Create an account and sign in
Set up your Kensa account on the web and sign in to the desktop app with an OAuth provider.
Kensa uses one account across the website and the desktop app. You create it on the web; the desktop app signs in with an OAuth provider through your browser.
Quick path
- Create your Kensa account with email and password, or choose Continue with Google.
- If you signed up with email, confirm the verification email, then sign in.
- Open the Kensa desktop app and choose a Continue with … provider on the Welcome to Kensa screen.
- Your browser opens for authorization; approve it, and the app picks the session up automatically.
Expected result: the app leaves the sign-in screen and opens the setup wizard on first run — or your workspace after that.
Prefer the same provider on web and desktop (for example Google) so both sides attach to the same identity. The desktop app has no email/password form — it signs in with OAuth only.
How desktop sign-in works
- The app offers one button per enabled provider — Google, GitHub, or Microsoft, depending on the instance configuration.
- Choosing a provider opens your default browser; after authorization the browser hands the session back to the app. Cancel and start over resets the flow.
- Sign-in is required — there is no guest mode. Your session persists across launches, and a failed token refresh does not sign you out while you are offline.
What the account unlocks
Signing in is required to use the desktop app. It also enables team features — joining an organization, shared review policy, and team learnings — which you can set up later; nothing commercial is required to review code.
If something goes wrong
- No provider buttons on the sign-in screen — the authentication service has no OAuth providers enabled; try again later.
- Sign-in timed out — the desktop flow times out after five minutes; choose Cancel and start over and retry.
- Wrong GitHub identity — sign out of GitHub in your browser first, then retry, as the app's own hint suggests.