What causes "Queue user is not authorized to access this image" in invoke-ai/InvokeAI?

Ensure the queue-time user account exists and is active (reactivate it or reassign queue items)

invoke-ai/InvokeAI · error · PermissionError

Queue user is not authorized to access this image

Error message

Queue user is not authorized to access this image

What it means

ImagesInterface._assert_read_access throws PermissionError when the queue item's user cannot read the given image. In multiuser mode a deactivated or deleted user account retains no queue-time privileges, and non-owner/non-admin users may only read images they own or that sit on a Shared/Public board.

Source

Thrown at invokeai/app/services/shared/invocation_context.py:182

        """
        self._services.logger.error(message)


class ImagesInterface(InvocationContextInterface):
    def __init__(self, services: InvocationServices, data: InvocationContextData, util: "UtilInterface") -> None:
        super().__init__(services, data)
        self._util = util

    def _assert_read_access(self, image_name: str) -> None:
        if not self._services.configuration.multiuser:
            return
        user_id = self._data.queue_item.user_id
        user = self._services.users.get(user_id)
        # A deactivated or deleted account keeps no queue-time privileges: its
        # queued graphs must not read media even if the item slipped past the
        # processor's owner checks.
        if user is None or not user.is_active:
            raise PermissionError("Queue user is not authorized to access this image")
        if user.is_admin or self._services.image_records.get_user_id(image_name) == user_id:
            return
        board_id = self._services.board_image_records.get_board_for_image(image_name)
        if board_id is not None:
            board = self._services.boards.get_dto(board_id)
            if board.board_visibility in (BoardVisibility.Shared, BoardVisibility.Public):
                return
        raise PermissionError("Queue user is not authorized to access this image")

    def save(
        self,
        image: Image,
        board_id: Optional[str] = None,
        image_category: ImageCategory = ImageCategory.GENERAL,
        metadata: Optional[MetadataField] = None,
    ) -> ImageDTO:
        """Saves an image, returning its DTO.

View on GitHub (pinned to 0b6a024f2f)

Solutions

Ensure the queue-time user account exists and is active (reactivate it or reassign queue items)
Have the image placed on a Shared or Public board so the queue user can read it
Run the workflow as an admin user or the image owner
Catch PermissionError in the invocation and substitute a fallback image or fail gracefully

Example fix

# before: reading another user's private image
pil = context.images.get_pil(other_users_image_name)
# after: guard access first
user = services.users.get(context.queue_item.user_id)
if user and user.is_active and services.image_records.get_user_id(name) == user.id:
    pil = context.images.get_pil(name)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

user = services.users.get(context._data.queue_item.user_id)
owner = services.image_records.get_user_id(image_name)
board_id = services.board_image_records.get_board_for_image(image_name)
assert user and user.is_active, "queue user deactivated"
assert user.is_admin or owner == user.id or (board_id and services.boards.get_dto(board_id).board_visibility in (BoardVisibility.Shared, BoardVisibility.Public)), "no read access"

Type guard

def can_read_image(services, queue_item, image_name: str) -> bool:
    user = services.users.get(queue_item.user_id)
    if not user or not user.is_active:
        return False
    if user.is_admin or services.image_records.get_user_id(image_name) == user.id:
        return True
    board_id = services.board_image_records.get_board_for_image(image_name)
    return bool(board_id) and services.boards.get_dto(board_id).board_visibility in (BoardVisibility.Shared, BoardVisibility.Public)

Try / catch

try:
    pil = context.images.get_pil(image_name)
except PermissionError:
    pil = None  # fallback / fail node gracefully

Prevention

Deactivate accounts only after purging their queue items
Put images needed by shared workflows on Shared/Public boards
Run shared workflows under the resource owner or admin
Check user.is_active before long-running batches

When it happens

Trigger: Invocation code calling images.get_pil/get_metadata/get_dto/get_path for an image while (a) the queue item's user_id resolves to a None or inactive user, or (b) the user is not admin, does not own the image, and the image is not on a Shared/Public board.

Common situations: An admin deactivates a user while their queue items are still processing; a workflow loads another user's image outputs; images left on private boards being read by shared workflows.

Understand the failure class

Background: Permission denied / not authorized / 403 Forbidden: access-control rejections when the caller lacks the required role, grant, or ownership — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of invoke-ai/InvokeAI@0b6a024f2f (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/227fbb681126cf95. Report an issue: GitHub.