Users Collection

User represents a single user account in the Overleaf system. It stores authentication data, feature flags, editor preferences, access permissions, and activity metadata.

Core Identity & Authentication

_id: Unique MongoDB ObjectId of the user.
email / emails: Primary email and historical email records.
hashedPassword: BCrypt-hashed password used for local authentication.
first_name / last_name: User profile name fields.
role / isAdmin / adminRoles: Role and administrative privilege flags.
twoFactorAuthentication: Two-factor authentication configuration (if enabled).
samlIdentifiers / thirdPartyIdentifiers: External identity provider bindings.

Account Status & Lifecycle

signUpDate: Account creation timestamp.
holdingAccount: Whether the account is pending confirmation or restricted.
must_reconfirm: Indicates whether the user must reconfirm their email.
lastPrimaryEmailCheck: Last time the primary email was validated.

lastLoginIp: IP address of the last successful login.
loginCount: Total number of successful logins.
loginEpoch: Internal counter for login sessions.
lastLoggedIn: Timestamp of the last login.
lastActive: Timestamp of the last recorded activity.
lastFailedLogin: Timestamp of the last failed login attempt.

Editor Preferences (`ace`)

Defines user preferences for the online editor:

theme / overallTheme: Editor and UI theme.
fontSize: Editor font size.
autoComplete, autoPairDelimiters: Editing assistance features.
spellCheckLanguage: Language used for spell checking.
pdfViewer: Selected PDF viewer backend.
syntaxValidation, mathPreview, breadcrumbs: Editor UX features.
enableNewEditor: Whether the new editor UI is enabled.

Feature Flags & Limits (`features`)

Controls functional availability for the user:

collaborators: Maximum number of collaborators (-1 = unlimited).
versioning, trackChanges: History and change tracking features.
dropbox, github, gitBridge: External integration availability.
compileTimeout: Maximum compile time (seconds).
compileGroup: Assigned compile resource group.
aiErrorAssistant: AI-based compile error assistant flag.

Access Control & Staff Permissions (`staffAccess`)

Defines fine-grained staff or publisher access rights:

Metrics and management permissions for publishers, institutions, groups, admins, and experiments.

Enrollment & Integrations

enrollment.sso: Linked SSO enrollments.
refProviders: Reference provider integrations.
writefull: Writefull writing assistant account status.
dsMobileApp: Mobile app configuration (if present).

Programs & Experiments

alphaProgram / betaProgram / labsProgram: Participation in early-access programs.
labsExperiments: Enabled experimental features.
awareOfV2: Whether the user has acknowledged the V2 editor.

Referrals & Tutorials

referal_id, refered_users, refered_user_count: Referral tracking.
completedTutorials: Progress of onboarding and feature tutorials.

Here is an real example for Overleaf User.

User Example

{
    _id: ObjectId('69661f10432ad80d8a7de39d'),
    enrollment: {
        sso: []
    },
    staffAccess: {
        publisherMetrics: false,
        publisherManagement: false,
        institutionMetrics: false,
        institutionManagement: false,
        groupMetrics: false,
        groupManagement: false,
        adminMetrics: false,
        splitTestMetrics: false,
        splitTestManagement: false
    },
    ace: {
        mode: 'none',
        theme: 'textmate',
        overallTheme: 'light-',
        fontSize: 12,
        autoComplete: true,
        autoPairDelimiters: true,
        spellCheckLanguage: 'en',
        pdfViewer: 'pdfjs',
        mathPreview: true,
        breadcrumbs: true,
        referencesSearchMode: 'advanced',
        syntaxValidation: true,
        enableNewEditor: false
    },
    features: {
        collaborators: -1,
        versioning: true,
        dropbox: true,
        github: true,
        gitBridge: true,
        compileTimeout: 180,
        compileGroup: 'standard',
        references: true,
        trackChanges: true,
        aiErrorAssistant: false
    },
    refProviders: {},
    writefull: {
        enabled: null,
        autoCreatedAccount: false,
        isPremium: false,
        premiumSource: null
    },
    aiErrorAssistant: {
        enabled: true
    },
    overleaf: {},
    twoFactorAuthentication: {},
    dsMobileApp: {},
    email: 'admin@overleaf.com',
    first_name: 'admin',
    role: '',
    institution: '',
    isAdmin: true,
    adminRoles: [],
    lastLoginIp: '172.19.0.2',
    loginCount: 14,
    holdingAccount: false,
    must_reconfirm: false,
    refered_users: [],
    refered_user_count: 0,
    alphaProgram: false,
    betaProgram: false,
    labsProgram: false,
    labsExperiments: [],
    awareOfV2: false,
    samlIdentifiers: [],
    thirdPartyIdentifiers: [],
    emails: [
        {
            email: 'admin@overleaf.com',
            createdAt: ISODate('2026-01-15T07:53:24.276Z'),
            reversedHostname: 'moc.faelrevo'
        }
    ],
    signUpDate: ISODate('2026-01-13T10:31:44.786Z'),
    featuresOverrides: [],
    referal_id: 'ncbyrxrr6rrfQzgp',
    __v: 0,
    hashedPassword: '$2a$12$bkfRN7zw27mwaFpUbnSsC.naeFoMAwoRxU0qk7dlPH2obhj8jx.lK',
    loginEpoch: 18,
    lastLoggedIn: ISODate('2026-01-19T05:09:01.075Z'),
    lastActive: ISODate('2026-01-19T05:06:43.145Z'),
    last_name: 'user',
    lastPrimaryEmailCheck: ISODate('2026-01-15T07:53:24.283Z'),
    featuresUpdatedAt: ISODate('2026-01-15T07:53:24.305Z'),
    completedTutorials: {
        'ide-redesign-beta-intro': {
            state: 'completed',
            updatedAt: ISODate('2026-01-18T10:55:18.095Z')
        }
    },
    lastFailedLogin: ISODate('2026-01-19T05:08:53.241Z')
}

Overview

Before Start

Environment

Data Model

Core Identity & Authentication

Account Status & Lifecycle

Editor Preferences (`ace`)

Feature Flags & Limits (`features`)

Access Control & Staff Permissions (`staffAccess`)

Enrollment & Integrations

Programs & Experiments

Referrals & Tutorials

​Core Identity & Authentication

​Account Status & Lifecycle

​Login & Activity Tracking

​Editor Preferences (ace)

​Feature Flags & Limits (features)

​Access Control & Staff Permissions (staffAccess)

​Enrollment & Integrations

​Programs & Experiments

​Referrals & Tutorials

Core Identity & Authentication

Account Status & Lifecycle

Login & Activity Tracking

Editor Preferences (`ace`)

Feature Flags & Limits (`features`)

Access Control & Staff Permissions (`staffAccess`)

Enrollment & Integrations

Programs & Experiments

Referrals & Tutorials