Operations handbook

Greenlight administration for production

Greenlight is the application layer around BigBlueButton rooms. That makes its accounts, PostgreSQL data, mail delivery, OIDC configuration and API credentials part of the production service—not incidental containers.

6 min read Reviewed July 1, 2026 4 primary & community sources

01 Users and rooms Accounts, roles, invitations and room policy

02 Greenlight application Release, configuration and background work

03 PostgreSQL + SMTP + OIDC Durable data and external services

04 BBB or Scalelite API Meeting and recording backend

Operate Greenlight as an application with several dependencies.

Executive brief

What matters

01
Prefer SSO for institutional deployments and restrict local registration to an explicit policy.
02
Back up and restore PostgreSQL with the application version and configuration documented.
03
Investigate missing recordings across BBB processing, API discovery and Greenlight visibility as separate stages.

Set account and room policy

Decide who may register, create rooms, invite guests and become an administrator. With OIDC, document just-in-time account behaviour and deprovisioning. Use a small number of named administrators and keep a controlled recovery account outside the normal federation path.

Protect dependencies and secrets

Use trusted HTTPS, working SMTP, durable PostgreSQL storage and protected OIDC and BigBlueButton credentials. Keep Greenlight separate from busy media nodes when practical. Monitor certificate expiry, mail failure, database health and backend API connectivity.

Manage recordings as a pipeline

A recording must finish capture, process on a BBB node, appear through the BBB or Scalelite API, and satisfy Greenlight visibility and ownership rules. When it is missing, verify each stage and use timestamps and record IDs. Repeated resync commands without identifying the broken stage can create confusion.

Upgrade with a restore point

Read release notes, pin the intended image or version, back up PostgreSQL and configuration, and test in staging. After upgrade, verify login, room creation, join roles, SMTP and historical recordings. A container replacement is easy; compatible data and a proven rollback are the real upgrade.

Evidence base

Sources and further reading

We prefer project documentation and first-party product guidance. Community links are included where they reveal recurring operational questions rather than establish product guarantees.

Practical answers

Questions teams ask

Does Greenlight store BigBlueButton recordings?

It presents and manages recording metadata while the recording files are produced and stored by the BigBlueButton/Scalelite architecture.

Can Greenlight use Google or Microsoft login?

Yes through OIDC, directly or through a broker such as Keycloak. Configure exact callbacks and test lifecycle events.

Should Greenlight share the BBB media server?

It can in small environments, but isolation gives the application and database a cleaner lifecycle and scaling path.

What matters

Set account and room policy

Protect dependencies and secrets

Manage recordings as a pipeline

Upgrade with a restore point

Sources and further reading

Questions teams ask

Related guides and infrastructure

SSO with Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace and LDAP

Scalelite architecture and operations

Greenlight hosting that can grow beyond one BBB node