RocketChat/Rocket.Chat · error · Meteor.Error

error-user-is-banned

error-user-is-banned

Error message

User is banned from this room

What it means

Thrown inside the per-user loop of addUsersToRoomMethod() (apps/meteor/server/meteor-methods/rooms/addUsersToRoom.ts:101) when the target user already has a subscription for the room and isBannedSubscription(subscription) reports them as banned (subscription flagged with 'banned' role/marker from the ban flow, e.g. banUserFromRoom). Re-inviting a banned user is blocked; an unban must happen first. Like error-user-not-found, this rejects the entire Promise.all batch.

Source

Thrown at apps/meteor/server/meteor-methods/rooms/addUsersToRoom.ts:101

		});
	}

	await beforeAddUsersToRoom.run({ usernames: data.users, inviter: user }, room);

	await Promise.all(
		data.users.map(async (username) => {
			const sanitizedUsername = sanitizeUsername(username);

			const newUser = await Users.findOneByUsernameIgnoringCase(sanitizedUsername);
			if (!newUser) {
				throw new Meteor.Error('error-user-not-found', 'User not found', {
					method: 'addUsersToRoom',
				});
			}

			const subscription = await Subscriptions.findOneByRoomIdAndUserId(data.rid, newUser._id);
			if (subscription && isBannedSubscription(subscription)) {
				throw new Meteor.Error('error-user-is-banned', 'User is banned from this room', {
					method: 'addUsersToRoom',
				});
			}
			if (!subscription) {
				return addUserToRoom(data.rid, newUser, user);
			}
			if (!newUser.username) {
				return;
			}
			void api.broadcast('notify.ephemeralMessage', userId, data.rid, {
				msg: i18n.t('Username_is_already_in_here', {
					username: newUser.username,
					lng: user?.language,
				}),
			});
		}),
	);

View on GitHub (pinned to b2c16d5842)

Solutions

1. Unban first: use the moderation flow (unban command or the unban endpoint), then invite again.
2. Pre-check each target: const sub = await Subscriptions.findOneByRoomIdAndUserId(rid, userId); skip when isBannedSubscription(sub) and report them separately.
3. Keep bulk jobs resilient: partition targets into 'invitable' vs 'banned' before calling so one banned user cannot reject the batch.
4. Review whether the ban is still intended; if it is stale moderation data, unban to clear the flag.

Example fix

// before
await addUsersToRoomMethod(uid, { rid, users: ['alice', 'banned-bob'] }); // batch rejected

// after
const invitable: string[] = [];
for (const name of users) {
  const u = await Users.findOneByUsernameIgnoringCase(sanitizeUsername(name), { projection: { _id: 1 } });
  const sub = u && (await Subscriptions.findOneByRoomIdAndUserId(rid, u._id, { projection: { roles: 1 } }));
  if (sub && isBannedSubscription(sub)) continue; // or: await unbanUserFromRoom(rid, u._id);
  invitable.push(name);
}
await addUsersToRoomMethod(uid, { rid, users: invitable });

const sub = await Subscriptions.findOneByRoomIdAndUserId(rid, targetUserId, { projection: { roles: 1 } });
if (sub && isBannedSubscription(sub)) {
  // unban first or exclude from the batch
  throw new Error('target is banned from this room; unban before inviting');
}

import { isBannedSubscription } from '@rocket.chat/core-typings';
// isBannedSubscription(subscription) is the canonical type guard for this state

try {
  await addUsersToRoomMethod(uid, { rid, users });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Meteor.Error && e.error === 'error-user-is-banned') {
    // unban the user via the moderation flow, then retry the invite
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Inviting a user who was banned from that channel via /ban or the moderation UI; their old subscription still exists carrying the banned flag; a bulk invite list containing previously banned members; banned user re-joining via invite link paths that route through this method.

Common situations: Moderation workflows where bans persist and an admin later tries to re-invite without unbanning; sync scripts replaying full member lists into rooms with bans; confusion between being banned (subscription flag) and having left (no subscription).

Related errors

• User is not in this room
• User is already banned from this room
• error-user-not-in-room
• error-user-not-in-room
• Room not found

AI-assisted analysis of RocketChat/Rocket.Chat@b2c16d5842 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8ddc149a33d155a4. Report an issue: GitHub.