Install SophMate and Complete the First Provider Test

Outcome

By the end of this tutorial, you will know how to use SophMate for SophMate setup while keeping the work reviewable inside WordPress.

Scenario

A store owner has installed SophMate from CodeCanyon and wants to verify that the AI provider works before editors start using Copilot.

Buyer evaluation note

Use this tutorial to evaluate whether SophMate treats setup as an operational control. A buyer or agency lead should be able to verify provider ownership, budget limits, diagnostics, support routing, and rollout blockers before inviting the team.

When not to use this workflow

• Do not invite more users when provider tests, budgets, diagnostics, support routing, or role ownership are unresolved.
• Do not use a personal or shared provider key for a production client site.
• Do not use this workflow to bypass the normal owner, reviewer, or approval path for production changes.
• Defer the workflow when the source data, permission boundary, rollback owner, or customer impact cannot be explained.

Example operator request

Check whether SophMate setup is ready for first use. Verify provider status, encrypted key ownership, diagnostics, budgets, roles, and anything that should block team rollout.

What the image shows

The tutorial image focuses on the SophMate Settings provider tab, where the AI provider, encrypted API key status, connection test, and first-run setup controls are visible.

Before you begin

• Know who owns the provider account, billing, budget cap, diagnostics review, and support handoff before inviting non-admin users.
• Use a site-specific provider key or client-owned provider account rather than a shared personal key.
• Confirm SophMate is active, diagnostics do not show blocking failures, and the current user role can open the relevant SophMate module.
• Check provider, budget, privacy, and approval settings before asking SophMate to draft or execute work.
• Keep customer data, API keys, purchase codes, and private credentials out of prompts unless this workflow explicitly requires and permits that context.

Access and data boundary

• Restrict provider credentials, budget changes, role mapping, and diagnostics to administrators or delegated operations owners.
• Treat provider keys and billing details as secrets; capture only test status and ownership notes in setup records.
• Use the least-privileged SophMate role that can complete the review, and keep administrator-only access limited to setup, provider, billing, diagnostics, and high-risk approval work.
• Prefer record IDs, short excerpts, and redacted screenshots over full customer records, payment details, provider keys, purchase codes, or raw server logs.

Guardrail

Do not share provider keys in prompts, screenshots, or support requests. Use Diagnostics for status evidence and keep budget changes owned by an administrator.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Testing provider setup with a shared personal API key instead of a site or client-owned key.
• Skipping the connection test and discovering outbound HTTPS or extension problems during a live workflow.
• Sending diagnostics screenshots that expose secrets instead of using the support-safe report.

Step 1: Confirm server requirements

Check WordPress version, PHP version, OpenSSL, DOM, iconv, and outbound HTTPS access. SophMate uses encrypted provider keys, so extension and connectivity checks should pass before live use.

Step 2: Open SophMate settings

Go to SophMate > Settings, choose the AI provider, paste the provider API key, and save the configuration. Use a provider key created specifically for this site or client account.

Step 3: Run the provider test

Use the Test Connection control and read the result. A successful test proves the WordPress server can reach the provider and that the key is accepted.

Step 4: Set budget limits

Configure the monthly site budget and daily per-user limits before inviting more users. Start conservative, then raise caps once real usage patterns are visible.

Step 5: Record the setup state

Keep a note in your launch checklist with provider, budget, and administrator owner. If support is needed later, include the diagnostics report rather than exposing secrets.

Review checklist

• Settings show the provider you expect.
• The connection test passes.
• Budgets are set before non-admin users start using Copilot.

Production readiness

• Verify provider tests, budget limits, role access, diagnostics, and support owner before inviting more users.
• Confirm no provider keys, billing details, or private account data appear in screenshots or notes.
• Run the workflow first on a narrow, low-risk record or page before expanding scope.
• Confirm the reviewer, approval rule, and evidence location before any production-changing action runs.

Failure modes to test

• Test failed provider connection, exhausted budget, blocked role, missing extension, and diagnostics warning states before inviting more users.
• Confirm setup evidence remains useful when the provider test fails.
• Test the path where the user lacks permission, required context is missing, or the reviewer rejects the result.
• Confirm the failed state leaves an audit record, visible owner, and clear next action instead of a silent or ambiguous outcome.

Success signal

The setup is working when the provider test passes, diagnostics show expected connectivity, budgets are configured, and no support-ready evidence exposes the provider key.

Post-run monitoring

• Watch provider-test health, budget consumption, blocked users, and diagnostics warnings for the first operating window.
• Confirm no user reports missing access or unexpected provider errors after setup.
• Review the audit log, diagnostics, and affected WordPress records shortly after the first run.
• Record any confusing output, missing source context, permission issue, cost spike, or reviewer correction before repeating the workflow.

Safe expansion criteria

• Provider, budget, role, diagnostics, and support-routing checks are stable after initial users start working.
• The setup path works without exposing secrets or requiring administrator-only workarounds.
• The first run has a documented owner, evidence, review result, and stop path.
• A second operator can repeat the workflow from the notes without relying on hidden context.

Rollback or stop path

If setup or budget behavior is wrong, pause team rollout, lower limits, rotate affected keys, and rerun diagnostics before enabling more users.

What to document

Document provider ownership, budget owner, connection-test result, diagnostics status, and who may change settings later.

Owner and cadence

A site administrator should own this setup and revisit it after provider, budget, hosting, or team-access changes.

Escalate when

Escalate when diagnostics continue to fail after provider, budget, and hosting checks are verified.

Common questions

What should I do if the provider test fails?

Use diagnostics to separate key, billing, model access, PHP extension, DNS, SSL, firewall, and outbound HTTPS issues. Do not rotate keys repeatedly before the failure category is understood.

Does this workflow remove the need for human review?

No. SophMate should make the work easier to draft, inspect, approve, and repeat. Human review remains necessary when output affects customers, money, published content, privacy, settings, or workflow execution.

What should be documented before expanding the workflow?

Record the owner, input scope, access boundary, approval point, failure modes tested, evidence location, monitoring window, and rollback or stop path.

Related SophMate paths

• Features/Copilot
• Features/Diagnostics

Next action

Complete one provider test, one diagnostics pass, and one budget review before inviting the next user group into SophMate.