Invite people
An invite link lets someone create their own account on a Flare instance, even when public registration is closed. You choose how many accounts a link can create and when it expires, and you can see who joined with it.
Who can invite
Administrators can always create invites. Other people need the Create invites permission. An administrator can give it to every account with Let everyone create invites in Settings → Access, or to selected people through a role. Until then, invites are administrator-only.
If Profile → Invites is missing, your roles do not include Create invites. Ask an administrator for an invite-enabled role or for a link for the person you want to invite.
Create an invite link
- Open Profile → Invites and choose Create invite. People who manage accounts can use Users → Invites instead; it creates the same kind of link.
- Optionally add a Note such as “For Sam” so you recognize the link later. Only you and people who manage all invites see it. The person you invite never sees the note.
- Choose Uses: how many accounts the link can create. Choose 1 person unless you are deliberately inviting a group.
- Choose Expires after. A shorter lifetime limits the damage if the link is forwarded.
- If you can assign roles, optionally select Roles for new accounts. Everyone applies automatically, so leave this empty for an ordinary account.
- Choose Create invite link.
- In Your invite link is ready, choose Copy link, or Share… when your browser offers system sharing. Send the link privately to the person you are inviting, then choose Done.
An invite link looks like https://files.example.com/auth/register?invite=…, using your instance's address. Anyone who has the link can use it until it is used up, expires, or is revoked. Treat it like a password: avoid public channels, and prefer a single use and a short expiry.
Selecting a role that includes Administrator shows a warning: anyone who uses that link becomes a full administrator of the instance.
What the invited person sees
Opening an active link shows You’re invited with the name of the person who created the link. If the link grants roles, they appear under You’ll join with these roles. The person chooses a Username, Email address, and Password, then chooses Create account.
The usual registration rules still apply: a username of at least two characters, a valid email address that no other account uses, and a password of at least eight characters (at most 72 UTF-8 bytes when account email is enabled). If the instance requires new users to verify their email, the new account is asked to verify before using Flare. An attempt that fails, such as one using an email address that already has an account, does not use up the invite.
If the link cannot be used, the page explains why, such as This invite link has already been used. On an instance with closed registration, the page is titled Invite unavailable and offers Go to sign in. If public registration is open, the ordinary sign-up form appears with a note that the invite cannot be used; an account created that way does not receive the invite's roles.
Track your invites
Your list shows each link's note, status, uses, and expiry. When someone joins, their name appears after Joined. Use Show to switch between Active invites, Ended invites, and All invites.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | The link works now. |
| Paused | Its creator can no longer create invites or grant the link's roles. It resumes automatically if that access returns before the link expires. An administrator turning Let everyone create invites off pauses members' links. |
| Used up | It created as many accounts as its Uses allowed. |
| Expired | Its expiry time has passed. |
| Revoked | Someone revoked it. |
Used-up, expired, and revoked links have ended: they never work again, even if settings change. Create a new link instead.
Copy link is available again for your own active and paused links. Nobody else can copy your link, including administrators. If the operator changed the server's encryption key after you created a link, Flare can no longer show it again; the link still works for anyone who already has it, but you need a new invite to send another copy.
Revoke an invite
Choose Revoke on an active or paused link, then confirm Revoke invite. The link stops working immediately. Accounts that already joined with it keep their accounts and roles; revoking an invite never deletes an account. Revoked links move to Ended invites.
Limits for members
Unless you can create accounts directly, your invites follow the instance's member limits. By default you can have 5 active invites at a time, each link works once, and every link must expire within 30 days. The note at the top of Profile → Invites shows the limits that apply to you, and the form offers only choices within them. Administrators and others with Create users are not limited this way.
An invite counts toward your active limit until it is used up, expires, or is revoked. Paused invites still count. Revoke an invite you no longer need to free a slot.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Profile → Invites is missing | Your roles do not include Create invites. Ask an administrator. |
| Create invite is disabled | You reached your active-invite limit. Revoke an invite or wait for one to be used or expire. |
| A choice such as Never is unavailable | Member limits cap uses and expiry. Ask an administrator if you need a longer-lived or multi-use link. |
| One of your links shows Paused | You can no longer grant a role it includes. Revoke it and create a link without that role, or ask an administrator to restore your role access. |
| Someone says the link is unavailable | Check the link's status. Create a new link if it ended. |
| Copy link is missing for an active link | It belongs to someone else, or the server's encryption key changed. Create a new invite. |
Administrators can manage every invite and set member limits. Developers can use the invite API contracts. Watch the recorded walkthroughs.