docs/src/content/docs/features/Multi-User Mode/user-guide.mdx
import { Steps } from '@astrojs/starlight/components'
Multi-User mode is a recent feature (introduced in version 6.12), which allows multiple individuals to share a single InvokeAI server while keeping their work separate and organized. Each user has their own username and login password, images, assets, image boards, customization settings and workflows.
Two types of users are recognized:
Multiple users can be granted Administrator status.
To activate Multi-User mode, open the INVOKEAI_ROOT/invokeai.yaml configuration file in a text editor. Add this line anywhere in the file:
multiuser: true
You may also wish to make InvokeAI available to other machines on your local LAN. Add an additional line to invokeai.yaml:
host: 0.0.0.0
Restart the server. It will now be in multi-user mode. If you enabled the host option, other users on your home or office LAN will be able to reach it by browsing to the IP address of the machine the backend is running on (http://host-ip-address:9090).
:::tip[Do not expose InvokeAI to the internet] It is not recommended to expose the InvokeAI host to the internet due to security concerns. :::
If you're the first person to access a fresh InvokeAI installation in multi-user mode, you'll see the Administrator Setup dialog:
Now:
<Steps> 1. Enter your email address (this will be your login name) 2. Create a display name (this will be the name other users see) 3. Choose a strong password. The following criteria are required with `strict_password_checking: true`. - At least 8 characters long - Contains uppercase letters - Contains lowercase letters - Contains numbers 4. Confirm your password 5. Click **Create Administrator Account** </Steps>With strict_password_checking disabled, you'll be warned if you choose a
weak password, but not prevented from doing so.
You'll now be taken to a login screen and can enter the credentials you just created.
If you are logged in as Administrator, you can add additional users. Click on the small "person silhouette" icon at the bottom left of the main Invoke screen and select "User Management"
This will take you to the User Management screen...
...where you can click "Create User" to add a new user.
The User Management screen also allows you to:
<Steps> 1. Temporarily change a user's status to Inactive, preventing them from logging in to Invoke. 2. Edit a user (by clicking on the pencil icon) to change the user's display name or password. 3. Permanently delete a user. 4. Grant a user Administrator privileges. </Steps>If you are a registered user on the system, enter your email address and password to log in. The Administrator will be able to provide you with the values to use:
As an unprivileged user you can do pretty much anything that's allowed under single-user mode — generating images, using LoRAs, creating and running workflows, creating image boards — but you are restricted against installing new models, changing low-level server settings, or interfering with other users. More information on user roles is given below.
To change your display name or profile, click on the person silhouette icon at the bottom left of the screen and choose "My Profile". This will take you to a screen that lets you change these values. At this time you can change your display name but not your login ID (ordinarily your contact email address).
In single-user mode, you have access to all features without restrictions. In multi-user mode, InvokeAI has two user roles:
As a regular user, you can:
You cannot:
:::tip[The generation queue] When two or more users are accessing InvokeAI at the same time, their image generation jobs will be placed on the session queue on a first-come, first-serve basis. This means that you will have to wait for other users' image rendering jobs to complete before yours will start.
While other users' jobs are running you will see the shared image generation progress bar, and the queue badge will show a single number — the count of your own jobs that are pending or in progress. It does not show other users' counts.
Open the Queue tab to see where your job sits in relation to the other queued tasks. :::
Administrators have all regular user capabilities, plus:
In multi-user mode, each user can create an unlimited number of boards and organize their images and assets as they see fit. Boards have three visibility levels:
To change a board's visibility, right-click on the board and select the desired visibility option.
Administrators can see and manage all users' image boards and their contents regardless of visibility settings.
If an InvokeAI instance was in multiuser mode and then restarted in single user mode (by setting multiuser: false in the configuration file), all users' boards will be consolidated in one place. Any images that were in "Uncategorized" will be merged together into a single Uncategorized board. If, at a later date, the server is restarted in multi-user mode, the boards and images will be assigned to the internal 'system' user. Admins can access this legacy content, and will not be restored to original owners.
Each user has their own private workflow library. Workflows you create are visible only to you by default.
You can share a workflow with other users by marking it as shared (public). Shared workflows appear in all users' workflow libraries and can be opened by anyone, but only the owner (or an administrator) can modify or delete them.
To share a workflow, open it and use the sharing controls to toggle its public/shared status.
:::caution[Preexisting workflows after enabling multi-user mode] When you enable multi-user mode for the first time on an existing InvokeAI installation, all workflows that were created before multi-user mode was activated will appear in the shared workflows section. These preexisting workflows are owned by the internal "system" account and are visible to all users. Administrators can edit or delete these shared legacy workflows. Regular users can view and use them but cannot modify them. :::
The queue shows your pending and running generation tasks.
Queue Features:
Queue Isolation:
Your UI preferences are saved to your account and are restored when you log in:
These settings are stored per-user and won't affect other users.
Issue: Login fails with "Incorrect email or password"
Solutions:
Issue: Login fails with "Account is disabled"
Solution: Contact your administrator to reactivate your account
Issue: You're suddenly logged out and see "Session expired"
Explanation: Sessions expire after 24 hours (or 7 days with "remember me")
Solution: Simply log in again with your credentials
Issue: Features like Model Manager show "Admin privileges required"
Explanation: Some features are restricted to administrators
Solution:
Issue: Boards or images you created are not visible
Possible Causes:
<Steps> 1. **Filter Applied:** Check if a filter is hiding content 2. **Wrong User:** Ensure you're logged in with the correct account 3. **Archived Board:** Check the "Show Archived" option </Steps>Solution:
Issue: Generation or UI feels slower than expected
Possible Causes:
Solutions:
Issue: Your generation is queued but not starting
Possible Causes:
Solutions:
Not unless you change your board's visibility to "shared" or "public". All personal boards and images are private by default.
Yes. You can mark any workflow as shared (public), which makes it visible to all users. Other users can view and use shared workflows, but only you or an administrator can modify or delete them.
Yes, but you'll need to authenticate with a JWT token. See the API Guide for details.
Contact your administrator. They can reset your password for you.
Yes, you can log in from multiple devices or browsers simultaneously. All sessions will use the same account and see the same content.
Regular users can see the Models tab but with read-only access. Check that you're logged in and try refreshing the page.
Click the user icon near the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar to open the user menu. If you are an administrator, an "Admin" badge appears under your name in that menu and a "User Management" item is shown alongside the usual Profile and Logout actions.
Yes, ask your current administrator to grant you admin privileges. Admin privileges will give you the ability to see all other users' boards and images, as well as to add models and change various server-wide settings.
When reporting an issue, include: