# How can one update a user based on external\_id?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-can-one-update-a-user-based-on-external-id/176754
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [January 20, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-can-one-update-a-user-based-on-external-id/176754 "2021-01-20T23:45:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
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### Author: ![david](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/david/32/157490_2.png) [@david](https://meta.discourse.org/u/david)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-can-one-update-a-user-based-on-external-id/176754/2 "2021-01-21T00:25:38Z")

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You will first need to lookup the user’s Discourse user\_id, then make an update request using that. This should help with the first bit:

> [@Finding a user by their identity provider 'external ID'](https://meta.discourse.org/t/find-a-user-by-their-identity-provider-external-id/169723):
>
> bookmark This guide explains how to find a Discourse user based on their external\_id from an identity provider using API calls. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator When using an external authentication system, Discourse keeps track of two user ids: the Discourse user\_id, and an external\_id from the identity provider. If you need to lookup a Discourse user based on the external\_id, this #howto article is for you! Below, you’ll learn how to perform this operation. API S…

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