Setting up a new Tines 3B tenant goes smoothly when you configure things in the order they depend on each other. Start with people and identity first, then groups, roles, resources, and finally spaces.
Spaces feel like the natural starting point, but they actually come later on, because by the time you create one, you want the members, groups, and connectors it needs to already exist. This guide walks through that order step by step.
Note: This is admin work, so you'll need tenant-level permissions for each area, or the tenant admin role, which covers all of them.
What's already set up
Before you create anything, Tines 3B has done some setup for you:
A workspace. The first person to sign in to a new tenant gets a General space, two groups ("3B manager" and "3B editor"), and an "Example: Weather app" workflow to explore.
A personal workflow space for everyone. Each member gets their own personal space and chat the first time they sign in.
AI on by default. A provider managed by Tines 3B, covering Claude and OpenAI models, is the default with no setup required, so people can build straight away. You can add your own provider later in AI providers if you'd rather.
Step 1: Connect single sign-on
Start with identity, so the people you bring in can sign in.
Go to your SSO settings, and configure your provider. Then decide on the sync mode:
Off means you manage users and groups entirely in Tines 3B.
JIT creates user accounts automatically on first sign-in, but leaves group management to you.
JIT with groups or SCIM also let your provider own group membership, and in some cases whether groups exist at all.
Get this decision right before doing any manual creation.
When your provider owns users or groups, Tines 3B locks the matching controls so your provider can't overwrite your manual changes. Deciding the source of truth now saves you from building groups you can't edit afterward.
Learn how to set up SSO here and how to provision with SCIM here.
Step 2. Add your members
Everyone you'll grant access to has to exist first, so bring your people in next.
Go to Settings, then Members, and invite people by email. They'll get a sign-in link. You can also choose which groups a person joins right from the invite, so this step and the next one work well together.
Note: If you set up automatic provisioning in step one, members can instead be created when they first sign in.
3. Organize people into groups
Groups are the biggest time-saver in access control. Grant a group access to something once, and every member, including people you add later, inherits it.
Create them under Settings, then Groups.
Learn how to create groups here.
Note: Skip this step if your identity provider owns group membership.
4. Create custom roles, only if you need them
Many admins expect to build roles first, but you usually don't need to. Tines 3B's built-in roles cover the common cases, so you can share everything without creating a single custom role.
Only build a custom role when the built-ins don't fit your needs, and do it before you start granting access so the role shows up in the picker. You'll find this under Settings, then Roles.
Learn how to create custom roles here.
5. Set up shared resources
Next, set up the shared resources your workflows will use, so access to them is ready before people start building.
Connectors. Store the credentials and configuration for the external APIs your workflows call.
Skills. Package reusable instructions your team can share.
Networks. Control where workflows can send outbound traffic, using egress rules.
Service accounts. Give automations their own identity, separate from any one person.
Grant each resource to the right groups from its own settings, choosing a role such as Connector user or Network user. Granting from the resource keeps all of its access in one place.
6. Create your spaces and grant access
Spaces are the workspaces your workflows live in, and they're the last thing to set up because they tie everything else together. You already have a General space to start from, so create more only as your teams take shape.
In spaces, use the plus button to create a space. Then grant access from the space's settings: add the groups or people who should have it and pick their role, such as Space viewer, Space editor, or Space manager. If you'd rather not create every space yourself, give the relevant groups the space creator tenant role and let teams make their own.
Learn how to create spaces here.
7. Build and run
Your tenant is ready. Your team can now build workflows in their spaces, using the connectors and skills you've made available.
Why this order works
The pattern underneath all of this is: people and identity first, then the resources spaces rely on, then spaces, then building. Spaces come near the end on purpose, because a space is where everything else comes together. Set the foundation first, and creating spaces becomes the easy part.