This guide explains how to invite users to a group in your Discourse community, covering methods for administrators, group owners, and moderators with specific permissions.
Required user level: Administrator or Group Owner (Moderators require the
moderators_manage_groupssite setting to invite users to groups they do not own)
Administrators and group owners can create invites to add new and existing users to custom groups. Moderators generally cannot invite users to groups unless they are the owner of that specific group, or if the site administrator has enabled the moderators_manage_groups setting.
This guide will explain:
- How administrators and group owners can send invites to users.
- How moderators can invite users to groups they own.
- How the
moderators_manage_groupssite setting changes permissions. - Using the Discourse API for user invitations.
- Sending bulk invitations via CSV upload.
Inviting users to a group
Administrators can invite both new and existing users to one or more custom groups. Here’s how to do it:
- Navigate to your profile page.
- Click on Invites.
- Select the Add to groups dropdown to select the groups you want to invite users to.
- Invites can be saved as a link that can be shared directly with users by clicking Create Link.
It is not possible to invite users to predefined groups such as trust level groups, admin, mod, or staff groups. As a workaround, you can configure a custom group to automatically set a user’s trust level in the Manage > Membership > Effects section of the group’s configuration page. Doing this allows you to set the trust level of invited users to a level other than what is set by your site’s
default invitee trust levelsetting.
See Configuring how users can create and send invites for others to join your community for additional details about sending invites.
Moderator Permissions
By default, moderators cannot invite users to groups they do not own. If a moderator attempts to add a group to an invite without owning that group, they will receive a “You are not permitted to view the requested resource” error.
There are two ways to grant moderators this capability:
- Make the moderator a group owner: Assign the moderator as an owner of the specific group they wish to invite users to.
-
Enable the
moderators_manage_groupssite setting: This allows all moderators to create and manage groups (including sending invites) across the site. This setting is found under Admin → Settings → Groups.
Troubleshooting: If you are a moderator and see the “Add to groups” dropdown in the invite form but receive an error when submitting, ensure you are an owner of the selected group. If you are not, ask an administrator to either make you an owner of that group or enable the
moderators_manage_groupssite setting.
Inviting users as a group owner
If you are a group owner, you can invite new users to the group you own. Follow these steps:
- Go to the group’s page.
- Click the Invite button.
Adding existing users
Group owners can also invite existing users (those who already have an account on the site) to groups using the Add Users button.
Using the API
Group invites can also be sent using the Discourse API with the /invites.json API endpoint. Alternatively, you can use The Discourse API gem to send invites using Ruby.
The following is an API example using the Discourse API Gem:
require 'discourse_api'
client = DiscourseApi::Client.new("https://discourse.example.com")
client.api_key = "your_key"
client.api_username = "an_admin"
# Invite user by email to specific groups
client.invite_user(
email: "bob@bob.com",
group_ids: "1,2,3"
)
Bulk Invites
Bulk inviting users can be done by uploading a CSV file. For details about this process, read the detailed guide here: Send Bulk User Invites.
Best practices
- Create custom groups to organize users based on roles or permissions rather than using system groups for invites.
- Offer clear instructions in your invitation messages to prevent confusion about why a user is being invited.
- Regularly review and manage group memberships to maintain an organized community and remove inactive users.
-
Use the
moderators_manage_groupssetting carefully: Enabling this grants moderators significant power; ensure your moderation team is trained on group management best practices before enabling it.
Common issues and solutions
- Invite not working: Check invite expiry dates and redemption limits.
- Users not receiving invites: Verify the sent email logs and ensure the email address is valid.
-
“You are not permitted” error: If you are a moderator, ensure you are an owner of the group you are trying to invite to, or that the
moderators_manage_groupssite setting is enabled. -
Cannot invite to system groups: You cannot invite users to predefined groups like
adminsortrust_level_2. Create a custom group with the desired effects instead.
FAQs
Can moderators invite users to any group?
No. By default, moderators can only invite users to groups they personally own. To allow moderators to invite users to any group, an administrator must enable the moderators_manage_groups site setting.
Can I invite users to the “Staff” group?
No. You cannot invite users to predefined system groups. Instead, create a custom group and configure it to grant the desired trust level or permissions.
How do I invite a user who already has an account?
Use the Add Users button on the group’s page (for group owners) or the Add to groups dropdown when creating an invite (for administrators).
Additional resources
Last edited by @MarkDoerr 2026-06-22T23:40:24Z
Last checked by @MarkDoerr 2026-06-22T23:40:36Z
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