n8n-io/n8n · error · ForbiddenError

Instance owner cannot be deleted.

Error message

Instance owner cannot be deleted.

What it means

Returned by DELETE /users/:id when the target user's role slug equals GLOBAL_OWNER_ROLE.slug. The instance owner is undeletable; this guard fires after the existence check and before the transferee logic. HTTP 403.

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/controllers/users.controller.ts:249

			);
			throw new BadRequestError('Cannot delete your own user');
		}

		const { transferId } = req.query;

		const userToDelete = await this.userRepository.findOne({
			where: { id: idToDelete },
			relations: ['role'],
		});

		if (!userToDelete) {
			throw new NotFoundError(
				'Request to delete a user failed because the user to delete was not found in DB',
			);
		}

		if (userToDelete.role.slug === GLOBAL_OWNER_ROLE.slug) {
			throw new ForbiddenError('Instance owner cannot be deleted.');
		}

		const personalProjectToDelete = await this.projectRepository.getPersonalProjectForUserOrFail(
			userToDelete.id,
		);

		if (transferId === personalProjectToDelete.id) {
			throw new BadRequestError(
				'Request to delete a user failed because the user to delete and the transferee are the same user',
			);
		}

		let transfereeId;
		let transfereeProject: Project | null = null;

		if (transferId) {
			transfereeProject = await this.projectRepository.findOneBy({ id: transferId });

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

1. Never include the global owner in deletion targets.
2. Transfer ownership to another user first via the documented ownership-transfer flow if you need to retire the current owner.
3. Filter the owner out of bulk operations by role.slug.

function excludeOwnerFromDeletes(users: Array<{id:string;roleSlug:string}>) {
  return users.filter((u) => u.roleSlug !== 'global:owner').map((u) => u.id);
}

const isOwnerRole = (slug: string) => slug === 'global:owner';

When it happens

Trigger: An admin or owner attempts DELETE /users/<owner-id>; the target row's role.slug is the global owner slug.

Common situations: Bulk-delete script iterating all users including the owner; UI showing a delete action on the owner row; attempting to remove the original setup account.

Related errors

• Admin cannot reset password of global owner
• Admin cannot change role on global owner
• Owner cannot change role on global owner
• Instance roles are managed automatically and cannot be chang
• Cannot change your own global role

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3326408986e4d2ee. Report an issue: GitHub.