Understanding App User Group Permissions

Problem Overview

Users may encounter confusion or issues when trying to add the app user of our Team Files app to a custom group within their Confluence instance. This documentation aims to clarify the functionality related to app users and their group memberships, provide guidance on managing expectations, and resolve common misunderstandings.

Understanding System Users and Group Memberships

When the Team Files app is installed on a Confluence site, it operates under a system user created specifically for the app’s functionality. This system user is designed to interact with Confluence's environment securely and controlled, ensuring the app functions correctly and securely within the Atlassian ecosystem.

Key Points:

• System User Limitations: The app user, in this context referred to as a "system user", is automatically generated upon the app's installation by Atlassian and is essential for the app's operation. This user cannot be manually added to or removed from groups by end-users due to its system-level permissions and roles.

• Default Group Memberships: By default, the app system user is added to specific groups to ensure it has the necessary permissions to operate within your Confluence site. These groups include:

  • atlassian-addons: A group for basic app functionalities.

  • atlassian-addons-admin: Provided to apps that require administrative access.

  • A default user group to ensure the app has access to the product, commonly confluence-users for Confluence applications.

Recommendations

• Manual Group Adjustments: It is not feasible to manually add or remove the app's system user from custom groups due to its predefined role and permissions. But you can do it programmatically.

• Understanding Default Behaviors: Recognizing the default groups to which system users are added can help troubleshoot and manage your Confluence instance more effectively.

• Consulting Documentation: For further adjustments and understanding of app permissions and functionalities, referring to the app's documentation and Atlassian's support resources is recommended.

Conclusion

Understanding the limitations and default configurations regarding system users and group memberships can help you manage your Atlassian applications more effectively. If you have any questions or require additional support, contact Atlassian support and request app user group reset and/or content indexing and clear Confluence application cache.