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Invites allow you to bring new members into your Academy or into individual Programs, with options to control their role, groups, and Program access from the moment they join. Invites

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Overview

Disco gives you three ways to invite members: a shareable link, individual email invites, and bulk CSV imports. Each method works at both the Academy level and the Program level. The method you choose determines what roles you can assign and whether members bypass Program registration requirements. When a member receives an invite email and clicks the link, they still need to register or log in before accessing the Academy or Program.

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Access the Invite Modal

You can open the invite modal from several places in Disco. All of the following paths open the same Invite to Academy modal:
  • Academy tab in the left nav → Members App → Invite Member (top right)
  • Admin tab → Members → Invite (top right)
  • Global Add button (bottom right, above your profile picture) → Invite to Academy
If you are currently viewing a page within a specific Program, the Global Add button shows Invite to Program instead, which opens the Program-level version of the modal. The Invite Link tab provides a shareable URL that members can use to join your Academy. For public Academies: The link points to your Academy’s join page. Anyone can use it to register without a special access key. For private Academies: The link includes a unique invite key appended to the URL. This key allows recipients to bypass the private access setting and register. Treat it as a secret — share it only with people you intend to let in. The key has no usage limit and does not expire. To reset the invite key:
  1. Open Admin → Members → Invite.
  2. Select the Invite Link tab.
  3. Click Reset link to invalidate the current key and generate a new one.
To customize the social share preview image for the invite link:
  1. Go to Admin → Products → Public Pages.
  2. Find the Community welcome page (tagged “Community welcome”) and click the Page Settings icon at the far right.
  3. Expand SEO and Social Share settings.
  4. Upload a Social Share image.
To update the Academy name and description shown in link previews, go to Admin Settings and update the Description field. For Programs: The invite link points to the program’s registration page. For non-public programs, only Academy Members will be able to use it to register. Note: Invite links do not exist for invite-only Programs. For Programs with restricted access, use email invites or bulk import instead.

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Invite by Email

Email invites let you specify a role for each invitee and optionally pre-assign them to groups and Programs before they join. Invite links and bulk imports only allow members to join at the Member role. To invite someone directly as an Admin or Owner, you must use the email invite method. To send an email invite:
  1. Go to Admin → Members → Invite.
  2. Select the Email Invite tab.
  3. Choose a role from the dropdown: Member, Admin, or Owner.
  4. Enter email addresses. Press Enter after each address to add it to the list, or paste a comma-separated list to add multiple at once.
  5. Resolve any validation alerts before continuing:
    • Already a member: Remove this email using the X next to their name before proceeding.
    • Previously invited: A checkbox appears at the bottom to resend the invite email. If you uncheck it, remove the email or re-check the box before you can proceed.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Optionally, add members to Community Groups or assign them to Programs. Assigning a member to a Program here bypasses all registration requirements, including payment, capacity limits, and applications. Skip this step if you want members to complete Program registration separately.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Customize the invite message if desired, or leave the default.
  10. Click Send Invites.
When inviting members who need to pay for a Program or complete an application, do not assign them to the Program during this invite flow. Assigning a member to a Program at invite time bypasses all registration requirements. Instead, invite them to the Academy first, then send a separate Program invite so they go through the proper registration process.

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Bulk Import with CSV

Bulk import lets you invite up to 1,000 members at a time using a CSV file. You can run multiple imports in 1,000-member chunks if you need to invite more. Bulk import only invites members at the Member role. Download the correct template first. There are two separate CSV templates: one for Academy-level invites and one for Program-level invites. They are not interchangeable. Download the appropriate template directly from within the invite modal.

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CSV columns: Academy-level invite

ColumnRequiredNotes
emailYesMust be a valid email format
first_nameNoCan be left blank
last_nameNoCan be left blank
community_groupsYes (column header required)Comma-separate multiple group names. Must exactly match names of custom groups already in the Academy. System groups (shown in grey) are not supported and will cause an error.
product1NoExact Program name. Assigns the member directly, bypassing all registration.
product1_subgroupsNoComma-separate multiple subgroup names. Must exactly match existing subgroup names.
product2, product2_subgroupsNoRepeat for additional Programs, up to 100 pairs total.

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CSV columns: Program-level invite

ColumnRequiredNotes
emailYes
first_nameNo
last_nameNo
community_groupsYes (column header required)Same rules as Academy-level.
product_subgroupsYes (column header required)Subgroups for this specific Program. No product number in the column name.
To run a bulk import:
  1. Download the example CSV from within the invite modal and fill it out using the correct template for your use case.
  2. Go to Admin → Members → Invite → Bulk Import.
  3. Upload your CSV. A preview of the first 10 rows appears with any formatting errors highlighted.
  4. Fix any errors shown in the preview, then click Next.
  5. Optionally, customize the invite message.
  6. Click Send Invites. Disco emails you when the import finishes and lists any rows that failed.
For rows that fail after the first 10 (which are not validated in the preview), correct those rows in a new CSV and re-upload. Uncheck Resend emails to previously invited members to avoid re-sending to members who were already successfully invited. CSV tips:
  • Do not add empty rows — they count toward the 1,000-member limit.
  • Do not add extra columns or remove required column headers.
  • Group and Program names must exactly match what exists in Disco. Copy and paste names directly from the platform to avoid errors.
  • Only custom groups can be added via CSV. System groups (shown in grey in the Groups list) are not supported and will cause an import error.

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Manage Invitations

View and manage all pending invitations at Admin → Members → Invites. This page lists all Academy-level and Program-level invitations. By default, it shows only invitations that have been sent but not yet accepted. Use the Status filter to change this view. Available filters:
  • Status: Invited (pending) or Accepted
  • Role: Member or Admin (includes Owner, Admin, Program Manager, and Instructor roles)
  • Program: Filter to invitations for a specific Program
  • Source: Email or Link
Note: Link invitations are automatically accepted the moment someone uses the link. To see them, remove the default “Invited” status filter first — link invites always show an “Accepted” status. From this page you can:
  • Resend Invite: Select from the action overflow (three-dot menu) to resend the email if a member did not receive it.
  • Delete Invite: Removes the invitation so the original invite link in the email no longer works. Deleting an invitation also removes the pre-created member record for that invitee.
Invitations do not expire. To prevent someone from accepting an invitation, delete it manually.

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How Invited Members Behave

When you send an email invite or run a bulk import, Disco immediately creates a member record for each invitee. These members appear in the Members table when you remove the default Active Members filter, listed as “Invited User” until they complete their profile. Until a member accepts their invitation:
  • All external notifications (emails and Slack messages) are suppressed to prevent spam.
  • Automation-triggered messages for any Programs they have been pre-assigned to are also suppressed.
  • Exceptions include direct invitation emails, Program or pathway registration emails, and manual messages sent through the Members table bulk messaging tool.
You can take actions on invited members before they accept, including adding them to groups, assigning them to Programs, and sending direct messages. If you remove an invited member from the Academy before they accept, their invitation is also deleted.

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Program-Level Invitations

Program managers and instructors can invite members to their Programs without needing community admin access. To invite members to a Program as a manager or instructor:
  1. Go to the Learning tab and open the Program you manage.
  2. Click Members App, or use the Global Add button → Invite to Program.
  3. Use the Add Members button to send invitations, or click the Invites tab to manage existing ones.
The Program-level invites page works the same as the Admin-level page but is scoped to that Program only. Managers can invite members and instructors. Managers can also invite other managers to the Program. Program managers and instructors do not have access to the Admin-level Invites page unless they also hold a community admin or owner role.

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FAQ

No. Invitations remain active until you manually delete them. To prevent someone from accepting a pending invitation, go to Admin → Members → Invites, find the invitation, and select Delete Invite from the action overflow menu.
Use bulk import. Prepare a CSV with member emails and the exact Program name in the product1 column, then upload it via Admin → Members → Invite → Bulk Import. Members are assigned directly to the Program, bypassing registration. You can import up to 1,000 members per CSV and run multiple imports if needed.
Yes. Even when registration is bypassed, members still need to authenticate. When they receive the invite email, they click a link that takes them to a login page. Once they verify their new account’s details, or log in to their existing account, they land directly in the Academy or Program. Registration is handled on your end — they do not need to find or sign up for the Program themselves — but they do need to log in to access it.
The most common cause is a group name that does not match exactly, or the use of a system group (shown in grey in your Groups list) instead of a custom group. System groups cannot be added via CSV. Copy group names directly from Disco to make sure they match exactly. Also check that you have not added extra columns, removed any required column headers, or left empty rows in the file.
Yes. Use the academy_groups column in the Academy-level CSV template and enter the exact name of the custom group. Comma-separate multiple group names in the same cell. Note that only custom groups are supported — system groups (shown in grey) cannot be added this way.
It means the person has already received an invitation email but has not yet accepted it. You can resend the email by keeping the checkbox checked. If you uncheck it, you must remove the email from the list before you can continue.
Yes. Go to Admin → Members → Invites, find the member by name or email, and select Resend Invite from the action overflow menu. You can also resend during the email invite flow by checking the resend checkbox when the system flags a previously invited email.
No. All external notifications are suppressed for invited members until they accept their invitation. This includes automation-triggered messages for any Programs they have been pre-assigned to. You can still reach them manually through the bulk messaging tool in the Members table.
Yes. Managers and instructors can invite members directly from the Program’s Members App or via the Global Add button when viewing the Program. They do not have access to the Admin-level Invites page unless they also hold a community admin or owner role.
Deleting an invitation removes the pre-created member record and invalidates the invite link that was sent by email. If the Academy is public, the person can still join through the public join page, but that specific invitation will no longer work.
No. Bulk import assigns all members to Programs at the Member role only. To invite someone to a Program at a Manager or Instructor role, use the email invite method.
Yes, you can upload a CSC and use the academy_groups column to add members to specific groups when inviting into the academy.