Before you buy
What works offline?
Everything event related. After your licence is activated, the Gate Controller never needs the internet
again, and losing connectivity can never stop entry.
- Event creation: events, access types, and passes are created locally.
- QR generation and export: QR access is generated and signed on the Gate Controller and exported as CSV, printable PDF, or a PNG ZIP.
- Scanning: scanner phones talk to the Gate Controller over the venue's local Wi-Fi. No internet uplink is involved.
- Duplicate prevention: already-used and copied QR codes are refused instantly, from local state.
- Reports and history: the live dashboard, reports, and event history live on the Gate Controller.
- Backups and restore: encrypted backups are written locally and restore onto the standby computer without any server.
What needs the internet?
Only the commercial steps, and none of them happen on event day:
- Downloading GateFlow from gateflow.vip. No account is needed to download.
- Creating a GateFlow account and buying a licence (Paymob checkout, receipt by email).
- Activating a licence: one quick exchange binds the licence to your Gate Controller. A fully offline computer can activate by file through the offline activation page using any other connected device.
- Updates: downloading a newer GateFlow version.
- Remote recovery: if support clears a machine lock for you, the Gate Controller notices the next time it is online.
Buy a Production Event
A Production Event licenses one production event
for an exact number of Production Passes that you choose,
from 300 to 2,000. The price is simple: 15 EGP per pass. 300 passes cost 4,500 EGP;
1,000 passes cost 15,000 EGP; 2,000 passes cost 30,000 EGP. There are no bands, packages, or rounding
steps; the price is always the quantity times 15.
What is included
- All features. Nothing is held back behind a higher price.
- One active Gate Controller and one registered Standby computer.
- One self-service device transfer.
- Scanner phones, with no per-phone fees. You supply and prepare the phones; see choose and prepare scanner phones.
- Activation within 12 months of purchase.
- Up to 30 consecutive live days starting exactly once at the explicit Go Live action.
Capacity is a maximum, not a headcount, and unused capacity is not refunded. Prices are before VAT where applicable; taxes are shown before checkout.
Planning more than 2,000 passes?
GateFlow sells events from 300 to 2,000 passes, and nothing above 2,000. That ceiling is a deliberate
limit on what we are willing to stand behind today, not a technical maximum we have measured for you.
If your event is larger, tell us about it and we answer honestly about
what we can serve.
Capacity upgrades
Need more passes later? Buy a capacity upgrade and pay exactly 15 EGP per added pass, any amount, with no
minimum. Adding one pass costs 15 EGP. Upgrades stay within the 2,000-pass range.
How to buy
- Create a GateFlow account on gateflow.vip.
- Buy on the account page. Checkout is handled by Paymob and accepts cards and mobile wallets. GateFlow never sees card numbers.
- Your licence key arrives by email right after payment, in the format
GFL-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. It also appears once on the account page when your browser is still on it at the moment the licence is issued, which does not always happen. Save the key from the email: that is the copy you can rely on.
Where your data lives
- Your event data, any guest information you keep, QR payloads, and scan history stay on your computer by default. They are never uploaded to GateFlow. The one explicit exception is optional Guest Claim: when you turn it on, encrypted Access QR copies and coded (hashed) contact forms are pushed to gateflow.vip so guests can claim, and they are deleted automatically after the event.
- QR codes contain no personal data. Each one carries a random 32-character code.
- GateFlow's servers hold only your account identity (name, email), payment records handled through Paymob (GateFlow never sees card numbers), licence and device-registration metadata (machine identifier hashes, not hardware serials), and security records.
- For the full statement see the Privacy Policy.
Set up
Download GateFlow and try a Free Test Event
GateFlow is offline-first licensed event entry software for Windows. Everything event related happens
locally in the app on your computer: creating the event, generating QR access, scanning at the door, the
live dashboard, reports, and backups. The internet is used only to buy and activate a licence and to
download updates. It is never required during an event.
Download and install
- Download GateFlow for Windows. No account is needed to download or to run a Free Test Event. It arrives as a ZIP file.
- Unzip the folder on the computer that will control your gate, then run GateFlow.exe. That computer becomes the Gate Controller. Windows may show a one-time SmartScreen notice (click More info, then Run anyway) and a firewall prompt (click Allow access and tick both network types).
- Your browser opens the GateFlow setup screen, which guides you from first event to event day.
Try a Free Test Event first
- The Free Test Event is free and needs no account and no licence.
- It runs the full local flow with up to 50 TEST passes per test event: create a test event, generate TEST Access QRs, pair a scanner phone, and scan.
- Test QR codes are visibly and cryptographically separate from production codes. They can never be admitted at a production event.
Create your event
Events are created inside the app, on the Gate Controller. The setup screen walks you through four steps:
- Create your event. Name the event. Date and venue are optional.
- Activate your licence. Enter your licence key, or use activation without internet.
- Generate and share QR access. Export a CSV, a ZIP of PNG images, or a printable PDF.
- Backups and the standby computer. Note your Backup Recovery Key, set a second backup folder, and register the standby computer.
The permanent event ID
Every event receives a permanent event ID when it is created.
Your licence follows this event ID, never the date. You can rename or postpone the event at any time, even
after activation, without touching the licence: click Edit details on the dashboard to change the name,
date, or venue. The event ID and the licence binding never change.
Your event is created and stored on your computer. Nothing about it is uploaded to GateFlow.
Define access types and passes
Access types
An access type is a named group with its own rules, for
example General Admission, VIP, Staff, Vendor, Media, or Security.
The Re-entry choice
Re-entry is an explicit choice you make for each access type when you create it, and there are three:
No re-entry (each QR admits one entry only), Controlled (guests exit and
re-enter with the same QR, and both are recorded), and Unlimited (guests come and go
without a recorded exit). A Production Event needs a choice for every access type before you can continue.
A Free Test Event starts on Controlled so you can try the exit and re-entry flow straight away.
Production Passes
A Production Pass is one random 32-character code
with its own QR code. GateFlow needs no personal data: no names, no emails, no phone numbers, and no list to
upload. One pass admits one person through the gate under the rules of its access type.
Optional labels
You can attach a short label to any pass, for example a name, a company, or a seat. Labels are
optional and hold up to 80 characters. The quickest way is Add labels (optional) on the dashboard: pick an
access type and paste one name per line; labels assign in order, so the first line goes to pass 0001.
Labels stay on the Gate Controller and never travel inside the QR code. They appear in the CSV exports, the
ZIP manifest and file names, the printable PDF, the dashboard, scan results, and the scan-log report.
What counts toward capacity
- Your pass quantity counts every unique pass you issue: guests, VIPs, staff, vendors, media, and security.
- GateFlow asks you to confirm before generating passes and tells you exactly how many of your remaining passes it will use. Issuing is permanent.
- Blocking an issued pass does not restore capacity. Plan capacity for everyone who will pass the gate.
- A walk-in is a genuinely additional pass, so it uses one pass of your remaining capacity.
- A one-for-one replacement of a lost or compromised pass, made on the Gate Controller, does not use extra capacity: the old pass is invalidated in the same step, so the two can never both be valid.
- If you need more, buy a capacity upgrade and pay only the difference.
Activate your licence
Standard activation
- Open GateFlow on the Gate Controller and choose the Licence tab on the setup screen.
- Enter the licence key from your email (
GFL-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) and choose Activate on this computer.
- The app downloads a signed licence file. From that moment the event runs fully offline.
Activation without internet
If the Gate Controller has no internet connection:
- Enter the licence key on the Licence tab, then open the This computer has no internet section below the buttons and choose Export request file.
- Save the activation request file to a USB drive.
- On any connected device, open gateflow.vip/activate.html and upload the request file.
- Download the licence file, carry it back on the USB drive, and choose Import licence file in the same section.
Moving the licence needs your confirmation
- Entering the key on a different computer (a device transfer), or binding the licence to a different event (an event reassignment), never happens silently. GateFlow first shows one sentence naming exactly what will change and how much of your allowance remains, and proceeds only after you confirm. The offline activation page works the same way.
- One self-service event reassignment is included before the Production Event starts, alongside the device transfers described under device transfers and machine locks.
- Reinstalling GateFlow on the same computer is not a transfer. Enter the same key again and the licence file is simply re-issued, with no confirmation and no allowance used.
- Register the standby computer only after the licence is activated on the Gate Controller. A key that has never been activated answers: "Activate the licence on your Gate Controller first, then register the standby computer with the same key."
The Check for licence updates button
Check for licence updates, on the Licence tab, reports the true state of the licence: up to date,
transferred to a different computer, standby registration replaced, or no longer valid. It can never move
the licence, and a failed check never interrupts anything; the licence on the computer keeps working.
An active event can never be interrupted by licensing. There are no internet checks during
scanning, ever. If GateFlow's servers are unreachable, your event keeps running exactly the same.
Prepare event day
Generate and share QR access
QR access is generated on the Gate Controller, not on a
website. The app creates the files locally and nothing is uploaded.
Export formats
- CSV: one row per pass with its access type and code, for mail merge or any distribution tool.
- ZIP of PNG images: one QR image per pass, for printing onto tickets, stickers, badges, and wristbands.
- Printable PDF: ready-to-print pages of QR codes.
Preview first, distribute when ready
Every format comes as a preview export and a distribution download. Preview exports commit nothing; use
them to check layout and printing as often as you like. The first time you download a production event's
QR access for distribution, GateFlow asks for one confirmation and commits the event to this licence. It
does not start your live window: the 30 consecutive live days begin only when a Gate Manager selects
Go Live.
How the files are named
- Every pass gets a per-type number, for example VIP-0001, and can carry an optional label.
- The CSV starts each row with this number next to its access type and code, with the label alongside when one is set.
- The ZIP holds one folder per access type with files named like
VIP/VIP-0001.png, or VIP/VIP-0001 - Amina Farouk.png when the pass has a label, plus a manifest.csv mapping every file to its access type, code, label, and status.
- The printable PDF labels each QR with its type, number, and the last 4 characters of the code, plus the label when one is set.
- Access type names and labels keep their own alphabet in file names and CSV files, so Arabic stays readable, including when a CSV is opened straight into Excel.
- The printable PDF draws Arabic names with the computer's own Windows fonts. On a machine without a usable font it falls back to the number and code labels rather than broken characters.
- Numbers belong to their export: adding passes later (walk-ins, replacements, extra capacity) can renumber a fresh export, and each export's manifest maps its own numbers. Distribute from one export at a time, and rely on labels rather than numbers when you mix batches.
Distribute your way
GateFlow does not pick the channel. Print the QR codes, sticker them onto passes, send them over WhatsApp or
email, or feed the CSV into your existing ticketing platform.
The event can still be renamed or postponed after the Production Event starts. The licence follows the
permanent event ID, never the date.
Import QR codes from another system
If your guests already hold QR codes from another ticketing system, the Gate Controller can import that
snapshot and admit those codes alongside its own Access QRs. Import and reconcile lives on the dashboard
and takes a strict CSV.
What Snapshot Import supports, and what it does not
- Supported: stable, static text QR payloads only. GateFlow stores the exact text your
snapshot contains and matches it letter for letter at the door.
- Not supported: QR codes that rotate, change over time, or need an online check.
If the other system issues a code that refreshes on the guest's screen, embeds a timestamp or a
one-time value, or has to be validated against that system's server, Snapshot Import cannot admit it.
Confirm with your provider that the QR value is a fixed text before you import.
- GateFlow never calls the other system during a scan and never checks whether a ticket is still valid
there. Your snapshot is the truth GateFlow uses, so re-import a fresh snapshot before doors and apply
any later changes inside GateFlow.
- Imported codes carry no GateFlow signature, so treat the snapshot as the sensitive file it is.
You can replace any imported code with a native Access QR from the dashboard.
Check this before you import. GateFlow matches the exact text you imported, so a code
that has changed since the snapshot simply will not match at the door. If the other system cannot give
you one fixed text value per guest, do not use Snapshot Import: issue native Access QRs for those guests
instead.
Let guests claim their own Access QR
Guest Claim is an optional way to hand out Access QRs for a Production Event. You attach an email
address or a WhatsApp number to a pass on the Gate Controller, turn claiming on, and share one public
Claim QR link. A guest opens the link and verifies their contact: with WhatsApp they send one prepared message from
their own phone and the page unlocks by itself (GateFlow never messages them back); with email they
receive a plain verification message with a one-time "View my access" link and a code for the same
page. The Claim QR itself never admits anyone; only the private Access QR does, alongside its fallback access code if the QR cannot be scanned.
Current availability. Guest Claim is switched on centrally, one channel at a time, and
it is not open for real guest data yet: the written Egyptian privacy and data-transfer basis for handling
guest contacts has to be approved first. Until then, distribute Access QRs yourself, which is the
permanent base path and needs no guest contact details at all. Only the channels that are actually
switched on appear on a Claim Link, so an event never advertises a way to claim that cannot run.
How the claim channel behaves
- Contacts are attached either in bulk, with the Guest contacts CSV under Import and reconcile, or one pass at a time with Edit contact in the dashboard's Access panel. Emptying both boxes there removes that guest's contact from the Gate Controller.
- Email verification links and codes are single-use and expire after 15 minutes; the WhatsApp path expires just as fast. The guest can simply ask again.
- Several passes are shown to one contact together only when you grouped them into one claim bundle on the Gate Controller. A contact attached to separate ungrouped passes stays closed online and the dashboard tells you, so nobody ever receives a stranger's pass.
- A guest who is not on the list receives the same neutral answer as a mistyped contact. The page never confirms who is or is not invited.
- If you replace a guest's pass on the Gate Controller, the claimable QR updates automatically within minutes, not instantly.
- Claiming needs the internet; the door never does. If gateflow.vip is unreachable, claiming pauses but scanning is untouched.
- You can pause claiming or erase all claim data from gateflow.vip at any time from the dashboard. Local passes and contacts stay on your computer.
What leaves your computer, honestly
With claiming OFF, nothing about your guests leaves the Gate Controller. With claiming ON, the Gate
Controller pushes an encrypted projection to gateflow.vip: encrypted copies of the Access QRs and coded
(hashed) forms of the contacts, so the claim service can match a verified guest without holding a
readable guest list. Delivery providers see what delivery needs: the email provider sees the guest's
email address to deliver the verification message, and Meta (WhatsApp) sees the guest's number and
their own sent message; GateFlow sends no WhatsApp message back. Claim data is deleted automatically within 24 hours after the event is closed, and within 60 days at the latest unless the law requires us to keep it longer.
Choose and prepare scanner phones
You supply the phones. GateFlow charges no per-phone fee, and there is nothing to install: a scanner
phone is an ordinary iPhone or Android phone running the Gate Controller's own scanner page in its
browser.
What a scanner phone needs
- iOS or Android with a current, up-to-date browser and a working back camera.
- The venue's local network, on the same network as the Gate Controller. Mobile data does not reach it.
- The Gate Controller's local certificate trusted on the phone, which on iPhone means installing a
profile and switching on full trust in Settings. That is a preparation step, not a door step.
- Pairing approved on the Gate Controller before doors, and a pairing code when you use them.
Where the certified device matrix stands today
GateFlow publishes a certified device matrix, naming exact phone models, OS versions, and browser
versions, only after physically certifying them against the exact release being shipped. That
certification has not been completed, so there is no published matrix yet and no phone model is
certified today. We would rather say that than hand you a list we have not earned.
Until the matrix is published, prepare your own: run a Free Test Event on
the exact phones, OS versions, and browsers you intend to use, on the same GateFlow version you will run
at the door, and keep those phones aside for the event. That rehearsal is what makes a phone dependable,
not its brand.
Prepared phones are the rule, not the exception
- For a production event, prepared phones are the recommended default: trusted, paired, and tested
before doors.
- A staff member turning up with their own phone at the door is acceptable only if that exact phone
and browser completes the same preparation, trust, pairing, and test scan, and finishes before doors
open. GateFlow does not claim that an arbitrary phone can be made ready in the queue.
- A phone that cannot complete trust setup, pairing approval, or camera access cannot scan. Swap in a
prepared phone rather than working around the warning on the door.
Number of phones running at once
GateFlow has not yet published a measured simultaneous-scanner figure, so we do not quote one. Rehearse
with the number of phones you actually plan to run, at the gate count you plan to run, and use that
rehearsal as your number.
Pair a scanner phone
The Gate Controller
- The Windows computer that runs your event: verification, the live dashboard, exports, and backups.
- Any laptop, desktop, or mini PC running Microsoft Windows works. No special hardware.
- One Gate Controller is active per licence, plus one registered standby computer.
Scanner phones
- Scanner phones are included with every licence, with no per-phone fees. You supply and prepare them: see choose and prepare scanner phones for what a phone needs and where the certified device matrix stands.
- Phones pair with the Gate Controller over the venue's local network. On the phone, scan the connection QR shown on the Gate Controller dashboard with the phone camera, or type the address shown next to it. Then request pairing and approve the phone on the Gate Controller.
- The first time a phone connects, its browser shows a security notice because the Gate Controller secures the connection with its own local certificate. Continue past the notice, then compare the short trust code on the phone with the one on the Gate Controller dashboard.
- If the event lead has issued a pairing code from the dashboard, the phone also asks for it. Codes are single-use, expire after a few minutes, and can restrict a phone to one gate; once the first code is issued, every new phone needs one.
- Print staff briefing on the dashboard prints a one-page English and Arabic sheet with the pairing steps and every scan outcome, ready to hand to door staff.
- Local Wi-Fi is needed so phones can reach the Gate Controller. An internet uplink is not.
The event-day readiness checklist
Before doors open, the Gate Controller's dashboard shows an Event readiness panel covering the licence,
the passes you have issued, the distribution export, a recent backup, the second backup destination, standby
preparation, scanner approval, and the computer clock. It also warns when GateFlow runs from a temporary
folder, a cloud-synced folder (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive), or Program Files, and suggests a simple
local folder like C:\GateFlow instead. The panel is information only: it helps you prepare, and nothing on
it can ever block scanning.
Venue kit, network, and power
GateFlow runs on your equipment at your venue. The local network, the electricity, the phones, and the
physical setup are yours to provide and to protect. GateFlow cannot restore a network it does not own,
and it will never pretend otherwise.
Minimum kit for any event
- The Windows computer that runs the Gate Controller, with its charger and enough free
disk space for the event database, exports, and backups.
- Scanner phones you prepared and tested (see choose and prepare scanner phones), with their chargers.
- A local network you control, with the password to hand, that lets phones reach the Gate Controller.
Venue Wi-Fi is fine as long as it does not isolate devices from each other; a guest network usually does.
- A fallback QR access export (the CSV or the printable PDF) saved off the Gate Controller, plus the
phone numbers of the people who can act: the event lead, the venue's network contact, and whoever
holds the spare kit.
Higher-resilience kit, for events you cannot afford to interrupt
- A prepared standby computer, registered with the same licence key and proved with one practice restore before the event. A practice restore leaves that computer unable to admit anyone, so it can never quietly become a second computer running your doors.
- A router you control, or a tested spare network path: a second router or a phone hotspot you have
already used successfully with the Gate Controller and the phones.
- Power protection: a UPS or a battery-backed outlet for the Gate Controller and the router, plus
power banks for the scanner phones. A laptop with a healthy battery is itself power protection; a
desktop is not.
- A second backup destination on separate media, for example a USB drive kept by a different person.
- A printed copy of your door procedure and the staff briefing sheet the dashboard prints.
If the router or the network fails
Scanner phones stop accepting the moment they cannot reach the Gate Controller, which is the safe
behavior: a phone never decides entry on its own. To recover:
- Move the Gate Controller and the phones onto your spare network path (the spare router or the
hotspot you tested beforehand).
- Read the new Gate Controller address from its dashboard and open it on each phone, or scan the
dashboard's connection QR again.
- Approve each phone again on the Gate Controller, and issue a fresh pairing code if you use pairing
codes. The short trust code does not change: it belongs to the Gate Controller's own certificate
authority, not to the address, so a phone that already trusts it stays trusted.
- Entry history, duplicate protection, and capacity are untouched throughout. Only the connection moved.
If the network cannot be restored at all, any manual door procedure you fall back on,
a printed list, a stamp, a wristband check, happens outside GateFlow. GateFlow cannot see those entries,
so its duplicate protection does not cover them and the same QR can be used twice. Record what you let
in and reconcile afterwards.
Set up backups and the standby computer
Encrypted backups and the Backup Recovery Key
- While your event is live, GateFlow writes an encrypted backup about every minute whenever admissions
have changed, plus a checkpoint when you go live and at safe close. Every backup is read back and
opened again before it counts as verified, and the dashboard shows the last verified backup
time and its admission number.
- Backups are opened with your Backup Recovery Key, which starts with
GFR-. Open the setup screen, go to the Backups and recovery tab and select Show Backup Recovery Key, then note it down and store it safely, away from the Gate Controller. GateFlow cannot open your backups and cannot recover this key for you.
- Set a second backup destination: a USB drive or a second disk attached to this computer. Do not choose a folder that syncs to the cloud, such as OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive: GateFlow refuses those, because syncing can damage a copy while GateFlow is writing it and it would send your event data off this computer. GateFlow also refuses a network folder or a mapped network drive, because a share can accept a write and still lose it. The app warns you if the second folder sits on the same drive as the first.
The standby computer
- Install GateFlow on a second Windows computer.
- Register it as the standby computer with the same licence key. Do this after the licence is activated on the Gate Controller; the standby cannot be registered first.
- Keep it at the venue with access to the newest backup file. Before the event, prove it once: on the standby, open the Backups and recovery tab, open "Practice a restore, or take over from a failed computer", enter the backup file and your Backup Recovery Key, and choose "Practice a restore now". GateFlow restores a copy there and then holds that computer back from admitting anyone, so your main computer is unaffected. Only "Take over for real" makes the standby the computer that runs your doors.
A backup protects everything up to the moment it was verified. Whatever the door admits after that is not
in it. That is why the cadence is about a minute, and why the honest recovery limit below matters.
Check the clock and the dates
- The Gate Controller uses its own local clock for scanning activity and dashboard timestamps. Confirm the clock is correct before doors open; the readiness checklist includes this check.
- A Production Event licence must be activated within 12 months of purchase.
- Production scanning starts only when the Gate Manager selects Go Live; before that, scans are refused with "Event not live yet" and change nothing. From Go Live, the event may run for up to 30 consecutive live days, checked only at the start of a new operating day, never in the middle of a running day. Closing the event stops entries; you can reopen it while the original window is still active, and reopening never restarts the window.
- Postponing an event never needs a repurchase. The licence follows the permanent event ID, not the date.
Event day
Scan at the door
During the event, every scan is verified locally on the Gate Controller. There are no internet checks during
scanning, and GateFlow's servers being unreachable can never stop an active event.
At the gate: what staff see
Every scan answers with one short message on the scanner phone. The table lists every outcome and what it
means. The scanner screen is fully bilingual: a toggle on the page switches between English and Arabic,
the choice is remembered per phone, and Arabic lays out right to left.
| Message | Meaning |
| Entry granted | A valid pass admitted for the first time. |
| Re-entry granted | The person left earlier and the access type allows re-entry. |
| Exit recorded | The person left through the gate; the exit is logged. |
| Already used | This pass is already inside. A copied or reused QR is refused instantly. |
| Re-entry denied | The person left earlier and the access type does not allow re-entry. |
| Already exited | An exit scan for a person already recorded as outside. |
| Not inside | An exit scan for a pass GateFlow does not have as inside. |
| Not accepted at this scanner | This scanner is restricted to a different gate. The QR stays valid and works at its own gate. |
| Wrong event | The QR belongs to a different GateFlow event. |
| Access not recognised | The code is not part of this event's QR access. |
| Practice pass, not valid at this event | A Free Test Event QR was scanned at a Production Event. Practice passes never admit anyone at a real event, and no exception can admit one. |
| Access blocked | This pass was blocked on the Gate Controller. |
| Entries are not open. Ask the Gate Manager | The event is not admitting guests, and this phone cannot tell whether it has not started yet or is already closed. The Gate Manager knows which. |
| Event not live yet. Ask the Gate Manager | The Gate Manager has not selected Go Live yet, so nobody is admitted. Nothing is wrong with the pass. |
| Event closed. No more entries | The event was closed on the Gate Controller. Nothing admits a guest after that. |
| Event window ended | The event's 30 consecutive live days are over. New entries stop and cannot be admitted as an exception, because the live window is the entitlement the Production Event was bought with. History and reports stay. A later edition needs a new Production Event. |
| This computer is not running the doors. Ask the Gate Manager | The phone is talking to a computer that holds a copy of this event but was never made the Gate Controller for it. Point the phone at the computer running the doors. |
| Could not record this entry. Scan again, then ask the Gate Manager | GateFlow could not write the entry down safely, so it admitted nobody. No guest is ever admitted on a record that was not saved. Scan again. |
| Could not reach the Gate Controller | The phone briefly lost the local network. The QR was not judged; scan it again. |
| Response could not be verified. Reload this page and try again | The phone could not confirm the answer came from your own Gate Controller, so it refuses to show an entry. Reload the scanner page on that phone. |
| This phone must be approved again. Ask the Gate Manager | The Gate Controller no longer accepts this phone's approval. Approve the phone again from the dashboard, then scan. |
| Check that code | The Access Code was typed wrong, or no pass at this event has it. The line under the message says which. Type it again, or scan the QR. |
| This phone cannot scan right now | The problem is with the phone, not the guest's pass. The line under the message says what to do; if it repeats, check the dashboard. |
The live dashboard
- Inside now, entries, exits, and re-entries as they happen.
- Scanner phone status.
- Totals per access type: issued, blocked, admitted, inside now, and the re-entry rule.
- Search by label, access type, or code to check one pass, then act on it: Download QR (a single PNG), Edit label, Edit contact, Block or Restore, or Replace it after a lost QR.
- Someone pays at the door? Pick an access type and Create walk-in QR issues a new QR on the spot. A walk-in is a genuinely additional pass, so it uses one pass of the remaining capacity. A one-for-one replacement does not: the old pass is invalidated in the same step, so nothing extra is consumed.
- Reports and history after the event, kept locally on the Gate Controller. Open Tools, choose Reports and history, then Door decisions, Download CSV: the scan log downloads as a CSV (time, access type, label, code, gate, device, result, first entry, coverage) with the same plain-language results staff see. The coverage column says whether the file is the whole event or, if the local database could not be read, recent scans only.
Manager review: admitting a policy refusal as an exception
Two kinds of refusal reach the door and GateFlow treats them completely differently. A policy refusal is a
rule you set: the pass is genuine and belongs to this event, but the rule for this gate, this access type,
or this moment says no. A safety refusal means the credential itself cannot be trusted.
When a policy refusal happens, a Manager review panel appears on the Gate Controller dashboard with that
refusal in it. The door-desk situations it covers are:
- Not accepted at this scanner. The pass is valid, but this scanner is assigned to a different gate.
- Re-entry denied. The guest left and the access type does not allow re-entry.
- Not inside. An exit scan for a pass GateFlow does not have as inside.
Click Admit as exception on the row and type why. On a Not inside row the button reads Record the exit as an exception instead, because recording an exit admits nobody. The rules that apply every time:
- A reason is required. Blank is refused.
- Each refusal can be excepted exactly once. A later refusal of the same pass is a new decision needing its own reason.
- Exceptions are possible only while the event is Live and inside its 30 live days. Once the window has ended, nothing admits a guest: the window is what the Production Event bought, so no button extends it.
- A blocked pass is never admitted this way. If the block was a mistake, Restore the pass first, deliberately.
- Every exception is written into the scan log with your reason, so it is in Tools, Reports and history, Door decisions, and in your history afterwards. Nothing about it is silent.
- The panel is on the Gate Controller only. Door staff cannot grant an exception from a scanner phone.
Safety refusals can never be overridden, by anyone. An invalid or missing QR signature, a
Free Test Event QR presented at a production event, a code that is not part of this event, a QR from
another event, a scanner phone that fails authentication, and any failure to record the admission durably:
none of these ever reach Manager review, and no button anywhere in GateFlow admits them. GateFlow support
cannot override them either. If one of these is refusing a real guest, something is genuinely wrong; issue
that guest a new pass instead of trying to force the old QR through.
Recover if your computer fails
You recover on your own, without contacting GateFlow, using two things you prepared in advance: the
newest verified backup file and your Backup Recovery Key.
- GateFlow writes verified encrypted backups automatically while your event runs, and you can run one anytime from the setup screen. Keep a second backup destination, a USB drive or a second disk attached to this computer, so a dead disk never takes the only copy. Network folders and mapped network drives are not accepted: a share can accept a write and still lose it.
- First unplug or power off the failed main computer so two Gate Controllers are never live on the venue network at the same time.
- On your standby computer, open GateFlow, go to the Backups and recovery tab on the setup screen and open "Practice a restore, or take over from a failed computer". Point it at the newest verified backup file, enter your Backup Recovery Key, and choose "Take over for real". Check the last verified backup time and admission number on the dashboard first, so you know what the restored event will contain.
- Scanner phones then pair with the standby computer and the doors continue.
The honest limit: takeover is not lossless. The standby continues from the newest
verified backup, so any admissions committed after that backup was verified are not in the restored
event. Those guests are recorded as never having entered, and their QR will be accepted again. GateFlow
does not promise automatic, seamless, or loss-free failover, and takeover is always a deliberate action a
person takes, never something the standby decides on its own.
The order to try things in
- Prepared standby plus the newest verified backup. The fastest path, and the reason
to prepare a standby at all. Automatic Standby transfer, when you paired the two computers, means the
newest verified backup is usually already on it.
- Another computer already authorized on this licence, plus the newest verified backup.
Slower, same result.
- Before you have gone live, there is no admission history at risk: recover the
computer normally, or set the event up again and re-prepare it.
- With no usable backup and no recoverable Gate Controller, safe recovery may not be
possible. That is the real boundary of the design. It is why the Backup Recovery Key belongs
somewhere other than the Gate Controller, and why a second backup destination is worth the five minutes
it takes to set up.
Fix common problems
A scanner phone cannot open the Gate Controller address
- Confirm the phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the Gate Controller (not mobile data, not a guest network that isolates devices).
- If Windows Firewall asked for access when GateFlow first started, make sure it was allowed for both Private and Public networks. You can re-allow it under Windows Security, Firewall, Allowed apps.
- Retype the address exactly as shown on the dashboard, or scan the dashboard connection QR again with the phone camera.
The phone shows a certificate or privacy warning
- Expected on first connection: the Gate Controller uses its own local certificate. Continue past the warning and compare the trust code with the dashboard.
The pairing code is refused
- Codes are single-use and expire after a few minutes. Issue a fresh one from the dashboard.
A guest lost their QR code
- Find the pass on the dashboard by its label, access type, or code and click Replace. The old QR is blocked and a new pass with the same access type, re-entry rule, and label is issued. A replacement never uses extra capacity, because the old pass is invalidated in the same step.
Windows or an antivirus warned about GateFlow.exe
- The SmartScreen notice for newly downloaded apps is one-time: click More info, then Run anyway. If an antivirus quarantines the file, restore it, exclude the GateFlow folder, and tell hello@gateflow.vip.
The venue Wi-Fi or the router failed mid-event
- Scanner phones stop accepting immediately, which is the safe behavior. Move to your spare network path and follow the steps in venue kit, network, and power. Nothing already recorded is lost.
The Gate Controller computer died mid-event
- Follow Recover if your computer fails. The standby computer takes over from the newest verified backup using your Backup Recovery Key, and admissions committed after that backup are not carried across.
The event will not end or the app is locked
- If the dashboard says the Gate Controller is locked until recovery is completed, contact hello@gateflow.vip. After support clears the lock, simply reopen GateFlow while online.
After the event and your account
Transfer devices and clear machine locks
If the Gate Controller fails mid-event
Follow Recover if your computer fails: the standby computer takes over from the
newest verified backup and your Backup Recovery Key, and admissions committed after that backup are not
carried across. No approval from GateFlow is needed during the emergency.
Planned device transfers
- A Production Event includes one self-service device transfer.
- A transfer asks for your confirmation first: GateFlow shows what will change and how many transfers remain before anything moves.
- One self-service event reassignment is also included before the Production Event starts, with the same confirmation step.
- Reinstalling on the same computer is not a transfer; activating again with the same key simply re-issues the licence file.
Machine locks
If a licence is locked to a machine you no longer have, support can clear the machine lock remotely. Email
hello@gateflow.vip, then simply reopen GateFlow. You never need to
delete files by hand.
Manage your account and receipts
Your GateFlow account on gateflow.vip is where you buy licences and keep
receipts. The app itself never asks for your account email or password. The licence key is the only thing
you enter in the app.
What the account holds
- Your purchases, receipts, licence file downloads, and the last 5 characters of each licence key. The full key is sent in the purchase email, and the account page reveals it once at the moment the licence is issued if your browser is still there. Keep the email: the full key is never shown again afterwards.
- Capacity upgrades for an existing Production Event, at exactly 15 EGP per added pass.
Sign-in and passwords
- Sign in with email and password, or continue with Google or Microsoft.
- Email signup sends a verification link. You can sign in after the email is verified.
- Use Forgot password on the sign-in screen to set a new password.
Closing your account, and what survives it
Sign in, open Account settings from the top of the account page, and choose
Close this account. GateFlow first shows exactly what is removed and what has to be
kept, then asks for your password. Closing removes your name, email address and sign-in details,
including any Google or Microsoft link, and signs you out on every device.
Closing the account never touches your Gate Controller and never stops or shortens a running event. If
you have an activated licence, GateFlow says so before you confirm: your Gate Controller keeps working
with the licence key it already holds, and activating on a replacement computer, registering a standby
computer and offline activation all keep working with that key. What you give up lives on the site: the
licence list, the one-click licence file download, your purchase history and receipts, and the ability
to buy a capacity upgrade. Save your licence key first.
Two things pause closure, and both clear on their own. A payment that has not finished has to settle or
be cancelled first. A licence you have paid for and never activated stays available until its
activation deadline; activate it and you can close straight after. If you sign in only with Google or
Microsoft there is no GateFlow password to confirm with, so email
hello@gateflow.vip from the account's own address instead.
Some records cannot be deleted on request, because Egyptian accounting and tax rules require us to keep
them for the statutory period: payment and receipt records, and the licence records tied to
them (which licence key was issued, for which capacity, to which account, and where it was
activated). Those stay for as long as the law requires and are then deleted. Your events, passes, scan
history, and labels are not affected either way: they live on your own computer, and deleting them is
always yours to do.
Contact support
GateFlow support is self-service. Start with the built-in checks in the app and this Help Center. For
anything else, email hello@gateflow.vip. There is no WhatsApp
support, no phone support, and no on-site operations in the standard licence.
Support hours
- Email support is answered Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 to 18:00 Cairo time, excluding
Egyptian public holidays. Mail sent outside those hours is answered on the next working day.
- There is no 24/7 line, no on-site service, and no event-day response guarantee. If
your doors open at 22:00 on a Friday, plan on the assumption that nobody at GateFlow will pick up
before Sunday morning. That is exactly why the product is built to run with no one from GateFlow
involved.
- Human support is reserved for defects, payment disputes, account recovery, security incidents,
provider failures, and legal requests. Everything in the normal path, buying, activating, setting up,
distributing, scanning, backing up, reporting, and deleting, is meant to work without us.
What you own, and what we own
- You own the event. Rehearsing on the exact release, supplying and preparing
supported phones, the venue network, power, fallback QR exports, and understanding the recovery limits
on this page are the organizer's responsibility.
- You are the escalation point for your guests. GateFlow has no relationship with the
people at your door and never contacts them. A guest with a problem, including a problem with a Claim
Link, must be helped by you, not by GateFlow.
- We own the software and the commercial plane: the app behaving as documented,
licences and payments, account recovery, and security.
To help us answer fast, include
- Your GateFlow account email.
- The event name, if the question is about a specific event.
- The exact message you saw in GateFlow or on a scanner phone, if any.
- The approximate time and time zone.
Collaboration support
GateFlow reviews collaboration requests for high-visibility events. Selected events may receive setup review,
pre-event testing, and event-window priority assistance. See collaboration support.
Glossary
- Production Pass
- One capacity-consuming production credential: a random 32-character code with its own Access QR. Admits one person under the rules of its access type. Carries no personal data; an optional label can be attached on the Gate Controller.
- Access type
- A named group of passes with its own rules, for example General Admission, VIP, Staff, Vendor, Media, or Security. Re-entry is an explicit choice per access type when it is created: none, controlled (exit and re-enter), or unlimited.
- Production Event
- The licence to run one production event for an exact pass quantity you choose (300 to 2,000), priced at exactly 15 EGP per pass. Includes all features, one active Gate Controller, one Standby computer, one device transfer, one event reassignment before the event starts, and scanner phones with no per-phone fees. From the explicit Go Live action the event may run for up to 30 consecutive live days, checked only at the start of a new operating day; Close and Reopen never reset it.
- Event ID
- The permanent identifier assigned when an event is created. The licence follows the event ID, never the date, so an event can be renamed or postponed freely.
- Gate Controller
- The Windows computer that runs the event: verification, duplicate protection, the live dashboard, exports, and backups. Any laptop, desktop, or mini PC running Microsoft Windows.
- Licence key
- The key sent by email after purchase, in the format GFL-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX, and revealed once on the account page if your browser is still there when the licence is issued. Entered on the setup screen of the Gate Controller, it is exchanged for a signed licence file; once that file is on the computer the event runs fully offline. The same key registers the standby computer.
- Pass quantity (capacity)
- The exact number of Production Passes a Production Event covers, from 300 to 2,000. Every pass counts: guests, VIPs, staff, vendors, media, security. Blocking an issued pass does not restore capacity; a one-for-one replacement made on the Gate Controller does not consume extra capacity. A capacity upgrade adds more later at exactly 15 EGP per added pass.
- Backup Recovery Key
- The organizer-held secret that opens your encrypted backups, starting with GFR-. GateFlow never displays it by itself: it is revealed only when you select Show Backup Recovery Key on the setup screen's Backups and recovery tab. Needed together with the newest verified backup file to practise a restore, or to take over for real, on the standby computer. GateFlow cannot decrypt your backups and cannot recover this key for you.
- Scanner phone
- A staff phone paired with the Gate Controller over the venue's local network and used to scan Access QRs at the door. Scanner phones are included with every licence, with no per-phone fees; you supply and prepare them.
- Standby computer
- A second Windows computer registered with the same licence key. If the Gate Controller fails, "Take over for real" on the standby continues the event from the newest verified backup with the Backup Recovery Key. Admissions committed after that backup are not carried across. Practising a restore first proves the standby without making it a second computer that runs your doors.
- Free Test Event
- The free way to try GateFlow: no account, no licence, up to 50 TEST passes per test event. TEST QR codes are visibly and cryptographically separate and can never be admitted at a Production Event.