Sending bulk user invites

[Discourse]

This guide explains how to invite multiple users to your Discourse instance using a bulk invite feature.

Required user level: Administrator

Inviting a large number of users to your Discourse instance can be time-consuming if done individually. Fortunately, Discourse offers a bulk invite feature that allows you to invite multiple users at once. This guide will walk you through the process of sending bulk invites.

Summary

1. Prepare a CSV file with user information
2. Upload the CSV file to your Discourse instance
3. Monitor the bulk invite progress

Preparing the CSV file

The first step is to create a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file containing the information of the users you want to invite. Here’s what you need to know:

• Each line represents one user
• The email address is required and must be in the first column
• Group assignments (optional) go in the second column
• A specific topic ID (optional) goes in the third column

Here’s the structure of the CSV file:

email,groups,topic_id

CSV file guidelines

• Email addresses must be valid
• Separate multiple groups with semicolons (e.g., group_1;group_2;group_3)
• You can include existing users if you want to add them to groups
• Only the email is mandatory; groups and topic ID are optional

CSV file examples

user1@example.com,group_1;group_2,topic_id
user2@example.com,group_3,
user3@example.com,,

You can create CSV files easily using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Here’s an example of how it might look in a spreadsheet:

Just be sure to save the file as CSV when you’re done.

Comma Delimited CSV format in Google Sheets

Comma Delimited CSV format in Microsoft Excel

Uploading the CSV file

Once you’ve prepared your CSV file, follow these steps to upload it:

1. Go to the Invites page in your Discourse admin panel
2. Click the “Bulk Invite from File” button
   
   
3. In the modal that appears, upload your CSV file
   
4. Confirm the upload

After uploading, you’ll receive a confirmation message stating that you’ll be notified when the process is complete.

Monitoring bulk invite progress

Once the CSV file is processed, you’ll receive a personal message notification with a progress report. This report will include:

• Total number of invites sent
• Number of invites not sent (if any)
• Any errors that occurred during the process

You can check your invites page on your user profile to see a list of successfully sent invites.

What happens next

Each email address in your CSV file will receive an invite email. The email will include:

• The name of the person who sent the invite
• Your community’s title
• A brief description of your community (from the site description setting)
• An invitation link

When an invited user clicks the confirmation link:

• Their account will be immediately activated and associated with their email address
• They will be added to the specified groups (if any were included in the CSV)
• They will be directed to the target topic (if a topic ID was specified)

Invites that are not clicked will expire after 30 days.

Customizing invite emails

If you wish to customize the text of the invite emails:

• For general invites, edit the “Invite Forum Mailer” email template
• For invites that include a specific topic ID, edit the “Invite Mailer” email template

Additional resources

• Adding users from groups to other groups in bulk

Last edited by @JammyDodger 2024-07-24T06:39:16Z

Last checked by @hugh 2024-07-11T04:21:44Z

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[KCAS]

Hello,

Is it possible to, as it does with existing users, not bulk send emails if the user has a pending invite already?

We’ve uploaded some CSVs but a small number have overlapped causing double invites.

[nwnuyhs (Yang Hongsheng)]

That’s great，thanks for your sharing