moderate_users.md

stage: Fulfillment
group: Provision
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments

Moderate users

DETAILS: Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: Self-managed

If you are the administrator of a GitLab self-managed instance, you have several options to moderate and control user access.

NOTE: This topic is specifically related to user moderation in a GitLab self-managed instance. For information related to groups, see the group documentation.

Users pending approval

A user in pending approval state requires action by an administrator. A user sign up can be in a pending approval state because an administrator has enabled any of the following options:

• Require administrator approval for new sign-ups setting.
• User cap.
• Block auto-created users (OmniAuth)
• Block auto-created users (LDAP)

When a user registers for an account while this setting is enabled:

• The user is placed in a Pending approval state.
• The user sees a message telling them their account is awaiting approval by an administrator.

A user pending approval:

• Is functionally identical to a blocked user.
• Cannot sign in.
• Cannot access Git repositories or the GitLab API.
• Does not receive any notifications from GitLab.
• Does not consume a seat.

An administrator must approve their sign up to allow them to sign in.

View user sign ups pending approval

• Ability to filter a user by state introduced in GitLab 17.0.

To view user sign ups pending approval:

1. On the left sidebar, at the bottom, select Admin.
2. Select Overview > Users.
3. In the search box, filter by State=Pending approval, and press Enter.

Approve or reject a user sign up

• Ability to filter a user by state introduced in GitLab 17.0.

A user sign up pending approval can be approved or rejected from the Admin area.