# Invite members

> The three ways to bring people into the community (email invite, New Member and open sign-up), who can invite and with which role, what each person receives, and the catch with bulk invites.

There are three ways for someone to join the community: you **invite** them by email, you **create** the member with their details already filled in, or they **sign up** on their own. This article covers all three, what each person receives and the rules about roles.

## What each one is for

| Path | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| **Invite Members** | One or more people you already know | A school's class of 30 students; the 12 residents of a coworking space |
| **New Member** | One person, with name, job title and photo already filled in | The new HR manager, added by the team |
| **Open sign-up** | Anyone with the address can join | An open community that grows by word of mouth |
| **Purchase** | Whoever subscribes to a plan or buys a product joins when they pay | A course sold to people who aren't members yet |

## How it works

### Who can invite

The **owner** and **admins**. A moderator can see the **Members** screen, but inviting is refused: *"You do not have permission to invite members to this community."*

### With which role

In an invite and in **New Member**, the **Role** can be **Member**, **Moderator**, **Admin** or **Finance**. Nobody joins as **Owner** through an invite: to have another owner, invite the person as an admin and then, as an owner, promote them. See [Roles and permissions](/conceitos/papeis-e-permissoes).

### The invite puts the person in the community right away

There is no "pending acceptance". The moment you send the invite, the person **is already a member**, with the role you chose:

- someone who **doesn't have a Memberfy account yet** gets one, with no password, and receives a **link to set their password**;
- someone who **already has an account** (from another community) gets a notice that they were added and signs in with the login they already use;
- someone who **is already a member** of this community is refused: *"Already a member of this community"*.

### Who gets an email

| Situation | Email |
|---|---|
| A person **without an account** (inviting one or several people, or **New Member**) | *You're invited to…*, with the **Set my password** button |
| A person who **already had an account** | *You were added to…*, with the **Sign in** button |
| **Open sign-up** | Welcome email |

Every invitee gets an email, even in a bulk invite with dozens of addresses.

### The link to set the password

- It's valid for **7 days** and can only be used **once**.
- It opens the community's **Set your password** page: the person types the password twice and then signs in with their email and the new password.
- The password needs **at least 8 characters**, with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and a number.
- Nobody, not even whoever sent the invite, ever knows the password: invites no longer come with a temporary password.

| What shows up | What to do |
|---|---|
| *This link has expired.* | The 7 days are up. The person uses **Forgot password?** at sign-in, or you invite them again |
| *This link was already used.* | The password is already set. Sign in with it, or use **Forgot password?** |
| *Invalid link.* | The link was only partly copied. Open it straight from the email, or use **Forgot password?** |

### Default groups

If the community has a **default group** (*"Everyone joins this group"*), newcomers join it automatically. See [Groups and org chart](/membros/grupos-e-organograma).

## Step by step: invite by email

*Role: owner or admin.*

1. **Administration › Members**, **Invite Members** button.
2. In **Member Emails**, type the emails, separated by commas, spaces or Enter.
3. In **Role**, choose the role for all of them.
4. **Send Invites**. The screen tells you how many succeeded and how many failed: *"28 invites sent successfully. 2 failed."*

![The Invite Members window](/screens/convidar-membros.png "Only invite people who asked to take part.")

## Step by step: New Member

*Role: owner or admin.*

1. **Administration › Members**, **New Member** button.
2. **Full Name** and **Email** (required), **Title** (the job title, e.g. *Senior Product Manager*), **Role** and, optionally, the **Avatar** (JPG, PNG or GIF, up to 2 MB).
3. **Add Member**. The person receives the email with the link to set their password.

## Step by step: open sign-up

*Role: owner or admin.*

In **Settings › General › Access Control**, turn on **Allow New Sign-ups**. Anyone who opens the community's address sees **Sign Up**. See [Sign-up and access](/membros/cadastro-e-entrada).

## Good practice: only people who asked

The screen itself reminds you: *"Only add people who have explicitly opted in to receive emails and participate in the community. Do not add people whose information was obtained solely through the exchange of products/services, giveaways or similar collection methods."* Besides being the right thing to do, it keeps the community's emails out of spam.

## Examples

**A school with a class of 30 students.**
1. Create the group *March class*.
2. Invite all 30 emails at once as **Member**.
3. Put the 30 in the group (in the group itself, **Who is in this group**).
4. Each student receives the email with **Set my password**. It's worth telling the class to look for it, including in spam.
5. The class's space, opened to the group, shows up for them.

**A coworking space with a new resident.**
**New Member** with name, email, title (*Designer at Studio X*) and photo, as **Member**. They get the email to set their password and already appear on the board.

**A company bringing in its accountant.**
Invite the accountant alone, as **Finance**. They get the email and see only Monetization.

## Common errors and how to fix them

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| *Add at least one email* | Type an email |
| *Already a member of this community* | The person is already in; change their role in **Members** if needed |
| *You do not have permission to invite members to this community.* | Ask an owner or an admin |
| *You do not have permission to assign the owner role.* | Invite as admin and promote later |
| *Name and email are required* (New Member) | Fill in both |
| The person says they got nothing | Ask them to check spam. If the link has already expired, point them to **Forgot password?** |

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I import a spreadsheet of members?**
There is no spreadsheet import. Paste the emails into **Invite Members**, up to a few dozen at a time.

**Does the invite expire?**
There is no pending invite: the person is a member from the moment it's sent. What expires is the **link to set the password**, after 7 days; after that, they get in through **Forgot password?**.

**Can I invite someone as a subscriber?**
The invite grants a role, not a subscription. To open a paid space to an invitee, put them in a group and open the space to that group.

**I invited someone with the wrong role.**
Change it in **Members** by editing the person. See [Manage members](/membros/gerenciar-membros).

## In the API

`POST /api/profiles/invite` (`emails`, `role`) and `POST /api/profiles/create`. See [Profiles](/api/referencia/profiles).

## Related

- [Manage members](/membros/gerenciar-membros)
- [Sign-up and access](/membros/cadastro-e-entrada)
- [Roles and permissions](/conceitos/papeis-e-permissoes)