New users clicking category link see “access to this forum is by invite only” and cannot log in via OAuth2

Soumya_Ranjan_Mishra
Sat, 29 Nov 2025 08:03:36 +0000
SSO

Hi Everyone,

We have a private category in our Discourse instance that is restricted to a specific user group. We created a link so new users can access this category after logging in through OAuth2.

However, when new users who do not yet have a Discourse account click the link, they see this message:

“Sorry, access to this forum is by invite only.”

Because of this, they cannot proceed to the OAuth2 login flow and never reach the category. Existing users can access it normally.

We want new users to be able to sign in via OAuth2 and then be added to the appropriate group so they can see the category—but currently Discourse blocks them before login.

What we need help with

Why is the site showing “invite only” even though we want to allow OAuth2 login for new users?

Is there a setting like oauth2 allow uninvited users or invite only that we need to adjust?

What is the correct setup if we want:

the site not to be invite-only,

OAuth2 users to sign in as new accounts, and

group permissions to restrict category access after login?

Any guidance on properly configuring OAuth2 + group-based category restrictions would be appreciated.

5 messaggi - 3 partecipanti