How to Add a User to Nextcloud

Managing users is one of the first real admin tasks you will face after setting up Nextcloud. Whether you are onboarding a teammate, giving a client access, or preparing a shared workspace for your business, knowing how to add or create a new user in Nextcloud matters.

And it really does, especially if you are running a managed Nextcloud instance through CloudBased Backup, where user management is built right into your client dashboard.

Let's walk through it together.

Why Nextcloud User Management Matters

Before we get into the how, let's talk about the why for a second.

Every person who accesses your Nextcloud environment needs their own user account. This is not just about the organization, but it's about security, accountability, and control. Individual user accounts let you set granular permissions, track activity, manage storage quotas, and revoke access instantly when someone leaves the team.

If you are managing files, calendars, contacts, or any collaborative workflow through Nextcloud, proper user management is the backbone of your setup.

How to Add a New User to Nextcloud via CloudBased Backup

If you are hosting your Nextcloud instance with us at CloudBased Backup, adding a new user takes a maximum of 60 seconds. Here's exactly how to do it.

Sign in to your CloudBased Backup client portal and log in with your admin credentials. Once you are in, you will land on the My Dashboard page. This is your home base, where you can see your active services, invoices, and account details.

Look at the top-right corner of your dashboard. You will see your profile name displayed there. Click on it to open a dropdown menu.

From the dropdown, select "User Management". This takes you to the screen where all users connected to your account are listed and where you can invite the new ones.

If this is a new setup, you will probably just see yourself listed as the owner. As your account grows, this page becomes your control centre for access, permissions, and visibility.

You will also notice the "Invite New User" button in the top-right corner of this section. Click that button.

Now, a small pop-up will open, asking for the email address of the person you want to add and the permissions you want to grant them.

Type in the email address of the person you want to invite.

At this point, you will choose how much access the new user should have. You can give full permissions, which works well for co-admins or partners who manage the account with you.

For most team members, choosing custom permissions is the better option. It lets you grant access only to what they actually need, without exposing billing or administrative settings unnecessarily.

Once all this is done, click "Send Invite".

After sending the invite, you will be taken back to the User Management page.

You should now see the new user appear in your user list, or however many you have added.

If the person already had an account with CloudBased Backup, they can log in immediately with their existing credentials. If they are brand new, they will receive an email invitation to create their account.

That's it. The user is now added and ready to log in.

Adding Users Directly Through the Nextcloud Admin Panel

If you prefer working directly inside the Nextcloud interface instead of the CloudBased Backup client portal, that option is always available. The underlying user management works the same way.

Start by logging into your Nextcloud instance as an admin. Click your profile icon and select "Users" from the dropdown menu. This opens Nextcloud’s built-in user management screen.

At the top of the page, you will see the form for creating a new user. Fill in the following:

Username - This is the login name. Keep it simple and consistent with your team's naming conventions.

Display Name - The name that shows up in shared files, comments, and other collaborative features.

Password - Set an initial password. The user can change it after their first login.

Email - Enter their email address so Nextcloud can send a welcome message and handle password resets.

Groups - Assign the user to one or more groups. Groups make it much easier to manage shared folders, permissions, and app access at scale.

Quota — Set a storage limit if needed. This is especially useful when you're managing a large team and need to keep storage usage in check.

Once saved, the user account is active immediately and ready to use.

Why Managed Nextcloud Simplifies User Management

You can absolutely self-host Nextcloud and manage users through the admin panel. Plenty of people do, and of course, it works fine.

But if you would rather skip the server maintenance, the security patching, the backup management, and the troubleshooting, that's exactly what we handle for you at CloudBased Backup.

With our managed Nextcloud hosting, you get a clean client portal where adding and removing users takes seconds. We handle the infrastructure, the updates, the backups, and the uptime monitoring. You can focus on your work.

And when questions come up around user permissions, storage quotas, or anything else, our support team is right there.