> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.couchdrop.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.couchdrop.io/administration/user-and-group-management/creating-users.md).

# Creating Users

Learn how to create and add users to Couchdrop

## Overview

Couchdrop users can represent employees, administrators, external partners, customers, applications, or automated systems that need access to your account.

Users can be created individually, invited by email, imported in bulk using CSV, or provisioned through SCIM. The method you use depends on the type of user and how many accounts you need to manage.

For more information about how users and groups work together, see [User and Group Management](/administration/user-and-group-management.md).

{% hint style="info" %}

### User types 

Couchdrop has three main user types:

* **Administrators** manage users, groups, and system settings.
* **Team Members** use Couchdrop operational features without access to the [Admin Panel](/administration/admin-panel-and-user-mode.md).
* **External Users** are restricted accounts for customers, partners, applications, or automated systems. 

See [User Roles](https://docs.couchdrop.io/~/changes/210/administration/user-and-group-management/user-roles) for more information.
{% endhint %}

## Creating a new user

Users are managed from **Admin Panel > All Users**.

From here, you can:

* Select **Create New User** to configure an account directly.
* Select **Invite user** to create a user using their email address.
* Select **Import .csv** to create multiple users in bulk.

When creating a user directly, you can configure their username, email address, password, role, home directory, filesystem permissions, feature access, and network access controls.

The user's [Root Directory](/administration/user-and-group-management/root-directory.md) determines the highest-level folder they can access.

Authentication can be configured using a password or supported SSH keys. See [Passwords and RSA Keys](/administration/user-and-group-management/passwords-and-rsa-keys.md).

### Inviting users by email

Use **Invite user** when you want Couchdrop to create an account from an email address and send the user an invitation.

When sending an invitation, provide:

* **Email Address**
* **Home Directory**

This is typically used for people who will interact with Couchdrop directly rather than headless systems or application accounts.

### Bulk creating users

For larger deployments, users can be imported from a CSV file rather than created individually.

Select **Import .csv** from **Admin Panel > All Users** and upload your CSV file.

At minimum, each imported user requires:

* `username`
* `root_directory`

The import also supports optional settings including passwords, RSA public keys, email addresses, access methods, groups, allowed IP addresses, expiry, tags, filesystem permissions, and delete permissions.

Bulk import is useful for initial migrations or one-off provisioning of many accounts. Couchdrop also supports automated provisioning through SCIM and the API.

## Managing user access

Creating the account is only one part of configuring a user.

Access can also be controlled using:

* [Groups](/administration/user-and-group-management/groups.md)
* [Network ACLs](/security-and-governance/firewalls-and-acls.md)
* [Folder Permissions](/administration/permissions/folder-permissions.md)
* [Features Access](/administration/permissions/features-access.md)
* [Role Based Access Control (RBAC)](https://docs.couchdrop.io/~/changes/210/administration/permissions/role-based-access-control-rbac)

Existing accounts can be updated at any time from **Admin Panel > All Users**. See [Editing users](/administration/user-and-group-management/editing-users.md) for more information.

## Provisioning users with SCIM

For organizations managing users through an identity provider, SCIM can be used for ongoing user provisioning and lifecycle management.

Rather than maintaining accounts separately in Couchdrop, SCIM allows supported identity providers to provision and manage users centrally.

For ongoing identity lifecycle management, SCIM is generally more appropriate than repeatedly importing CSV files.