# Changing the default System account user name
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [April 8, 2018, 6:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803 "2018-04-08T06:25:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BlackKnob](https://meta.discourse.org/u/BlackKnob)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2018, 6:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/1 "2018-04-08T06:25:43Z")
Each time the Discourse container is rebuilt the System account user name reverts to “system”. Is it possible to change it permanently to something else?
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### Author:  [@Noah751](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noah751)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2018, 6:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/2 "2018-04-08T06:42:04Z")
Changing the system username isn’t recommended, it may lead to problems such as site breakage, my question is why do you want to change it?
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### Author:  [@BlackKnob](https://meta.discourse.org/u/BlackKnob)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/3 "2018-04-08T06:56:00Z")
Since the default System user sends automated messages to other users, I wanted do give it a more friendly name. Should I rather create a new user and list it as “site contact username”?
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2018, 1:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/4 "2018-04-08T13:29:13Z")
That’s what the setting is for!
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### Author:  [@FoohonPie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/FoohonPie)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/5 "2019-01-04T23:51:22Z")
Is the setting safe? @Noah751’s comment here and [an earlier topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-i-rename-system-user-permanently/14909) both mention potential problems, though it isn’t clear if those problems actually still exist:
> [@Can I rename "system" user permanently?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/can-i-rename-system-user-permanently/14909/16):
>
> The question is whether there is internal code that still refers to that user by id as indicated earlier in this thread, or if this is now fixed and it’s fine to rename that user.
I can see that I can do it, but I’m not confident that it’s safe to do so. Does anybody have any more recent info on this?
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Noah751](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noah751)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/6 "2019-01-06T00:10:50Z")
I haven’t heard much discussion about this in a while, I still don’t think it is safe to change the system username.
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### Author:  [@Stephen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Stephen)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/7 "2019-01-06T00:31:46Z")
Specifying an alternative account is safe, altering system is not.
Be aware that if you specify a new user that isn’t a person you will need to check the PMs and stuff, otherwise users could interact with it and never get a response.
Part of why system is looks and is named the way it is serves to deter such stuff.
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/8 "2020-04-15T06:00:56Z")
Our discourse is in spanish and _system_ doesn’t look friendly at all. I created a new account with our community name and it looks like _system_ (deters interaction) but more friendly.
I see that _system_ has PM enabled, so anybody can send messages to that account. Maybe a global renaming could be an great adittion to take in mind.
Just MHO.
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/9 "2020-04-15T11:46:54Z")
You can rename the system account.
EDIT: OOps. But you can’t.
I guess what to do is change `site contact username`, which I guess is what you did.
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/10 "2020-04-15T18:58:55Z")
But I read that’s not recommended and I see that every rebuild changes the name back to _system_.
> [@pfaffman](#):
>
> I guess what to do is change `site contact username` , which I guess is what you did.
Yep, I did it but _system_ stills showing in some important topics like tos or guidelines.
I think that global translation, at least, could be great for non-english users, in order to keep that account safe (without renaming it). Using a new account could motivates some interaction that we don’t really want (pms, mentions, etc).
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### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2024, 10:19am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-the-default-system-account-user-name/84803/11 "2024-05-18T10:19:02Z")