`
Studying the source code shows:
```plaintext
def group_add_owners(group_id, args)
args = API.params(args).required(:usernames).to_h
put("/admin/groups/#{group_id}/owners.json", group: args)
end
def group_remove_owners(group_id, args)
args = API.params(args).required(:usernames).to_h
delete("/admin/groups/#{group_id}/owners.json", group: args)
end
```
and this code doesn’t seem to have changed since 2023.
I am running Discourse 3.4.7, and the add owners entry point in the source code gives a 404 error.
Urls I have tried:
`PUT /groups/384/owners usernames=nikkilocke` OK
`PUT /admin/groups/384/owners group[usernames]=nikkilocke` 404 error
`DEL /admin/groups/384/owners group[usernames]=nikkilocke` OK
`DEL /admin/groups/384/owners user_id = 12` OK
Can anyone advise me what’s going on, and which urls to use for this, please?
---
### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/2 "2025-08-20T12:05:38Z")
> [@Nikki\_Locke](#):
>
> goup
I assume that that’s a typo and not the cause of your error?
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 12:48pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/3 "2025-08-20T12:48:35Z")
> [@Nikki\_Locke](#):
>
> I wish to add and remove group owners using the API. This is not documented in the api docs.
The best and surest documentation for the API is [Reverse engineer the Discourse API](https://meta.discourse.org/t/reverse-engineer-the-discourse-api/20576)
> [@Nikki\_Locke](#):
>
> the add owners entry point in the source code gives a 404 error.
Are you sure that you have a valid API key and that you are passing it correctly? A 404 error is expected if you are not properly authenticated.
Are you able to do any requests that require authorization?
---
### Author:  [@Nikki\_Locke](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Nikki_Locke)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/4 "2025-08-20T15:36:37Z")
As I said in the original post, 3 out of the 4 possibilities work fine (with the same API key).
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/5 "2025-08-20T15:54:25Z")
> [@Nikki\_Locke](#):
>
> As I said in the original post, 3 out of the 4 possibilities work fine
Ah. Sorry. The “OK” at the end of the line was somehow too subtle for me to follow.
When I add an owner, I see this PUT request `https://example.com/groups/75/owners.json` with `usernames= pfaffman123` in the form data.
Did you follow the reverse engineering steps I linked to?
---
### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [September 23, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/6 "2025-09-23T13:58:29Z")
@Nikki_Locke were you able to resolve your issue?
---
### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cannot-fathom-the-api-for-adding-and-removing-group-owners/379454/7 "2025-09-29T15:01:15Z")
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