Zimbra: Configuring the Zimbra Admin Account (CLI)

Updated February 05, 2026 16:05

To connect CloudM Migrate to your Zimbra server, you must provide credentials for an account with specific administrative privileges. This guide explains the required permission levels and provide the CLI commands to configure them.

1. Administrative Scopes

Before configuring the account, determine the level of access required for your migration project:

Scope	Capabilities
Global System Admin	Required to read the full user list from the system and migrate accounts across multiple domains.
Domain Admin	Sufficient for migrating users within a single, specific domain.

IMPORTANT: If the admin account has insufficient rights, CloudM Migrate will return 403 Forbidden or Authentication errors during the connection test or user discovery phase.

2. Configuration Commands (CLI)

Use the Zimbra zmprov utility to create or modify admin accounts. By default, Zimbra includes a global admin (admin@domain.com), but you can create a dedicated migration admin using the steps below.

Option A: Create a New Admin Account

Run the following command to create a new user and immediately grant administrator privileges:

zmprov ca migrationadmin@domain.com password123 zimbraIsAdminAccount TRUE

Option B: Grant Admin Privileges to an Existing Account

If the account already exists as a standard user, promote it using:

zmprov ma existinguser@domain.com zimbraIsAdminAccount TRUE

Option C: Reset an Admin Password

If you need to update the credentials for the account used in CloudM Migrate:

zmprov sp migrationadmin@domain.com NEW_PASSWORD

3. Next Steps

Once the admin account is configured and verified, proceed to the Zimbra Source Connection Setup to enter these credentials into CloudM Migrate.

Network Note: If your Zimbra instance is managed by a third-party host, you may need to request these credentials or CLI access from your service provider.