n8n-io/n8n · warning · ForbiddenError

Maximum number of users reached

Error message

Maximum number of users reached

What it means

A ForbiddenError (HTTP 403) thrown when this.license.isWithinUsersLimit() returns false at invite time. The message comes from the shared constant RESPONSE_ERROR_MESSAGES.USERS_QUOTA_REACHED ('Maximum number of users reached'). The license seats or the hard user cap has been exhausted, so no new invited users can be created.

Solutions

1. Upgrade the license to add more seats, or remove/deactivate existing users to free seats.
2. Audit active users via the Admin UI > Users and delete users who no longer need access.
3. If on Cloud, increase the plan tier in the billing portal.
4. Re-check with this.license.isWithinUsersLimit() (or GET /license) before retrying the invite.

// Verify seat availability before inviting.
const license = await api.get('/license');
if (license.seatsUsed >= license.seatsLimit) {
  throw new Error('User quota reached — upgrade or remove users.');
}

function hasFreeSeats(l: { seatsUsed: number; seatsLimit: number }): boolean {
  return l.seatsUsed < l.seatsLimit;
}

try {
  await api.post('/invite', invites);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.response?.status === 403 && /quota/i.test(e.response.data.message)) {
    promptUpgradeOrCleanup();
    return;
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: POST /invite when the active license's seat count is at or above the limit, or when running without a license and the free-tier active-user cap is reached. Checked after the SSO block, before the owner-exists check.

Common situations: Self-hosted instance on a fixed-seat enterprise license that has been fully assigned; Cloud plan at its user cap; team grew beyond the purchased tier; deactivated-but-not-deleted users still counting against the quota.

Related errors

• Cannot invite admin user without advanced permissions…
• 403
• Attempted to create a new project but quota is already…
• Invalid payload or URL
• Invite links are not supported on this system, please use…

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/164264961b518c61. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/controllers/invitation.controller.ts:66

	) {
		if (invitations.length === 0) return [];

		const isWithinUsersLimit = this.license.isWithinUsersLimit();

		if (isSsoCurrentAuthenticationMethod()) {
			this.logger.debug(
				'SSO is enabled, so users are managed by the Identity Provider and cannot be added through invites',
			);
			throw new BadRequestError(
				'SSO is enabled, so users are managed by the Identity Provider and cannot be added through invites',
			);
		}

		if (!isWithinUsersLimit) {
			this.logger.debug(
				'Request to send email invite(s) to user(s) failed because the user limit quota has been reached',
			);
			throw new ForbiddenError(RESPONSE_ERROR_MESSAGES.USERS_QUOTA_REACHED);
		}

		if (!(await this.ownershipService.hasInstanceOwner())) {
			this.logger.debug(
				'Request to send email invite(s) to user(s) failed because the owner account is not set up',
			);
			throw new BadRequestError('You must set up your own account before inviting others');
		}

		const attributes = invitations.map(({ email, role }) => {
			if (role === 'global:admin' && !this.license.isAdvancedPermissionsLicensed()) {
				throw new ForbiddenError(
					'Cannot invite admin user without advanced permissions. Please upgrade to a license that includes this feature.',
				);
			}
			return { email, role };
		});

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)