# Structuring User Management Ignition: Separating Gateway Access, Project Users, and Enterprise Context **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** perspective, ignition81\ **Created:** [February 2, 2026, 11:37am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/structuring-user-management-ignition-separating-gateway-access-project-users-and-enterprise-context/113693 "2026-02-02T11:37:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bismaylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@bismaylla](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/bismaylla)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:37am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/structuring-user-management-ignition-separating-gateway-access-project-users-and-enterprise-context/113693/1 "2026-02-02T11:37:35Z")
I have questions about best practices for structuring user management in Ignition as systems scale. At a high level, users fall into two groups: **Gateway/Designer users** , who configure and edit projects, and **runtime users** , who access the system via Perspective. These groups have different responsibilities and must be clearly separated. In multi-factory or enterprise environments, the same project is often reused with different parameters, but users should remain isolated per factory. Relying only on User Sources and Roles becomes hard to scale, leading to role explosion, complex permissions, and difficulty adding context like factory or unit. I’m looking for guidance on how to: - Separate Designer/Gateway users from runtime users - Scale user management across multiple factories - Add contextual information to users - Keep permissions clear without excessive roles Any recommended patterns or best practices would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/structuring-user-management-ignition-separating-gateway-access-project-users-and-enterprise-context/113693/2 "2026-02-02T13:11:49Z")
Closed on February 2, 2026, 1:11pm UTC ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/structuring-user-management-ignition-separating-gateway-access-project-users-and-enterprise-context/113693/3 "2026-02-02T13:13:30Z")
This is a duplicate of your prior post here: > [@Structuring User Management in Ignition: Separating Gateway Access, Project Users, and Enterprise Context](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/structuring-user-management-in-ignition-separating-gateway-access-project-users-and-enterprise-context/113562): > > I have questions about how to properly structure user management in Ignition projects, especially as systems grow in size and complexity. At a high level, user management naturally splits into two distinct groups: Gateway / Designer users, who can access the Gateway configuration and edit projects. Runtime users, who access the system in production through Perspective (operators, line leaders, supervisors, etc.). These two groups have very different responsibilities and must be securely separ… Duplicate posts are against [this forum's rules](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/faq). It is acceptable to "ping" your own topic after a few days to raise its visibility. If you get no answers, it means the community has none for you.