Managing users and user groups in Assets Server – Help Center

When no external LDAP system is available, managing users and user groups is done in Assets Server itself. This is typically the case when a very small setup is used such as a demo environment installed on a single laptop.

The process to follow depends on the version of Assets Server that is used. This is explained in this article.

Note: The information in this article is part of the process of Setting up users and user groups in Assets Server.

Assets Server 6.120 and higher

Users and user groups can be managed by users with ROLE_DATA_ADMIN or ROLE_SUPERUSER permissions.

Managing users

Managing users is done on the Management Console > Users page.

The Users page in the Management Console

The 2 default users are already defined:

Username	Default password	Role
admin	changemenow	ROLE_SUPERUSER
importmodule	changemenow	ROLE_SUPERUSER

IMPORTANT: For security reasons we advise to change the default password for these accounts.

The list of users on the Users page in the Management Console

While on the Profile tab, the following can be done:

The profile of existing users can be edited by selecting a user from the list and changing the settings for that user.
The permissions of a user can be copied by clicking the Copy icon at the bottom of the users list to apply them to other users or groups.
New users can be added as explained below.
Users can be removed by selecting a group and clicking the — - icon at the bottom of the users list.

Adding a user

Step 1. At the bottom of the list of users, click the +-icon.

A new entry is added to the list.

Step 2. Enter a name for the user in the list.

Note: This name may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, dots, underscores, or hyphens.

Step 3. In the user details section in the Profile tab, enter a full name (the name shown in Assets), and a password.

Notes:

Users without a password cannot be enabled.

Users can change their full name and password themselves at any stage in Assets.

Use the following options in Server configuration > Cluster properties to control password validation (this only applies to passwords that are newly created or updated; it does not affect existing passwords):
userPasswordMinLength. Minimum password length for internal users. Set to 0 to disable password length validation. Default: 0.
userPasswordRequireComplexity. Require password complexity (lowercase, uppercase, digit, and special character). Set to false to disable. Default: false.

Step 4. Click the Enable toggle to enable the user.

The profile page of a created user

Step 5. (Optional) Add the user to one or more groups by clicking Add in the Groups section. From the dialog that appears, select the groups to add the user to, and click Add.

Selecting a group to add a user to

Step 6. Define for the users (or for the user groups, see below) which clients and client features they can use, which files they can access, which metadata fields they can see and edit, which presets they can use for downloading images and which Search Presets should be available to them.

Managing groups

Managing groups is done on the Management Console > Groups page.

The Groups page in the Management Console

The following can be done:

The settings of existing groups can be edited by selecting a group from the list and changing the settings for that group in the various tabs.
The permissions of a group can be copied by clicking the Copy icon at the bottom of the groups list to apply them to other groups.
New groups can be added as explained below.
Groups can be removed by selecting a group and clicking the — - icon at the bottom of the groups list.

Adding a group

Step 1. At the bottom of the list of groups, click the +-icon.

If SSO is configured, the Select group type dialog appears.

The Select group type dialog

Step 2. Select Internal.

A new entry is added to the list.

Step 3. Enter a name for the group in the list.

Step 4. On the Users tab, manage which users should be part of the group.

Step 5. On the tabs Capabilities, Rules, Metadata, Download Presets, and Bookmarks, define for the users in the group which clients and client features they can use, which files they can access, which metadata fields they can see and edit, which presets they can use for downloading images, and which Search Presets should be available to them.

Assets Server 6.119 and lower

Users and user groups can be managed by users with ROLE_DATA_ADMIN or ROLE_SUPERUSER permissions.

Managing users

Step 1. Access the Management Console > Server configuration > Files > internal-users.properties.txt.

Note: When working on a single system on which Assets Server is installed, you can also open this file directly from the Assets Server/Config folder.

The 2 default users are already defined:

admin=changemenow,ROLE_SUPERUSER
importmodule=changemenow,ROLE_SUPERUSER

IMPORTANT: For security reasons we advise to change the default password for these accounts.

Step 2. Add each new user by using the following format:

To add just a username and password:

<username>=<password>

To add a username, password and one or more groups:

<username>=<password>,GROUP_<group name>,GROUP_<group name>

Note: Do not use invalid characters such as @, #, $, %, & in the user name or user group. Do not use spaces in the user name.

Example:

rob.smart=secret,GROUP_News desk,GROUP_Editors

Here a user named 'rob.smart' with password 'secret' is defined. He will also be associated with the groups 'News desk' and 'Editors' (if these groups do not exist then these will be automatically created).

Step 3. Click Save changes.

Step 4. Restart Assets Server.

Step 5. Verify in the Management Console > Users page that the user and user groups have been created.

The Users page

Managing groups

Managing groups is done on the Management Console > Groups page.

The Groups page in the Management Console

Do one of the following:

Copy the permissions of a group by clicking the Copy icon at the bottom of the groups list to apply them to other groups.
Define for the users of a group which clients and client features they can use, which files they can access, which metadata fields they can see and edit, which presets they can use for downloading images and which Search Presets should be available to them.

Revisions

10 February 2026: Added information for Assets Server 6.120 and higher.

Comments

4 comments

Siebrand Mazeland

February 10, 2026 09:11
Is there a way to import the user file pre-Assets 6.120 to the Assets 6.120+ style user management?
0
Samuli Jokipaltio

February 10, 2026 09:15
So migrating from an earlier version to 6.120, we need to re-create all users and groups. Ok, very annoying, but doable.
But, do we also have to recreate access rights configurations for these new groups, or are they inherited from the pre-6.120 groups automatically? That would be _very_ important.
0
Samuli Jokipaltio

February 10, 2026 10:19
This is great if it works as you explain. Will try.
That said, if this is the intended migration path, please make sure to add this information to the documentation. It will save a few gray hairs for your system admins…
0
Siebrand Mazeland

February 10, 2026 13:14
Erik Korver The release notes didn't exist at the time of release, and this page did. This page (still) does not mention it, aside from in your comment.
0