Fly.io 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Your Fly.io account is where your apps live, managed from the dashboard or the fly command-line tool. Fly.io's own two-factor authentication (2FA) uses an authenticator app (Fly.io). It's optional, and an organization can't require it: staff confirmed in 2026 that it's set per person (Fly.io staff). Fly.io's documentation has no setup page, so this guide relies on staff answers and screenshots from its community forum. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone in the steps. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Fly.io steps come from Fly.io's documentation and from posts by Fly.io staff on its community forum, including their screenshots, linked below, which we read on October 19, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Fly.io account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Sign in with GitHub or Google? Read this first
You can sign in to Fly.io with GitHub, Google, or an email address and password (Fly.io). With GitHub or Google, Fly.io leaves 2FA to that provider, so there's nothing to set up on Fly.io. A staff member explained that you can add an email and password login with the button at the bottom of the Settings tab, and then set up 2FA (Fly.io staff). Otherwise, turn on 2FA in your GitHub or Google account. Organizations can require that kind of sign-in under Settings > Single Sign On (Fly.io).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
From a staff answer and screenshot (Fly.io staff):
- Sign in at fly.io with your email address and password.
- Select Account at the top of the page.
- In the menu on the left, select 2FA. Its address is fly.io/user/2fa/new.
- Fly.io shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you can't scan it, the page also offers a setup key, according to a report about this screen that staff answered (Fly.io forum). In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Fly.io's posts don't show the rest of the setup. If it asks for a code to confirm, type the current one from Novaz.
When 2FA is on, the page says your account has two factor protection. Fly.io doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change, so scan the QR code if you can: it passes those settings to your app.
Get your backup codes now
Below that, a Backup codes box explains that each code works once, that Fly.io shows them only once, and that Regenerate codes makes a new set and cancels the old one (Fly.io staff).
If you turned on 2FA years ago, check it: in 2023, staff said early users may not have received backup codes (Fly.io staff).
Without a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so these codes are your way back in if the phone is gone. Keep them in a password manager or on paper. See 2FA backup codes.
When Fly.io asks for a code
In a 2024 staff screenshot, a Two factor authentication screen follows your password, with a Verification code box and a Sign In button (Fly.io staff). Fly.io doesn't document trusted devices or how often it asks.
fly auth login opens your browser by default, so you type the code there. For an email and password login in the terminal, the command has an --otp option for the code (Fly.io).
If Fly.io rejects your code
The same screenshot shows the error Wrong verification code, please try again. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. More in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your authenticator
Use a backup code: the 2024 sign-in screen has a Use recovery code instead? link below the code box (Fly.io staff).
Without codes, staff have sent locked-out users to billing@fly.io (Fly.io staff), the address Fly.io's support page gives for account issues (Fly.io). Expect identity checks. In 2026, Fly.io support wrote that a reset needs full identity verification, and that teammates can't reset it for you (Fly.io staff). In 2022, staff asked for a copy of a passport or US driver's license (Fly.io staff). Fly.io doesn't say how long it takes.
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones or turning it off
Fly.io doesn't describe moving 2FA. The 2FA page has a Disable button (Fly.io staff), so while the old phone still works, you can turn 2FA off and set it up again on the new one. Fly.io doesn't say whether Disable asks for a code. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
Official Fly.io help
- Healthcare apps on Fly
- Sign up and sign in to Fly.io
- fly auth login
- Single sign-on for organizations
- Support
Staff answers on the Fly.io community forum:
