How do you add members to a community programmatically using the Add Member API?

Who is this for and why it matters

Use this API when you want to programmatically add users to a community, enabling them to participate and engage within your Community Media Network.

This matters because:

It enables scalable user onboarding across communities
It supports automated growth workflows (invites, campaigns, onboarding flows)
It ensures users can immediately access and interact with content

If you're building onboarding journeys, invite systems, or growth integrations, this API is essential.

What does the Add Member API do?

This API allows you to:

Add users as members of one or more communities
Support different onboarding flows like:
- Direct join
- Invite-based onboarding
- Single-tap join
- Approval-based access

It acts as the entry point for user participation within communities.

API Details

URL: /api/thirdparty/community/add_users
Method: POST
Authentication Required: Yes (Bearer Token)

Before you begin

1. Authenticate your request

Generate a gn-access-token using the Authentication API.

Pass it in the header: Authorization - Bearer <gn-access-token>

2. Ensure users and communities exist

You must have:

Valid user identifiers
Valid community references

Request Structure

Request Body

{
  "onboarding_communities": "any",
  "communities": "any",
  "single_tap_join": "any",
  "invite_members": "any",
  "join_request_approved": "any",
  "users": "any"
}

Field-level understanding

onboarding_communities - Communities assigned during onboarding
communities - Target communities where users will be added
single_tap_join - Enables instant join without friction
invite_members - Invite-based onboarding flow
join_request_approved - Approve pending join requests
users - List or identifiers of users being added

What happens on success?

Success Condition

If the request is valid:

Users are successfully added as community members
They gain access to participate and engage

Response Code 200 OK

Response Body

{
    "code": 200,
    "message": "XXXX-[Members Added]",
    "data": {
        "members_added": [
            {
                "member_id": "c2fd91a1-faf8-48a8-9b3e-b2248c8acf21",
                "name": null,
                "bio": null,
                "nickname": null,
                "phone": "91943724335",
                "is_brand_system_user": false,
                "is_avatar": true,
                "profile_image": "alien",
                "profile_image_s": "",
                "profile_image_m": "",
                "profile_image_l": ""
            },
            {
                "member_id": "bd7608b7-5c0b-4fcc-9799-5944de1b6f5d",
                "name": null,
                "bio": null,
                "nickname": null,
                "phone": "34684433270",
                "is_brand_system_user": false,
                "is_avatar": true,
                "profile_image": "smiling_face_with_horns",
                "profile_image_s": "",
                "profile_image_m": "",
                "profile_image_l": ""
            }
        ]
    }
}

Important

Each object in members_added contains a member_id, which uniquely identifies the added member
These members can now access, engage, and contribute within the community

Error Handling

1. Bad Request

Condition: Invalid or malformed request data

Response Code: 400 Bad Request

Response Body:

{
  "code": "1099",
  "message": "An unexpected error occurred processing the request",
  "data": {}
}

2. Not Found

Condition: Community or resource does not exist

Response Code: 404 Not Found

Response Body:

{
  "code": "5218",
  "message": "The community you are looking for is no longer available.",
  "data": {}
}

3. Precondition Failed

Condition: Required conditions or criteria are not met

Response Code: 412 Precondition Failed

Response Body:

{
  "code": "5166",
  "message": "XXXX-[Invalid Use of API]",
  "data": {}
}

Best Practices

Validate users before adding them to communities
Choose the right onboarding flow (invite vs direct join vs approval)
Avoid duplicate additions of the same user
Ensure proper access control and moderation setup post onboarding
Handle API errors and retries gracefully

What to do next

After adding members:

Assign roles (moderators/admins) if needed
Add them to groups for deeper engagement
Start driving content participation via video and discussions
Integrate onboarding with campaigns or lifecycle journeys