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Overview

When someone receives a team invitation, accepting it is quick and simple. The system automatically handles everything - from account creation to adding them to the team with the correct permissions. Recipients receive an email with a unique invitation link that looks like: 
https://yourapp.com/invitations/accept/abc123...
This link:
  • ✅ Is unique and secure - 64-character random token
  • ✅ Expires after 7 days - For security
  • ✅ Can only be used once - Prevents duplicate acceptances
  • ✅ Works on any device - Desktop, mobile, tablet

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Acceptance Flow

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For Existing Users

If the recipient already has an account with your app:
  1. Click invitation link - Opens in their browser
  2. Log in (if not already) - Uses their existing credentials
  3. Email verification - System checks their email matches the invitation
  4. Automatic join - Added to the team immediately
  5. Redirected to team - Taken to the new team’s dashboard
Total time: ~10 seconds ⚡

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For New Users

If the recipient doesn’t have an account yet:
  1. Click invitation link - Opens in their browser
  2. Redirected to registration - Shown the sign-up page
  3. Create account - Email is pre-filled from the invitation
  4. Email verification - May need to verify their email
  5. Automatic join - Added to the team immediately
  6. Welcome to the team - Taken to the team dashboard
Total time: ~2 minutes ⚡

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What Happens Automatically

When someone accepts an invitation, the system automatically:
  1. ✅ Adds them as a team member - No manual approval needed
  2. ✅ Assigns their role - The role you selected when inviting
  3. ✅ Sets as current team - This team becomes their active workspace
  4. ✅ Marks invitation as accepted - Can’t be used again
  5. ✅ Sends them to the dashboard - Ready to start working
  6. ✅ Logs the activity - For audit purposes
No manual steps required!

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Validation and Security

The system automatically validates several things:

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Email Matching

  • The person accepting must use the email address the invitation was sent to
  • If emails don’t match, they see: “This invitation is for a different email address”
  • Prevents invitation theft or sharing

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Expiration Check

  • Invitations expire after 7 days
  • Expired invitations show: “This invitation has expired”
  • Contact the team owner to request a new invitation

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Single Use

  • Each invitation can only be accepted once
  • Already-accepted invitations show: “This invitation has already been used”

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Already a Member

  • If someone is already a team member, the system handles it gracefully
  • No duplicate memberships created

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Common Scenarios

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”I didn’t receive the invitation email”

  1. Check spam folder - Invitation emails sometimes go to spam
  2. Check the email address - Make sure invitation was sent to the right address
  3. Ask for resend - Team owner can resend the invitation
  4. Check email configuration - On the sender’s side

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”The invitation expired”

  1. Contact team owner - Ask them to send a new invitation
  2. They can resend - From the pending invitations list
  3. New link sent - Fresh 7-day expiration

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”I have multiple email addresses”

You must accept the invitation using the exact email address it was sent to. If you want to use a different email:
  1. Either accept with the invited email
  2. Or ask the team owner to send a new invitation to your preferred email

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”I’m already logged in to a different account”

  1. Log out of your current account
  2. Log in with the account matching the invitation email
  3. Click the invitation link again

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After Acceptance

Once someone accepts and joins your team:
  1. They appear in your team members list - Immediately visible
  2. Invitation status changes - Shows as “Accepted”
  3. They can access team resources - Based on their assigned role
  4. They see the team switcher - Can switch between teams if they’re in multiple

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Technical Details

The invitation acceptance is handled by:
  • URL: /invitations/accept/{token}
  • Controller: app/Http/Controllers/InvitationController.php
  • Route: Defined in routes/web.php
The system uses database transactions to ensure all operations (adding member, assigning role, marking accepted) happen together or not at all - preventing partial states.

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Customization

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Changing the Redirect

After acceptance, users are redirected to the team dashboard. To change where they go: Location: app/Http/Controllers/InvitationController.php Modify the redirect() call in the acceptInvitation method.

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Adding Welcome Messages

To show a custom welcome message after acceptance: Location: Same controller Modify the with('success', ...) message or add a notification.

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Requiring Additional Steps

If you want users to complete additional steps after accepting (e.g., profile setup, terms acceptance): Location: Same controller Add a check and redirect to your onboarding flow before taking them to the dashboard.

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Next Steps