# Set up a category ONLY for specific Users
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** spaces
**Created:** [November 13, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345 "2025-11-13T10:35:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gordon\_mrmoco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gordon_mrmoco)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/1 "2025-11-13T10:35:48Z")
I would like to have a group of users only be able to post/view/interact in a certain category. How do I set this up please?
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### Author:  [@jahan\_gagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jahan_gagan)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 10:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/2 "2025-11-13T10:56:27Z")
You can set this up easily using category permissions. Here’s how:
**1. Create a group (if you don’t already have one):**
- Go to your **Admin → Groups**
- Click **“New Group”** , give it a name, and add the users who should have access.
**2. Create or edit the category:**
- Go to **Categories**
- Either create a new category or edit an existing one.
**3. Set the permissions:**
- In the category settings, scroll to the **Security** section.
- Remove the default **everyone** (and any other groups you don’t want).
- Add your specific group.
- Assign the permission level you want:
- **See** → allow them to view the category
- **Reply** → allow replies
- **Create** → allow new topics
**4. Save your changes.**
That’s it — now only the users in that group can see or interact with the category. Other users won’t even see it listed.
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### Author:  [@gordon\_mrmoco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gordon_mrmoco)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/4 "2025-11-13T11:50:07Z")
Thanks. I created a group and added a user.
I went to Admin dashboard, but there’s no “categories” section.
I’m able to get into categories from my home page and there I can create a new category.
I went to permissions, and I removed “everyone” but in the dropdown the new category I created is not showing up to be selected…??
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### Author:  [@gordon\_mrmoco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gordon_mrmoco)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 11:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/5 "2025-11-13T11:52:23Z")
So I would need to take all my existing users who currently can see pretty much everything and put them in a group that excludes the new group/category and then somehow assign certain users I want to add to the new category only to that?
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### Author:  [@jahan\_gagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jahan_gagan)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 12:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/6 "2025-11-13T12:00:26Z")
> [@gordon\_mrmoco](#):
>
> I went to permissions, and I removed “everyone” but in the dropdown the new category I created is not showing up to be selected…??
category or group? You need to search for the group you created.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/7 "2025-11-13T12:02:44Z")
There is no way to exclude users from seeing something. You can only configure who is allowed to see something.
> [@Understanding groups and category permissions](https://meta.discourse.org/t/understanding-groups-and-category-permissions/87678):
>
> bookmark This guide explains how to manage category visibility and user permissions using groups in Discourse. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator Groups and category permissions are crucial for managing access and content creation within your Discourse community. This guide will help you understand how to use these features effectively. Summary Category permissions control visibility and user actions Permissions are managed through group access lists Different perm…
So you need to change the settings of all categories to show most of them to a group where your new group of users is not a member of, and then you add the other group only to their category.
Depending on why you want this, muting most categories for the group of users could work. That simplifies the interface, but of course, it doesn’t prevent access. So it’s not helpful in cases where you want information not to be available for them.
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### Author:  [@gordon\_mrmoco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gordon_mrmoco)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/9 "2025-11-13T12:16:00Z")
Yes sorry group. I can’t see the new group on the drop down to assign to the new category.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/10 "2025-11-13T12:17:09Z")
Did you reload the site between creating the group and trying to edit the category settings?
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/11 "2025-11-21T15:24:12Z")
Hi @gordon_mrmoco! Were you able to get your group and secure category set up to your liking? If so, we can close this topic.
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### Author:  [@lindsey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lindsey)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/set-up-a-category-only-for-specific-users/388345/15 "2025-12-08T13:00:52Z")
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