User Templates Documentation

This document explains how user templates work in PasarGuard. Templates are pre-configured user settings that can be used to quickly create users with consistent configurations.

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Template Configuration Basics
3. Template Fields Explained
4. How Templates Work
5. Username Handling
6. Extra Settings
7. Status and Expiration
8. Data Limit and Reset Strategy
9. Creating Users from Templates
10. Modifying Users with Templates
11. Bulk User Creation
12. Validation Rules and Constraints
13. Common Scenarios

Overview

User templates in PasarGuard are pre-configured user settings that:

• Standardize user creation - Apply consistent settings to multiple users
• Speed up user management - Create users quickly without configuring each field
• Support bulk operations - Create many users at once with automatic username generation
• Enable automation - Templates can be used in automated workflows

The Template Flow

Template → User Creation → Applied Settings

How it works:

1. Admin creates a template with desired user settings
2. When creating a user, admin selects a template
3. Template fields are automatically applied to the new user
4. Admin only needs to provide username (and optionally note)
5. User is created with all template settings

Template Configuration Basics

Required Fields

Every template must have:

Optional Fields

Template Response Fields

When retrieving templates, you also get:

Template Fields Explained

Basic Fields

name (String, Required)

• Purpose: Template identifier
• Constraints: Max 64 characters
• Example: "Premium Plan", "Basic User", "Trial Account"

group_ids (List[Integer], Required on Creation)

• Purpose: Groups to assign to users created from this template
• Behavior: Users automatically join these groups when created
• Validation: All group IDs must exist
• Example: [1, 2, 3] - User joins groups 1, 2, and 3

data_limit (Integer, Optional)

• Purpose: Maximum data usage in bytes
• Default: 0 (unlimited)
• Format: Bytes (e.g., 1073741824 = 1 GB)
• Example: 1073741824 = 1 GB limit

expire_duration (Integer, Optional)

• Purpose: Account expiration duration in seconds
• Default: 0 (unlimited)
• Calculation: When user is created, expiration = now + expire_duration
• Example: 2592000 = 30 days (30 * 24 * 60 * 60)

Username Fields

username_prefix (String, Optional)

• Purpose: Prefix added before username when creating users
• Constraints: Max 20 characters
• Behavior: Prepended to provided username
• Example: Prefix "premium_" + username "john" = "premium_john"

username_suffix (String, Optional)

• Purpose: Suffix added after username when creating users
• Constraints: Max 20 characters
• Behavior: Appended to provided username
• Example: Username "john" + suffix "_vip" = "john_vip"

Combined Example:

prefix: "premium_"
username: "john"
suffix: "_vip"
Result: "premium_john_vip"

Status Fields

status (UserStatusCreate, Optional)

• Purpose: Initial user status
• Options:
  • active - User is active (default)
  • on_hold - User is on hold
• Default: active
• Behavior: Affects how expiration is calculated (see Status and Expiration section)

on_hold_timeout (Integer, Optional)

• Purpose: When on_hold status should start/end
• Format: Seconds from creation time
• Required: When status is on_hold and expire_duration is set
• Example: 3600 = User becomes active after 1 hour

Data Management Fields

data_limit_reset_strategy (DataLimitResetStrategy, Optional)

• Purpose: How data limit resets
• Options:
  • no_reset - Never resets (default)
  • day - Resets daily
  • week - Resets weekly
  • month - Resets monthly
  • year - Resets yearly
• Default: no_reset
• Note: Only applies if data_limit is set

reset_usages (Boolean, Optional)

• Purpose: Reset data usage when applying template to existing user
• Default: false
• Behavior: Only used when modifying existing users with templates
• Effect: Clears user's data usage history

Advanced Fields

extra_settings (ExtraSettings, Optional)

• Purpose: Protocol-specific settings
• Fields:
  • flow - VLESS flow control (XTLSFlows enum)
  • method - Shadowsocks encryption method (ShadowsocksMethods enum)
• Default: null
• Example: {"flow": "xtls-rprx-vision", "method": "chacha20-poly1305"}

is_disabled (Boolean, Optional)

• Purpose: Disable template to prevent use
• Default: false
• Behavior: Disabled templates cannot be used to create or modify users
• Use Case: Temporarily disable templates without deleting them

How Templates Work

Template Application Process

When creating a user from a template:

1. Template Validation - Template must exist and not be disabled
2. Field Loading - Base fields are loaded from template
3. Username Construction - Prefix + username + suffix
4. Settings Application - Extra settings (flow, method) are applied
5. User Creation - User is created with all template values

Field Application Order

Template Fields → User Creation → Final User

What gets applied:

• ✅ data_limit → User's data limit
• ✅ expire_duration → User's expiration (calculated from now)
• ✅ group_ids → User's groups
• ✅ status → User's initial status
• ✅ data_limit_reset_strategy → User's reset strategy
• ✅ username_prefix + username + username_suffix → Final username
• ✅ extra_settings.flow → VLESS flow setting
• ✅ extra_settings.method → Shadowsocks method setting
• ✅ on_hold_timeout → User's on_hold timeout (if status is on_hold)

What doesn't get applied:

• ❌ name - Template name is not copied to user
• ❌ is_disabled - Template state doesn't affect created users
• ❌ reset_usages - Only used when modifying existing users

Username Handling

Username Construction

When creating a user from a template, the final username is constructed as:

Final Username = prefix + provided_username + suffix

Rules:

• If prefix is null or empty, it's not added
• If suffix is null or empty, it's not added
• Provided username must still be valid (3-128 chars, alphanumeric + special chars)
• Final username must be unique

Template: prefix = "premium_", suffix = null
Provided: username = "john"
Result: "premium_john"

Template: prefix = null, suffix = "_vip"
Provided: username = "john"
Result: "john_vip"

Template: prefix = "premium_", suffix = "_vip"
Provided: username = "john"
Result: "premium_john_vip"

Template: prefix = null, suffix = null
Provided: username = "john"
Result: "john"

Username Validation

The final username (after prefix/suffix) must:

• Be 3-128 characters long
• Contain only: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -, _, @, .
• Not have consecutive special characters
• Be unique (not already exist)

Extra Settings

Flow (VLESS)

Controls VLESS flow control setting.

Options:

• none - No flow (default)
• xtls-rprx-vision - XTLS Reality Proxy Vision

Applied to: User's VLESS proxy settings

Example:

{
  "extra_settings": {
    "flow": "xtls-rprx-vision"
  }
}

Method (Shadowsocks)

Controls Shadowsocks encryption method.

Options:

• chacha20-ietf-poly1305 - ChaCha20-ietf-Poly1305 (default)
• xchacha20-poly1305 - XChaCha20-Poly1305
• aes-128-gcm - AES-128-GCM
• aes-256-gcm - AES-256-GCM
• And other Shadowsocks methods

Applied to: User's Shadowsocks proxy settings

Example:

{
  "extra_settings": {
    "method": "aes-256-gcm"
  }
}

Combined Extra Settings

You can set both flow and method:

{
  "extra_settings": {
    "flow": "xtls-rprx-vision",
    "method": "aes-256-gcm"
  }
}

Status and Expiration

Active Status

When status is active:

• Expiration Calculation:
  • If expire_duration > 0: expire = now + expire_duration
  • If expire_duration = 0: expire = 0 (unlimited)

Example:

Template: status = "active", expire_duration = 2592000 (30 days)
User created: 2024-01-01 00:00:00
Result: expire = 2024-01-31 00:00:00

On Hold Status

When status is on_hold:

• Expiration: Always set to 0 (unlimited)
• On Hold Expire Duration: Uses expire_duration as on_hold_expire_duration
• On Hold Timeout:
  • If on_hold_timeout is set: on_hold_timeout = now + on_hold_timeout
  • If on_hold_timeout is not set: on_hold_timeout = null

Example:

Template: 
  status = "on_hold"
  expire_duration = 2592000 (30 days)
  on_hold_timeout = 3600 (1 hour)

User created: 2024-01-01 00:00:00
Result:
  expire = 0 (unlimited)
  on_hold_expire_duration = 2592000
  on_hold_timeout = 2024-01-01 01:00:00 (becomes active after 1 hour)

Data Limit and Reset Strategy

Data Limit

• Format: Bytes (integer)
• Default: 0 (unlimited)
• Applied to: User's data_limit field

Examples:

• 1073741824 = 1 GB
• 5368709120 = 5 GB
• 0 = Unlimited

Reset Strategy

Controls how data limit resets (only applies if data_limit > 0):

Behavior:

• When reset occurs, user's used_traffic is reset to 0
• Reset time is calculated from user creation time
• Reset logs are maintained in UserUsageResetLogs

Example:

Template:
  data_limit = 1073741824 (1 GB)
  data_limit_reset_strategy = "month"

User created: 2024-01-01
Result:
  - User has 1 GB limit
  - Limit resets on 2024-01-31, 2024-03-01, etc.

Creating Users from Templates

Single User Creation

Endpoint: POST /api/user/from_template

Request:

{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "username": "john",
  "note": "Premium customer"
}

Process:

1. Template is validated (exists, not disabled)
2. Base fields loaded from template
3. Username constructed: prefix + "john" + suffix
4. Extra settings applied
5. User created with all template values

Response: User object with all applied settings

What Gets Applied

All template fields are applied to the new user:

• ✅ Groups from group_ids
• ✅ Data limit from data_limit
• ✅ Expiration from expire_duration (calculated)
• ✅ Status from status
• ✅ Data limit reset strategy
• ✅ VLESS flow (if set in extra_settings)
• ✅ Shadowsocks method (if set in extra_settings)
• ✅ On hold timeout (if status is on_hold)

Modifying Users with Templates

Applying Template to Existing User

Endpoint: PUT /api/user/{username}/from_template

Request:

{
  "user_template_id": 2,
  "note": "Updated to premium plan"
}

Process:

1. Template is validated (exists, not disabled)
2. Base fields loaded from template
3. User's existing proxy_settings are preserved
4. Template fields are applied (overriding user's current values)
5. If reset_usages is true, user's data usage is reset
6. User is updated

What Gets Applied

When modifying a user with a template:

• ✅ Groups from group_ids (replaces user's groups)
• ✅ Data limit from data_limit
• ✅ Expiration from expire_duration (recalculated)
• ✅ Status from status
• ✅ Data limit reset strategy
• ✅ VLESS flow (if set in extra_settings)
• ✅ Shadowsocks method (if set in extra_settings)
• ✅ On hold timeout (if status is on_hold)
• ✅ Data usage reset (if reset_usages is true)

What Doesn't Change:

• ❌ Username (cannot be changed)
• ❌ Proxy settings structure (only flow/method are updated)
• ❌ User's creation date
• ❌ User's admin (who created them)

Reset Usages Flag

When reset_usages is true in the template:

• User's used_traffic is reset to 0
• Usage history is cleared
• Reset log entry is created

Use Case: When upgrading a user to a new plan, you might want to reset their usage.

Bulk User Creation

Overview

Bulk user creation allows creating multiple users from a template at once with automatic username generation.

Endpoint: POST /api/users/bulk/from_template

Features:

• Create up to 500 users at once
• Automatic username generation
• Two username generation strategies
• Subscription URLs returned for all created users

Username Generation Strategies

{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "count": 10,
  "strategy": "random",
  "username": null,
  "note": "Bulk created users"
}

{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "count": 10,
  "strategy": "sequence",
  "username": "user",
  "start_number": 1,
  "note": "Sequential users"
}

Base: "user", start: 1 → "user1", "user2", "user3"
Base: "user10", start: 1 → "user11", "user12", "user13" (10 is ignored)
Base: "test", start: 100 → "test100", "test101", "test102"

Username Prefix/Suffix in Bulk Creation

Template's username_prefix and username_suffix are applied to all generated usernames:

Example:

Template: prefix = "premium_", suffix = "_vip"
Strategy: sequence, base = "user", start = 1

Generated usernames:
  "premium_user1_vip"
  "premium_user2_vip"
  "premium_user3_vip"

Bulk Creation Process

1. Template Validation - Template exists and not disabled
2. Strategy Validation - Username strategy rules are checked
3. Username Generation - Usernames generated based on strategy
4. Duplicate Filtering - Existing usernames are filtered out
5. User Creation - All users created with template settings
6. Subscription URLs - URLs generated for all created users

Response

{
  "subscription_urls": [
    "https://example.com/sub/user1?token=...",
    "https://example.com/sub/user2?token=..."
  ],
  "created": 10
}

Constraints

• Maximum count: 500 users per request
• Minimum count: 1 user
• Username uniqueness: Duplicate usernames are automatically skipped
• Template validation: Template must exist and not be disabled

Validation Rules and Constraints

Name Validation

Group IDs Validation

Username Prefix/Suffix Validation

Status Validation

Data Limit Validation

Expire Duration Validation

Disabled Template Validation

Common Scenarios

POST /api/user_template
{
  "name": "Premium Plan",
  "data_limit": 1073741824,
  "expire_duration": 2592000,
  "group_ids": [1],
  "status": "active"
}

{
  "name": "Premium Plan",
  "username_prefix": "premium_",
  "group_ids": [1]
}

{
  "name": "Advanced Plan",
  "group_ids": [1],
  "extra_settings": {
    "flow": "xtls-rprx-vision",
    "method": "aes-256-gcm"
  }
}

{
  "name": "Trial Plan",
  "status": "on_hold",
  "expire_duration": 2592000,
  "on_hold_timeout": 3600,
  "group_ids": [1]
}

{
  "name": "Monthly Plan",
  "data_limit": 5368709120,
  "data_limit_reset_strategy": "month",
  "group_ids": [1]
}

POST /api/user/from_template
{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "username": "john",
  "note": "New customer"
}

POST /api/users/bulk/from_template
{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "count": 50,
  "strategy": "random",
  "username": null
}

POST /api/users/bulk/from_template
{
  "user_template_id": 1,
  "count": 100,
  "strategy": "sequence",
  "username": "user",
  "start_number": 1
}

PUT /api/user/john/from_template
{
  "user_template_id": 2,
  "note": "Upgraded to premium"
}

// First, update template to enable reset_usages
PUT /api/user_template/2
{
  "reset_usages": true
}

// Then apply template to user
PUT /api/user/john/from_template
{
  "user_template_id": 2
}

PUT /api/user_template/1
{
  "is_disabled": true
}

{
  "name": "Multi-Group Plan",
  "group_ids": [1, 2, 3],
  "data_limit": 1073741824
}

{
  "name": "Unlimited Plan",
  "data_limit": 0,
  "expire_duration": 0,
  "group_ids": [1]
}

{
  "name": "VIP Plan",
  "username_prefix": "premium_",
  "username_suffix": "_vip",
  "group_ids": [1]
}

Summary

• ✅ Templates are blueprints - They provide default values for user creation
• ✅ All fields are applied - Template settings override defaults when creating users
• ✅ Username prefix/suffix - Automatically added to usernames
• ✅ Extra settings - Apply protocol-specific settings (flow, method)
• ✅ Group assignment - Users automatically join template's groups
• ✅ Status handling - Supports active and on_hold with timeout
• ✅ Expiration calculation - Automatically calculated from expire_duration
• ✅ Data limit reset - Configurable reset strategies
• ✅ Bulk creation - Create up to 500 users with automatic username generation
• ✅ Disabled templates - Cannot be used until re-enabled
• ✅ User modification - Apply templates to existing users
• ✅ Reset usages - Option to reset data usage when modifying users

For more information about:

• Groups: See groups
• Hosts: See host