The beta entry gate requires admission before mounting app content. Invitation validation leads to classic email authentication or configured provider sign-in. Successful authentication consumes one invitation for one account; returning admitted accounts do not need another code. Admin recipient email is distribution metadata, so Apple private relay is accepted.

The dedicated backend BETA_GATE_ENABLED setting disables both product access checks and invitation-required registration after the beta. It is independent of mobile beta visual masking. See the rollout and retirement guide.

Tracking: mobile issue #994. Mobile entry journey: mobile PR #995. Backend admission and migration: backend PR #635. Admin wording: admin PR #112. Central guide: documentation PR #364.

Verification: the complete mobile Jest suite passed (3,393 passed, 11 skipped), API unit tests passed after reconciliation with staging (1,658 passed, 42 skipped), and all 8 new PostgreSQL admission integration tests passed. The documentation build passed and admin Console validation passed. The broader backend E2E suite retains 15 failures reproduced on its clean staging baseline; the admin image release workflow is blocked by a missing rootlesskit binary on its runner. These limits are recorded in the corresponding PRs. Native rendering and live Apple sign-in still require a dedicated manual beta test.

Status: prepared for staging review, not deployed or activated on production. Database migrations are prepared only. Personal accounts, collections and the local emulator are untouched by this implementation.