Project admin can't find users to add to Jira Cloud project

Platform Notice: Cloud Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the cloud platform.

Summary

Project administrators are unable to add users to their projects. When attempting to add a user on the Project Settings > People page, the user's email does not appear in the selection list.

Solution

Ensure "Browse users and groups" global permission is granted

In order for any user in Jira to be able to search for and add users to projects, they must first be granted the "Browse users and groups" global permission. This permission allows them to search for and select users from the directory when assigning them to a project.

With the "Browse users and groups" permission, users can:

  • See the names of all users and groups on the site.

  • @mention users on work items and comments.

To grant this permission, a Jira Administrator can:

  1. Select the Settings cog > System > Global permissions under Security

  2. Scroll to the bottom

  3. Select "Browse users and groups" permission

  4. Select the relevant group to grant the permission

  5. Select Add

Updated on October 23, 2025

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