Managing Users

Managing Users

🇫🇷 Cette page est également disponible en français : fr-Managing-Users

This page covers creating, organizing, and managing user accounts in Nextcloud, including group management, quotas, and CSV import for bulk provisioning.

---

Prerequisites

• You are logged in as an administrator.
• Nextcloud is configured — see Configuring-Nextcloud.

---

Creating a User

1. Go to Settings > Users in the Nextcloud administration panel.
2. Click New user.
3. Fill in the fields:

Field	Description
Username	Unique login name (cannot be changed later)
Display name	Full name shown in the interface
Password	Initial password (user can change it after login)
Email	Optional — used for notifications and password reset
Groups	Assign the user to one or more groups
Quota	Storage quota (e.g. 5 GB) or Default quota

4. Click Add new user.

Create a User via CLI

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:add \
  --display-name="Jane Doe" \
  --group="researchers" \
  jdoe
# You will be prompted for the password

---

Managing Groups

Groups let you manage permissions, sharing, and quotas for sets of users.

Create a Group

1. Go to Settings > Users.
2. Click Add group in the left sidebar.
3. Enter a group name and press Enter.

Assign a User to a Group

• From the user list: click the Groups cell for a user and add the group name.
• Via CLI:

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ group:adduser researchers jdoe

List Group Members

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ group:listmembers researchers

---

Setting Storage Quotas

Set a Default Quota for All Users

1. Go to Settings > Administration > User authentication.
2. Set the Default quota field (e.g. 10 GB).

Set a Per-User Quota

1. Go to Settings > Users.
2. Find the user and click the Quota column.
3. Enter the quota value (e.g. 5 GB) and press Enter.

Set Quota via CLI

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:setting jdoe files quota "5 GB"

---

Bulk User Import via CSV

For university or enterprise environments, you can import users from a CSV file using the User CSV Import app (install it first from Settings > Apps).

CSV format:

userid,display_name,email,groups,quota,password
jdoe,Jane Doe,jdoe@example.com,researchers|students,5 GB,ChangeMe123!
asmith,Alice Smith,asmith@example.com,staff,10 GB,ChangeMe123!

Import command (if the app provides CLI support):

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:import /path/to/users.csv

Note: Passwords in CSV files are temporary. Require users to change their password on first login via Settings > Administration > Security.

---

Resetting a User Password

Via Web Interface

1. Go to Settings > Users.
2. Click the three-dot menu next to the user.
3. Select Edit user and update the password.

Via CLI

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:resetpassword jdoe

---

Disabling and Deleting Users

Disable a User (preserves data)

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:disable jdoe

Enable a Disabled User

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:enable jdoe

Delete a User

sudo -u www-data php /var/www/nextcloud/occ user:delete jdoe

Warning: Deleting a user permanently removes their data. Consider disabling the user instead.

---

Next Steps

Next	Page
Manage installed apps	Managing-Apps
Troubleshoot issues	Troubleshooting
Get support	Support