

The three days count from registration, not from the last email: asking for a new
confirmation email buys you no extra time — only a working link.

## No email arrived?

Three things, in this order:

1. **Check your spam folder.** Automated mail ends up there particularly often the first time
   you use a new service.
2. **Check the address.** The banner shows the address the mail was sent to. If it is wrong,
   change it under **Account** — the confirmation email then goes to the new address.
3. **Resend it.** The banner has a button for exactly that. For security reasons only a few
   attempts per minute are allowed; if nothing happens, wait a moment and try again.

If still nothing arrives and you run Lalabase yourself, the server's mail delivery is usually
not configured — one for your administrators.

## Who does not need to confirm

Two routes get there without a confirmation email, because the address is already accounted
for:

- **Invitation link:** your invitation went to precisely this address, so it has already
  reached you.
- **Created by an administrator:** whoever set up your account hands you the credentials in
  person.

In both cases you will see neither banner nor deadline.

## Changing your email address later

You can change your address at any time under **Account**. It only **takes effect once you
click the confirmation link in the email sent to the new address**. Until then the previous
one stays active, and you keep signing in with it.

The first time, this looks like a bug — it is deliberate: a typo in the new address would
otherwise lock you out for good. This way your access survives no matter what, and if the
email never arrives, everything simply stays as it was.

## What's next

Once your address is confirmed, set up your work — see
[Creating your first project](https://lalabase.com/docs/en/guides/basics/first-project).