Inactive Accounts and License Seats

Gitea Enterprise can automatically deactivate users who have not been active for a configured number of hours. Deactivated users do not consume a license seat and are reactivated automatically the next time they sign in.

Administrators can also view the current license-seat usage and release an individual user’s seat directly from the user list.

Enable automatic deactivation

1. Open Site Administration > Users.
2. Click Check Inactive Accounts.
3. Check Enable.
4. Enter the number of Inactive Hours.
5. Click Save.

The setting must meet the instance’s configured minimum. Users with no activity for the configured period are set to inactive. Inactive users are reactivated automatically when they next use Gitea.

Review inactive accounts

The inactive-accounts page lists the users that have been automatically deactivated. Use the status filters and sort controls to review or search the list before taking further action.

Manage license seats

The user list shows current license-seat usage and whether the instance is over its purchased limit. An active user occupies one Enterprise license seat; inactive users do not.

To release a user’s seat:

1. Open Site Administration > Users.
2. Find the active user whose seat you want to release.
3. Choose Release License.

Releasing a seat deactivates the user and signs them out immediately. The user is reactivated automatically the next time they sign in, if a seat is available. You cannot release your own seat or the seat of a site administrator.

Availability

Automatic deactivation of inactive accounts was introduced in Gitea Enterprise v26. License-seat usage and manual seat release were added in Gitea Enterprise v27.