How to recreate `kong_admin` user

The default workspace super admin kong_admin might be accidentally deleted. This article tells how to recreate the kong_admin user.

If you have another admin user with the default workspace’s super admin role, you can re-create the super admin by the below method.

1. Login to Kong manager using another admin user name with the super admin role.
2. Invite admin and grant the super admin role to the user.
3. Login to Kong manager as the new admin user.
4. Re-generate the token and use the new token.

If you don’t have another admin user with the default workspace’s super admin role, please follow the below steps.

1. Disable RBAC by commenting out the below configurations, and restart Kong.

   Example

   
   # - KONG_ENFORCE_RBAC=on
   # - KONG_ADMIN_GUI_AUTH=basic-auth
   # - KONG_ADMIN_GUI_SESSION_CONF={"secret":"secret","storage":"kong","cookie_secure":false}

   Copied!

   Warning: if KONG_ADMIN_GUI_AUTH or KONG_ADMIN_GUI_SESSION_CONF are left set while KONG_ENFORCE_RBAC is disabled, Kong will fail to start with the explicit error Error: enforce_rbac must be enabled when admin_gui_auth is enabled — so all three must be disabled together. (The reverse is not a problem: KONG_ENFORCE_RBAC=on by itself, with no admin_gui_auth/admin_gui_session_conf set, is a normal, valid configuration and starts fine — RBAC-protecting the Admin API doesn’t require Kong Manager GUI auth to also be configured.)

2. Open Kong manager -> invite admin-> to make the user name as kong_admin, fill in the email and grant the default workspace’s super admin role to the user.

   If you have an SMTP server configured, you will receive a registration email. Please skip to step 6.

   If there is no SMTP server configured, please continue to do steps 3 and 5. But step 4 is still necessary.

3. Click the kong_admin in the “invited” list -> click ‘generate registration URL’, and note this URL.
4. Enable RBAC by commenting in the configurations in step 1, and restart Kong.
5. Access the <your kong url>/<registration path in step 3>.
6. Reset password.
7. Login Kong manager as kong_admin.
8. Reset token and use the new token.