Configure access for external users

Important: Feature is only available for advance preview customers. Contact your Nintex Account Manager for access.

You can allow users outside your organization to access your tenant. This topic explains what an external user is, how it differs from an external guest, and how to enable and invite both types of users to your tenant.

Jump to:

Understanding Nintex External user and External guest

An external user is any user who has an email address from outside of all of your verified domains. To access your tenant, an external user needs a Nintex account. There are two ways an external user can get a Nintex account:

External guest in your identity provider (IdP): Many IdP's let you add users from outside your domain as external guests. This lets your administrator manage how the user signs in through your IdP, just like other users in your organization.

Nintex External user: Nintex allows admins to invite external users to create a Nintex account in a shared Nintex-managed directory. These users can access only the tenants they’re invited to and can help with support or building automation and apps.

Note:  The external user type must be selected when inviting a user to a tenant.

Selecting an external user type

You can select the external user type when adding a user in the User management section of Settings. When you add a user with an email address from outside your organization's domain, you’ll be prompted to select the type of external user you want to add.

  • This user doesn’t have an account with my organization (Nintex External user).

    Select Nintex External user to provide access to individuals who aren’t part of your IdP. This option is intended for individuals who don’t have an account in your Nintex tenant until they’re invited.

  • This user is an external guest in my IdP.

    Select Nintex External guest to provide access through the IdP connected to your tenant. Choose this option for users who already exist in your IdP or can be added as guest accounts to your IdP.

Enable external user configuration

  1. Go to Settings > Tenant.

  2. Click Directories.

  3. Turn on the Enabled toggle for External user configuration.

Invite a Nintex External user

A global administrator or automation administrator role is required. For information, see User roles.

  1. Sign in to the Nintex tenant using the internal user Sign in.

  2. Go to Settings > Tenant.

  3. Click User management.

  4. Under Users select Add user.

  5. Enter the user’s email address. Addresses from any domain are accepted. Then, enter their name and assign a role. For details on assigning roles, see User roles.

  6. If you enter an email address for a domain outside of your organization,, two options appear. Select This user does not have an account with my organization to define the user type.

  7. Click Add.

The user receives a notification email with tenant details and can sign in as an external user. For more details, see Sign in as Nintex External user.

Sign in as Nintex External user

  1. Go to the sign-in page of your Nintex tenant.

    You’ll see two connection options: Sign in to your organization and Sign in as Nintex External user. These connections appear as separate sign-in buttons.

  2. Select Sign in as Nintex External user.

  3. Enter your email address and click Submit. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to this address.

  4. Enter the OTP in the Code field, and click Submit.

The external user can now create, publish and view workflows they’re permitted to access based on their assigned role. For more information on roles, see User roles.
If you don't receive the OTP or can't sign in after multiple attempts, contact Nintex Support.

Note: 
  • External users can access only the tenant they’re invited to.

  • If an external user is removed from a tenant or tries to sign in to a different tenant, access is denied.

Invite an External guest

A global administrator or automation administrator role is required. For information, see User roles.

  1. Sign in to the Nintex tenant using the Sign in to your organization option.

  2. Go to Settings > Tenant.

  3. Click User management.

  4. Under Users, select Add user.

  5. Enter the user’s email address (must be from a domain federated with your IdP). Then, enter the user name and assign a role. For details on assigning roles, see User roles.

  6. If you're adding an external guest, two options appear. Select This user is an external guest in my IdP when choosing the user type.

  7. Click Add.

    The user receives an invitation and can sign in to the tenant using the Sign in to your organization option on the sign-in page.

You can invite a guest user to the tenant at any time. To sign in, they must be added as an External guest in your IdP.

Sign in as External guest

  1. Go to the sign-in page of the Nintex tenant.

  2. Select Sign in to your organization

  3. Enter your email address.

  4. You’re redirected to the organization’s sign in page. Follow the sign in steps for the organizations identity provider.

Remove a Nintex External user or guest

A global administrator or automation administrator role is required. For information, see User roles.

  1. Go to Settings > Tenant.

  2. Click User management.

  3. On the right of the row for the user you want to edit, click and then select Delete.