Skip to content
Kong Logo | Kong Docs Logo
search
  • We're Hiring!
  • Docs
    • Kong Gateway
    • Kong Konnect
    • Kong Mesh
    • Plugin Hub
    • decK
    • Kubernetes Ingress Controller
    • Insomnia
    • Kuma

    • Docs contribution guidelines
  • Plugin Hub
  • Support
  • Community
  • Kong Academy
Get a Demo Start Free Trial
  • Kong Gateway
  • Kong Konnect
  • Kong Mesh
  • Plugin Hub
  • decK
  • Kubernetes Ingress Controller
  • Insomnia
  • Kuma

  • Docs contribution guidelines
  • 3.2.x (latest)
  • 3.1.x
  • 3.0.x
  • 2.8.x
  • 2.7.x
  • 2.6.x
  • Older Enterprise versions (2.1-2.5)
  • Older OSS versions (2.1-2.5)
  • Archive (pre-2.1)
    • Overview of Kong Gateway
      • Version Support Policy
      • Supported Installation Options
      • Supported Linux Distributions
    • Stability
    • Release Notes
      • Services
        • Overview
        • Configure Routes with Expressions
      • Upstreams
      • Plugins
      • Routing Traffic
      • Load Balancing
      • Health Checks and Circuit Breakers
      • Kong Performance Testing
    • Glossary
    • Get Kong
    • Services and Routes
    • Rate Limiting
    • Proxy Caching
    • Key Authentication
    • Load-Balancing
      • Overview
        • Overview
        • Deploy Kong Gateway in Hybrid mode
      • DB-less Deployment
      • Traditional
      • Overview
        • Helm
        • OpenShift with Helm
        • kubectl apply
        • Kubernetes Deployment Options
        • Using docker run
        • Build your own Docker images
        • Amazon Linux
        • Debian
        • Red Hat
        • Ubuntu
      • Running Kong as a non-root user
      • Securing the Admin API
      • Using systemd
      • Start Kong Gateway Securely
      • Programatically Creating Admins
      • Enabling RBAC
      • Overview
      • Download your License
      • Deploy Enterprise License
      • Using the License API
      • Monitor Licenses Usage
      • Default Ports
      • DNS Considerations
      • Network and Firewall
      • CP/DP Communication through a Forward Proxy
    • Kong Configuration File
    • Environment Variables
    • Serving a Website and APIs from Kong
      • Overview
      • Prometheus
      • StatsD
      • Datadog
      • Overview
      • Writing a Custom Trace Exporter
      • Tracing API Reference
    • Resource Sizing Guidelines
    • Security Update Process
    • Blue-Green Deployments
    • Canary Deployments
    • Clustering Reference
      • Log Reference
      • Dynamic log level updates
      • Customize Gateway Logs
      • Upgrade Kong Gateway 3.1.x
      • Migrate from OSS to Enterprise
    • Overview
      • Overview
      • Metrics
      • Analytics with InfluxDB
      • Analytics with Prometheus
      • Estimate Analytics Storage in PostgreSQL
      • Overview
      • Getting Started
      • Advanced Usage
        • Overview
        • Environment Variables
        • AWS Secrets Manager
        • Google Secrets Manager
        • Hashicorp Vault
        • Securing the Database with AWS Secrets Manager
      • Reference Format
      • Overview
      • Get Started with Dynamic Plugin Ordering
      • Overview
      • Enable the Dev Portal
      • Publish an OpenAPI Spec
      • Structure and File Types
      • Themes Files
      • Working with Templates
      • Using the Editor
        • Basic Auth
        • Key Auth
        • OIDC
        • Sessions
        • Adding Custom Registration Fields
        • Manage Developers
        • Developer Roles and Content Permissions
        • Authorization Provider Strategy
        • Enable Application Registration
        • Enable Key Authentication for Application Registration
          • External OAuth2 Support
          • Set up Okta and Kong for External Oauth
          • Set up Azure AD and Kong for External Authentication
        • Manage Applications
        • Theme Editing
        • Migrating Templates Between Workspaces
        • Markdown Rendering Module
        • Customizing Portal Emails
        • Adding and Using JavaScript Assets
        • Single Page App in Dev Portal
        • Alternate OpenAPI Renderer
      • SMTP
      • Workspaces
      • Helpers CLI
      • Portal API Documentation
    • Audit Logging
    • Keyring and Data Encryption
    • Workspaces
    • Consumer Groups
    • Event Hooks
    • FIPS 140-2
    • Overview
    • Enable Kong Manager
      • Services and Routes
      • Rate Limiting
      • Proxy Caching
      • Authentication with Consumers
      • Load Balancing
      • Overview
      • Create a Super Admin
      • Workspaces and Teams
      • Reset Passwords and RBAC Tokens
      • Basic Auth
        • Configure LDAP
        • LDAP Service Directory Mapping
        • Configure OIDC
        • OIDC Authenticated Group Mapping
      • Sessions
        • Overview
        • Enable RBAC
        • Add a Role and Permissions
        • Create a User
        • Create an Admin
    • Networking Configuration
    • Workspaces
    • Create Consumer Groups
    • Sending Email
    • Overview
    • File Structure
    • Implementing Custom Logic
    • Plugin Configuration
    • Accessing the Data Store
    • Storing Custom Entities
    • Caching Custom Entities
    • Extending the Admin API
    • Writing Tests
    • (un)Installing your Plugin
      • Overview
      • kong.client
      • kong.client.tls
      • kong.cluster
      • kong.ctx
      • kong.ip
      • kong.jwe
      • kong.log
      • kong.nginx
      • kong.node
      • kong.request
      • kong.response
      • kong.router
      • kong.service
      • kong.service.request
      • kong.service.response
      • kong.table
      • kong.tracing
      • kong.vault
      • kong.websocket.client
      • kong.websocket.upstream
      • Go
      • Javascript
      • Python
      • Running Plugins in Containers
      • External Plugin Performance
    • Overview
        • Overview
        • OpenID Connect with Curity
        • OpenID Connect with Azure AD
        • OpenID Connect with Google
        • OpenID Connect with Okta
        • OpenID Connect with Auth0
        • OpenID Connect with Cognito
      • Authentication Reference
      • Allow Multiple Authentication Plugins
    • Rate Limiting Plugin
      • Add a Body Value
    • GraphQL
      • gRPC Plugins
      • Configure a gRPC service
    • Overview
    • Information Routes
    • Health Routes
    • Tags
    • Debug Routes
    • Services
    • Routes
    • Consumers
    • Plugins
    • Certificates
    • CA Certificates
    • SNIs
    • Upstreams
    • Targets
    • Vaults
    • Keys
    • Licenses
    • Workspaces
    • RBAC
    • Admins
    • Developers
    • Consumer Groups
    • Event Hooks
    • Keyring and Data Encryption
    • Audit Logs
    • kong.conf
    • Injecting Nginx Directives
    • CLI
    • File Permissions Reference
    • Key Management
    • Performance Testing Framework
    • Router Expressions Language
    • FAQ

github-edit-pageEdit this page

report-issueReport an issue

enterprise-switcher-iconSwitch to OSS

On this page
  • Prerequisites
  • Invite an admin
  • Copy and send a registration link
  • Grant an admin access with LDAP
Kong Gateway
3.1.x
  • Home
  • Kong Gateway
  • Kong Manager
  • Authentication and Authorization
  • Rbac
  • Invite an Admin
You are browsing documentation for an outdated version. See the latest documentation here.

Invite an Admin

An admin is any user in Kong Manager. They may access Kong entities within their assigned workspaces based on the permissions of their roles.

This guide describes how to invite an admin in Kong Manager. As an alternative, if a super admin wants to invite an admin with the Admin API, it is possible to do so using /admins.

Prerequisites

  • Authentication and RBAC are enabled
  • You have super admin permissions or a user that has /admins and /rbac read and write access

Invite an admin

  1. Navigate to the Teams page in Kong Manager.

  2. From the Admins tab, select Invite Admin.

  3. Fill out the username and email address. When a new admin receives an invitation, they will only be able to log in with that email address. Assign any appropriate roles and click Invite Admin to send the invitation.

    Super admins can invite users to multiple workspaces, and assign them any role available within workspaces, including roles that exist by default (for example, super-admin, read-only) and roles with customized permissions.

    The super admin can see all available roles across workspaces on the Roles tab of the Teams page.

  4. On the Teams page, the new invitee will appear on the Admins list in the Invited section. Once they accept the invitation, the user will be listed in the main Admins list.

    By default, the registration link will expire after 259,200 seconds (3 days). This time frame can be configured in the kong.conf file using the admin_invitation_expiry property.

    If an email fails to send, either due to an incorrect email address or an external error, you can resend the invitation.

    If SMTP is not enabled or the invitation email fails to send, the super admin can copy and provide a registration link directly.

  5. The newly invited admin will have the ability to set a password. If the admin ever forgets the password, they can reset it through a recovery email.

Copy and send a registration link

If a mail server is not yet set up, it is still possible to invite admins to register and log in.

  1. Invite an admin as described in the section above.

  2. Open the admin’s info page. Next to register_url, click the Generate registration link button.

    Copy and directly send this link to the invited admin so that they may set up their credentials and log in.

If admin_gui_auth is ldap-auth-advanced, credentials are not stored in Kong, and the admin will be directed to log in.

Grant an admin access with LDAP

  1. Pick a user in the LDAP directory that will be the super admin.

  2. Change the super admin’s username in Kong by making a PATCH request to admins/kong_admin and setting the value of username to the corresponding LDAP attribute.

    For example, if the LDAP user’s attribute is einstein, the PATCH to /admins/kong_admin should have a username set to einstein.

  3. Log in to Kong Manager using the LDAP credentials associated with the super admin.

  4. Invite admins from the Admins page in Kong Manager, ensuring that the username of each Admin is mapped to the attribute value set in the LDAP directory.

    To enable the admins to log in, it is still necessary to assign a role to them.

  5. Once an admin has logged in successfully and accesses the Admin API using their LDAP credentials, they will be marked as approved on the Admins list in Kong Manager.

    The new admins will still receive an email, but all credentials will be handled through the LDAP server, not Kong Manager or the Admin API.

Thank you for your feedback.
Was this page useful?
  • Kong
    THE CLOUD CONNECTIVITY COMPANY

    Kong powers reliable digital connections across APIs, hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

    • Company
    • Customers
    • Events
    • Investors
    • Careers Hiring!
    • Partners
    • Press
    • Contact
  • Products
    • Kong Konnect
    • Kong Gateway
    • Kong Mesh
    • Get Started
    • Pricing
  • Resources
    • eBooks
    • Webinars
    • Briefs
    • Blog
    • API Gateway
    • Microservices
  • Open Source
    • Install Kong Gateway
    • Kong Community
    • Kubernetes Ingress
    • Kuma
    • Insomnia
  • Solutions
    • Decentralize
    • Secure & Govern
    • Create a Dev Platform
    • API Gateway
    • Kubernetes
    • Service Mesh
Star
  • Terms•Privacy
© Kong Inc. 2023