> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.usecobalt.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setup

> Provision a fresh EHR account and connect it to Cobalt

## 1. The clinic provisions the account

A practice administrator creates a new EHR user account for the integration: a username and a starting password, with multi-factor authentication required per the practice's policy. Any clinic can do this; nothing about their process changes.

## 2. Do not log in

A brand-new eClinicalWorks account requires first-login steps: selecting a security image, resetting the password, and enrolling multi-factor authentication. **None of these should happen.** The account must reach Cobalt in its fresh, never-logged-in state, because Cobalt performs the activation itself.

If an account has already been logged into before connecting, contact us before proceeding.

## 3. Connect it to Cobalt

Use any of the standard connection methods, and have whoever holds the credentials enter them:

* **Send a Link URL** from the [Cobalt dashboard](https://app.usecobalt.com) directly to clinic staff, so the credentials never pass through your team
* **Embed Cobalt Link** in your own product with the [React client](/docs/link/setup)
* **Use the API** to [create a Link token](/api-reference/link/create-token) and drive the flow yourself

Mark the connection as managed when you create it: check **Managed account** in the dashboard's send-link form, or set the managed flag when creating the Link token via API.

## 4. Cobalt takes it from there

Cobalt activates the account (the first-login steps above), enrolls multi-factor authentication, and rotates the password, so the connection runs on a credential that only Cobalt holds. From then on, passwords rotate ahead of every expiry policy and MFA stays managed. Syncing begins as soon as the connection is live.