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Use cases → Admin and governance

Synchronise Google user directory from an HR system feed

Keep Workspace users up to date by mapping HR data changes to directory actions, with reliable tracking and conflict handling.

Who it is forIT or automation teams responsible for onboarding and offboarding at scale.
APIsAdmin SDK
Typical scopesadmin.directory.user

The problem

HR systems are the source of truth, but Google user directories drift without automation. Manual updates introduce delays and errors, while missed terminations or duplicated accounts create security and licensing issues.

How it works

  1. Fetch the authoritative user list from the HR system, including status and identifiers.
  2. Map HR records to Workspace users by immutable ID, not email address.
  3. Create, suspend, or update users in the directory to match HR data.
  4. Log every operation and surface any mismatches or failures for manual review.

What changes

The Google user directory accurately reflects HR status, with onboarding and offboarding handled automatically and a record of changes for auditing.

The trap in this one. The Admin SDK's user update calls are eventually consistent: a rapid delete followed by a create for the same primary email can silently fail or throw a 'not found' error, depending on propagation. If you process HR actions in the wrong order, you risk orphaned accounts or stuck usernames. Always design with a retry and back-off for race conditions, and avoid immediate reuse of emails after deletion.

Questions people ask

How do I handle name or email address changes?

Rename the user via the update call, but note that aliases and group memberships may take time to reflect. Always check for pending changes before applying further updates.

Can I bulk update users efficiently?

No true bulk endpoint exists. Rate limits apply per user modification, so batch requests and handle quota errors with exponential backoff.

Want this built?

This is a pattern we run in production. We will set up the delegation and build this on top of it — $500 per hour, most of it working the same day.

Talk to us Or read the setup guide

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