# Getting started

## What the platform is

Tinnitus Ripple runs listening-based tinnitus trials. There are two sides to it:

- **The portal** ([portal.tinnitusripple.com](https://portal.tinnitusripple.com)): a
  web application where researchers design trials, set recruitment targets, upload the
  therapeutic sounds, and monitor progress.
- **The participant app**: a mobile app, available on
  [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.ncl.tripple) and
  the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/tripple), where enrolled participants do
  their screening, listen to their assigned sound, and answer questionnaires.

Everything a participant experiences in the app is configured by a researcher in the
portal. There is nothing hard-coded per trial: a trial's arms, phases, questionnaires,
and audio are all set up in the portal and served to the app.

Other addresses:

- **API**: [api.tinnitusripple.com](https://api.tinnitusripple.com)
- **Landing page**: [tinnitusripple.com](https://tinnitusripple.com)
- **This manual**: [manual.portal.tinnitusripple.com](https://manual.portal.tinnitusripple.com)

## Who does what: roles

Access to a trial is controlled by a small set of roles.

Owner
: The researcher who controls the trial. Can edit everything, launch it, transfer
  ownership, and manage who else has access. Every trial has exactly one owner.

Collaborator
: Someone the owner has added to help. Can view and edit the trial's configuration
  alongside the owner, but cannot launch it, delete it, transfer ownership, or manage
  membership.

Auditor
: Read-only access. Can view a trial and its monitoring data but cannot change
  anything.

Administrator
: A platform-wide superuser who can see and manage every trial. Reserved for the
  people running the platform.

See **{doc}`access-management`** for how to add collaborators and transfer ownership.

## Logging in

You reach the portal at your trial team's portal address and sign in with the email
and password you were given. If you have forgotten your password, use the reset link
on the sign-in page; a reset code is emailed to you.

## The trials hub

After signing in you land on the **trials hub**: the list of trials you can see.
From here you can open an existing trial or start a new one. Each trial shows its
current status (for example *Draft*, *Recruiting*, or *Completed*).

Opening a trial takes you either into the **setup wizard** (while it is still a draft)
or the **overview** (once it is running). The next chapters follow that journey:
{doc}`concepts` explains the vocabulary, {doc}`setup/index` walks through building a
trial, and {doc}`running-a-trial` covers monitoring a live one.