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>[Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/998) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 8.17.
# Auditor users **(PREMIUM ONLY)**
Auditor users are given read-only access to all projects, groups, and other
resources on the GitLab instance.
## Overview
Auditor users can have full access to their own resources (projects, groups,
snippets, etc.), and read-only access to **all** other resources, except the
Admin Area. To put another way, they are just regular users (who can be added
to projects, create personal snippets, create milestones on their groups, etc.)
who also happen to have read-only access to all projects on the system that
they haven't been explicitly [given access](../user/permissions.md) to.
Auditor users are able to have both full access to their own resources
(including projects, groups, and snippets) and read-only access to _all_ other
resources, except the [Admin Area](../user/admin_area/index.md). These user
accounts are regular users who can be added to projects, create personal
snippets, and create milestones on their groups, while also having read-only
access to all projects on the server to which they haven't been explicitly
[given access](../user/permissions.md).
The Auditor role is _not_ a read-only version of the Admin role. Auditor users
will not be able to access the project/group settings pages, or the Admin Area.
can't access the project or group settings pages, or the Admin Area.
To sum up, assuming you have logged-in as an Auditor user:
Assuming you have signed in as an Auditor user:
- For a project the Auditor is not member of, the Auditor should have
read-only access. If the project is public or internal, they would have the
same access as the users that are not members of that project/group.
read-only access. If the project is public or internal, they have the same
access as users that aren't members of that project or group.
- For a project the Auditor owns, the Auditor should have full access to
everything.
- For a project the Auditor has been added to as a member, the Auditor should
have the same access as the[permissions](../user/permissions.md) they were given to. For example, if
they were added as a Developer, they could then push commits or comment on
issues.
- The Auditor cannot view the Admin Area, or perform any admin actions.
- For a project to which the Auditor is added as a member, the Auditor should
have the same access as their given [permissions](../user/permissions.md).
For example, if they were added as a Developer, they can push commits or
comment on issues.
- The Auditor can't view the Admin Area, or perform any admin actions.
For more information about what an Auditor can or can't do, see the
[Permissions and restrictions of an Auditor user](#permissions-and-restrictions-of-an-auditor-user)
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@@ -36,33 +41,37 @@ section.
## Use cases
1. Your compliance department wants to run tests against the entire GitLab base
to ensure users are complying with password, credit card, and other sensitive
data policies. With Auditor users, this can be achieved very easily without
resulting to tactics like giving a user admin rights or having to use the API
to add them to all projects.
1. If particular users need visibility or access to most of all projects in
your GitLab instance, instead of manually adding the user to all projects,
you can simply create an Auditor user and share the credentials with those
that you want to grant access to.
The following use cases describe some situations where Auditor users could be
helpful:
- Your compliance department wants to run tests against the entire GitLab base
to ensure users are complying with password, credit card, and other sensitive
data policies. With Auditor users, this can be achieved very without having
to give them user admin rights or using the API to add them to all projects.
- If particular users need visibility or access to most of all projects in
your GitLab instance, instead of manually adding the user to all projects,
you can create an Auditor user and then share the credentials with those users
to which you want to grant access.
## Adding an Auditor user
To create a new Auditor user:
1. Create a new user or edit an existing one by navigating to
**Admin Area > Users**. You will find the option of the access level under
**Admin Area > Users**. You will find the option of the access level in
the 'Access' section.
1.Click**Save changes** or **Create user** for the changes to take effect.
1.Select**Save changes** or **Create user** for the changes to take effect.
To revoke the Auditor permissions from a user, simply make them a Regular user
following the same steps as above.
To revoke Auditor permissions from a user, make them a regular user by
following the previous steps.
## Permissions and restrictions of an Auditor user
An Auditor user should be able to access all projects and groups of a GitLab
instance, with the following permissions/restrictions:
instance, with the following permissions and restrictions:
- Has read-only access to the API
- Can access projects that are:
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@@ -70,15 +79,15 @@ instance, with the following permissions/restrictions:
