chore(docs): User (Human) naming consistency (#11512)

# Which Problems Are Solved

Naming inconsistencies - User (Human)

# How the Problems Are Solved

Most of the occurrences have not been changed. `User (Human)` was mostly
changed when talking about code objects and where I felt it was
necessary to distinguish them from machine users.

When both human and machine user occurrences were found, the machine
user has been changed to service account (see
https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/11285)

# Additional Context

- Closes #11284

---------

Co-authored-by: Wim Van Laer <[email protected]>
This commit is contained in:
Marco A.
2026-02-06 09:46:24 +00:00
committed by GitHub
co-authored by Wim Van Laer
parent 21723df541
commit 1f0d54a978
91 changed files with 178 additions and 179 deletions
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
Managers are [human users or service users](/guides/manage/console/users-overview) who have permission to manage resources within ZITADEL.
Managers are [users or service accounts](/guides/manage/console/users-overview) who have permission to manage resources within ZITADEL.
Manager permissions can be assigned to different levels in ZITADEL:
@@ -14,4 +14,4 @@ ZITADEL allows you to give other organizations permission to manage certain aspe
![Project Grant](../../../public/img/concepts/objects/project_grants.png)
Each organization has its own pool of usernames, which includes human and service users, for its domain (`{username}@{OrganizationDomain}.$CUSTOM_DOMAIN`). A username is unique within your organization. You can configure ZITADEL to use your own domain, and simplify user experience (`{loginname}@{yourdomain.tld}`).
Each organization has its own pool of usernames, which includes users and service accounts, for its domain (`{username}@{OrganizationDomain}.$CUSTOM_DOMAIN`). A username is unique within your organization. You can configure ZITADEL to use your own domain, and simplify user experience (`{loginname}@{yourdomain.tld}`).
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@ sidebar_label: Users
## Types of users
ZITADEL supports authentication and authorization for different user types.
We can mainly differentiate between Human Users and Machine Users.
We can mainly differentiate between Users and Service Accounts.
We typically call human users simply "Users" and machine users "Service Users".
### Human users
### Users
Human users typically logon with an interactive login.
Users typically logon with an interactive login.
This means that an application redirects a user to a website ("login page") where the user can provide the credentials.
ZITADEL handles the authentication and provides the application with a token that verifies the authentication process.
@@ -21,13 +21,13 @@ Read more on how to [login users with ZITADEL](/guides/integrate/login/login-use
Service users are for machine-to-machine communication and you would use those typically to access secure backend services.
For example in ZITADEL you would require an authenticated Service User to access the Management API.
The main difference between human and machine users is the type of credentials that can be used for authentication: Human users typically logon via an login prompt, but Machine users require a non-interactive logon process.
The main difference between users and service accounts is the type of credentials that can be used for authentication: users typically logon via an login prompt, but service accounts require a non-interactive logon process.
Learn how to [use service users](/guides/integrate/service-users/authenticate-service-users) with ZITADEL.
Learn how to [use service accounts](/guides/integrate/service-accounts/authenticate-service-accounts) with ZITADEL.
### Managers
Any user, human or service user, can be given a [Manager](/concepts/structure/managers) role.
Any user or service account can be given a [Manager](/concepts/structure/managers) role.
A user with an administrator role is not only an end-user of ZITADEL but can also manage certain aspects of ZITADEL itself.
### Federated users