Why can't I delete the base admin account?

Why this happens

The API Reference marks the base admin as undeletable. It adds that other admins cannot update that account when they manage users. So a stray click, a script or a colleague with admin rights cannot remove the one account the workspace started with. Plan a hand-over before the person who set the workspace up leaves, so that another named admin already holds the access you will need later.

How to fix it

1. Check that the account you tried to remove is the base admin. Other user accounts delete without this block.
2. Leave it. No setting lifts the protection, and you do not need one, because named accounts do the same work.
3. Make a named account for each person who needs admin access, using Administration. Shared logins make the Activity feed hard to read, because every row then carries the same name.
4. Give each new account the role it needs. Read the built-in roles or custom role permissions first.
5. If someone who used the base admin has left, ask an admin to revoke that user's API tokens.

Managing users needs the user:manage permission. Without that key, you cannot change any user.

Still not working?

• A normal account that will not delete points to your role. Check it for user:manage.
• To see how removal works in general, read how to remove a user.
• If you must hand over the base admin account itself, tell us on the contact page. The capture does not show a self-serve way to do it, and we would rather check the details with you than guess at a step that could lock people out.

Short on time? Ask us.

Related questions

• How do I remove a user from my workspace?
• How do I add a new user to my workspace?
• How do I revoke a user's API tokens?
• Why can't I edit or delete the SuperAdmin role?
• How do I see each user's role and team grants?

Full tutorial

Cyberlop API tokens and permissions: how to issue and limit them

Step-by-step, with annotated screenshots.

Updated 8 October 2026 · Back to the help centre