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Emergency Controls

Read-only mode

Read-only mode is a panic switch that immediately stops all writes to the database without taking the application down. Use it when you suspect a sync error is corrupting data, you want to freeze state while investigating, or you need to perform maintenance.

When read-only mode is enabled:

  • All users see a persistent warning banner at the top of the app: "Read-only mode — [your reason]. No changes can be made until an administrator disables this mode."
  • All write operations return a 503 response immediately
  • SimpleFIN sync is paused
  • Classification pipeline is paused
  • File imports are blocked
  • AI insight generation is paused
  • Background job queues skip runs and log that they're skipped

What is NOT blocked: - Viewing all data (reading is fully available) - Data export - Admin panel access (you can still disable read-only mode) - Login and logout

When to use it

  • You see transactions you don't recognize appearing in bulk
  • A sync job appears to be creating duplicates or bad data
  • You're about to do database maintenance and want to ensure no writes happen
  • You suspect a configuration problem and want to halt automated processes while you investigate

How to enable read-only mode

This affects all users immediately

Enabling read-only mode blocks all writes for everyone in the instance and shows a warning banner to every connected user. Use it intentionally.

  1. Go to Admin → Emergency.
  2. Click Enable read-only mode (danger-styled, non-filled button — not easy to click accidentally).
  3. Complete step-up authentication (re-enter your password or TOTP code).
  4. Enter a reason (required, minimum 10 characters). This reason is shown to all users in the banner.
  5. Click Enable read-only mode (the final confirmation button).

All connected clients see the banner immediately via Server-Sent Events — no page refresh required.

How to disable read-only mode

  1. Go to Admin → Emergency.
  2. Click Disable read-only mode.
  3. Complete step-up authentication.
  4. The mode is disabled. All connected clients see the banner clear immediately.

Current state

The Emergency page shows the current state clearly:

When normal: 

● System is operating normally

Read-only mode is not active.
All writes and syncs are enabled.

When active: 

⚠ READ-ONLY MODE ACTIVE

Reason: [your reason]
Enabled: [time] by [admin name]
All write operations are blocked.
Syncs are paused.