operators do not allow users to be configured directly

Error message

operators do not allow users to be configured directly

What it means

Under operator mode, users and nkeys must come from signed account JWTs rather than the server config. This error is thrown when `users` or `nkeys` are listed directly in a config that also declares an operator, because that bypasses operator signing of credentials.

Source

Thrown at server/jwt.go:98

		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("default sentinel JWT not valid")
		}

		if !juc.BearerToken && juc.IssuerAccount != "" && juc.HasEmptyPermissions() {
			// we cannot resolve the account yet - but this looks like a scoped user
			// it will be rejected at runtime if not valid
		} else if !juc.BearerToken {
			return fmt.Errorf("default sentinel must be a bearer token")
		}
	}
	if o.AccountResolver == nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("operators require an account resolver to be configured")
	}
	if len(o.Accounts) > 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("operators do not allow Accounts to be configured directly")
	}
	if len(o.Users) > 0 || len(o.Nkeys) > 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("operators do not allow users to be configured directly")
	}
	if len(o.TrustedOperators) > 0 && len(o.TrustedKeys) > 0 {
		return fmt.Errorf("conflicting options for 'TrustedKeys' and 'TrustedOperators'")
	}
	if o.SystemAccount != _EMPTY_ {
		foundSys := false
		foundNonEmpty := false
		for _, op := range o.TrustedOperators {
			if op.SystemAccount != _EMPTY_ {
				foundNonEmpty = true
			}
			if op.SystemAccount == o.SystemAccount {
				foundSys = true
				break
			}
		}
		if foundNonEmpty && !foundSys {
			return fmt.Errorf("system_account in config and operator JWT must be identical")

View on GitHub (pinned to 3a66a489d2)

Solutions

Remove the `users`/`nkeys` blocks and issue user JWTs signed by the account (nsc add user) served via the resolver
If direct users are needed, remove the `operator` setting and use classic authentication mode

Example fix

// before
operator: eyJ...
users: [{user: alice, password: pwd}]
// after
operator: eyJ...
resolver: MEMORY
// create alice's credentials with: nsc add user --name alice

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Go: reject direct users/nkeys in operator mode
if len(o.TrustedOperators) > 0 && (len(o.Users) > 0 || len(o.Nkeys) > 0) {
    return fmt.Errorf("issue user credentials via nsc instead")
}

Prevention

Use `nsc add user` to issue credentials instead of config users
Remove legacy users/nkeys blocks during operator migration
Add config linting to catch this combination

When it happens

Trigger: Config has `operator: <jwt>` plus a top-level `users: [...]` or `nkeys: [...]` array; validateOptions aborts startup.

Common situations: Keeping old user credentials in the config after adding an operator; testing operator mode by appending it to an existing single-user server config.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of nats-io/nats-server@3a66a489d2 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25b92fe8e8cd52f3. Report an issue: GitHub.