Managing Participants
CTFFactory provides several mechanisms for bringing players into your event, controlling their access, and monitoring their participation. This page covers invitation flows, join links, the CTF Arena player view, and event-level roles.
Participant Access Models
Before inviting participants, decide which access model fits your event:
| Model | Best For | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Open registration | Public competitions | Anyone with the event URL can register |
| Invite-only (email) | Private corporate or academic events | Participants receive a personal invitation |
| Join link | Semi-open events with controlled distribution | A shared link grants access; revocable at any time |
| Workspace-restricted | Internal team events | Only workspace members can join |
Inviting Participants via Email
Email invitations are the most controlled access method. Each invitation is tied to a specific email address and cannot be transferred.
- Open the event in CTF Organizer and click Participants → Invite.
- Enter one or more email addresses, separated by commas or line breaks.
- Optionally assign participants to pre-defined teams at the time of invitation.
- Click Send Invitations. Each recipient receives an email with a personalized join link.
When the recipient clicks the link: - If they have a CTFFactory account, they are added to the event immediately. - If they do not have an account, they are prompted to register and are then added to the event.
[!TIP] For large events, use the bulk import option to upload a CSV file with one email address per row. The platform processes up to 500 invitations in a single upload.
Join Links
A join link is a single URL that grants access to any participant who has it, without requiring a prior email invitation.
- Navigate to Participants → Join Link.
- Click Generate Link. Copy the URL and distribute it through your preferred channel (Slack, email newsletter, conference badge QR code, etc.).
- To revoke access, click Expire Link. The old URL becomes inactive immediately. Generate a new link if needed.
[!NOTE] Join links can optionally be protected by a passphrase. Participants must enter the passphrase on the event landing page before they can register.
Team vs. Individual Mode
CTFFactory supports both solo and team-based participation:
- Individual mode — each player competes independently. The scoreboard ranks individual players.
- Team mode — players form or join named teams. Solves are attributed to the team. The scoreboard ranks teams.
Configure the participation mode under Event Settings → Participation before participants register. Changing the mode after registration has begun is not recommended.
CTF Arena — The Competitor View
CTF Arena is the player-facing interface for participating in CTF events. Players who have been invited to an event access CTF Arena through their CTFFactory account rather than directly through the CTFd admin panel.
What Players See in CTF Arena
- The list of events they have been invited to or have joined
- Challenge cards organized by category and difficulty
- Their current score, rank, and solve history
- The event countdown timer and scoreboard
- Hint unlock controls (if hints are enabled for the event)
- Flag submission interface
CTF Arena is a streamlined view. Players do not see organizer controls, writeup content, or flag values. The underlying CTFd instance powers flag validation; CTF Arena provides the polished interface layer on top.
Accessing CTF Arena
Participants access CTF Arena by logging into their CTFFactory account and selecting the event from their My Events dashboard. They do not need to know the CTFd admin URL or have any knowledge of the underlying infrastructure.
Event-Level Roles
In addition to workspace roles, CTFFactory defines roles scoped to a specific event:
| Role | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Event Organizer | Full event management: edit challenges, view flags, manage participants, view reports |
| Co-Organizer | Manage participants and monitor the scoreboard; cannot edit challenges or view flags |
| Participant | Play challenges, submit flags, view the public scoreboard |
Assign event roles from Participants → Manage Roles. A workspace admin is automatically an Event Organizer for all events in the workspace.
Monitoring Participation
The Participants dashboard shows real-time registration and engagement metrics:
- Total registered participants (and teams if applicable)
- Number of participants who have made at least one solve attempt
- Invitation acceptance rate (for email invitations)
- Per-participant solve counts and last-activity timestamps
This information is refreshed every 30 seconds during a live event. For programmatic access to participant data, use the REST API.
Removing a Participant
To remove a participant from an event:
- Go to Participants → Participant List.
- Find the participant by name or email.
- Click Remove. Their solves are removed from the scoreboard, and they lose access to the event immediately.
[!WARNING] Removing a participant is irreversible within the CTFFactory interface. Their solve history is excluded from the post-event report. If you need to audit past solves, export the event report before removing anyone.