How to Create an Admin User Using an API?

Question

I need to create an admin user using an API, but I'm not sure about the correct process or how to.

My Questions:

1. What API endpoint and parameters should be used to create an admin user?
2. How do I assign admin roles/permissions during user creation?
3. Are there any security best practices to follow when creating admin users via API?

Answer 1

Magento 2 does not provide a direct REST API to create an admin user. Instead, you need to programmatically create an admin user via a custom module.

Create an Admin User Using a Custom API in a Custom Module

Since Magento does not expose a REST API for admin user creation, you need to create a custom API endpoint.

Steps to Create a Custom REST API for Admin User Creation:

1. Create a Custom Module

Create a module, e.g., Vendor/AdminUserApi.

2. Create registration.php

Create app/code/Vendor/AdminUserApi/registration.php:

<?php
\Magento\Framework\Component\ComponentRegistrar::register(
 \Magento\Framework\Component\ComponentRegistrar::MODULE,
 'Vendor_AdminUserApi',
 __DIR__
);

3. Create module.xml

Create app/code/Vendor/AdminUserApi/etc/module.xml:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:Module/etc/module.xsd">
 <module name="Vendor_AdminUserApi" setup_version="1.0.0"/>
</config>

4. Create webapi.xml

Define your REST API route in app/code/Vendor/AdminUserApi/etc/webapi.xml:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<routes xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework/Webapi/etc/webapi.xsd">
 <route method="POST" url="/V1/custom/adminuser">
 <service class="Vendor\AdminUserApi\Api\AdminUserInterface" method="createAdminUser"/>
 <resources>
 <resource ref="Magento_Backend::admin"/>
 </resources>
 </route>
</routes>

5. Create API Interface

Create app/code/Vendor/AdminUserApi/Api/AdminUserInterface.php:

<?php
namespace Vendor\AdminUserApi\Api;
interface AdminUserInterface
{
 /**
 * Create Admin User
 * @param string $username
 * @param string $firstname
 * @param string $lastname
 * @param string $email
 * @param string $password
 * @param int $roleId
 * @return array
 */
 public function createAdminUser(
 $username,
 $firstname,
 $lastname,
 $email,
 $password,
 $roleId
 );
}

6. Create di.xml file on path Vendor/AdminUserApi/etc/di.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:ObjectManager/etc/config.xsd">
 <preference for="Vendor\AdminUserApi\Api\AdminUserInterface" type="Vendor\AdminUserApi\Model\AdminUser" />
</config>

7. Create Model Class

Create app/code/Vendor/AdminUserApi/Model/AdminUser.php:

<?php
namespace Vendor\AdminUserApi\Model;
use Magento\User\Model\UserFactory;
use Magento\User\Model\ResourceModel\User as UserResource;
use Vendor\AdminUserApi\Api\AdminUserInterface;
class AdminUser implements AdminUserInterface
{
 protected $userFactory;
 protected $userResource;
 public function __construct(UserFactory $userFactory, UserResource $userResource)
 {
 $this->userFactory = $userFactory;
 $this->userResource = $userResource;
 }
 public function createAdminUser($username, $firstname, $lastname, $email, $password, $roleId)
 {
 try {
 $user = $this->userFactory->create();
 $user->setUsername($username)
 ->setFirstname($firstname)
 ->setLastname($lastname)
 ->setEmail($email)
 ->setPassword($password)
 ->setRoleId($roleId)
 ->setIsActive(1);
 
 $this->userResource->save($user);
 return ["message" => "Admin user created successfully"];
 } catch (\Exception $e) {
 return ["error" => $e->getMessage()];
 }
 }
}

8. Run Commands

After creating the module, enable it:

bin/magento setup:upgrade
bin/magento cache:flush

---

9. Use the API

Make a POST request:

POST <your-magento-site>/rest/V1/custom/adminuser
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN

Payload:

{
 "username": "newadmin",
 "firstname": "New",
 "lastname": "Admin",
 "email": "[email protected]",
 "password": "Admin@123",
 "roleId": 1
}

Success Response:

{
 "message": "Admin user created successfully"
}

Conclusion

Magento does not have a built-in REST API for admin user creation, but you can:

1. Use the CLI (bin/magento admin:user:create) → Fastest method.
2. Create a Custom REST API (as explained above).