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Channel permissions

Control who can see and use your channels and channel groups.

How channel permissions work​

Every channel and channel group has its own permissions that determine which members can see it and what they can do inside it. Channel permissions build on the community-wide roles and permissions system, but apply only to specific channels.

By default, new channels and channel groups are visible to all members through the EVERYONE role. You can customize this as needed:

  • Remove the EVERYONE role to make a channel or group private
  • Add access rules to grant visibility to specific roles or members
  • Add permission overlays to fine-tune what members can do
  • Disable permission sync to give a channel different permissions than its group

Access rules​

Access rules control who can see a channel or channel group. Each access rule grants a role or member visibility and can include permission overlays that modify what they can do.

Without an access rule, a member cannot see the channel at all—it's completely hidden from them.

To learn how to add, edit, or remove access rules, see Manage access rules.

Permission overlays​

Permission overlays let you grant or deny specific permissions for a role or member within a channel or channel group. For example, you could:

  • Allow a "Moderators" role to delete messages in a specific channel
  • Prevent EVERYONE from sending messages in an announcements channel
  • Grant a specific member the ability to pin messages

Overlays are set per access rule, so you add them when you create or edit an access rule on a channel or group.

For the full list of permissions you can overlay, see Permission reference.

Permission sync​

By default, channels inherit permissions from their parent channel group. This is called permission sync. When sync is enabled:

  • Access rules on the group automatically apply to all synced channels
  • Changes to the group's permissions apply to all synced channels
  • You cannot edit the channel's permissions directly

To give a channel different permissions than its group, you must disable sync first. See Permission sync for details.

Examples of common permission setups​

GoalHow to do it
Announcement channelKeep EVERYONE access rule, but add an overlay that denies Send Messages. Only roles with an overlay that grants Send Messages can post.
Moderator-only channelRemove EVERYONE access rule. Add access rule for your moderator role.
Private channel groupRemove EVERYONE access rule from the group. Add access rules for roles or members who should see the group and all its channels.
Read-only archiveKeep EVERYONE access rule with an overlay that denies Send Messages. No one can post new messages.
Voice channel for specific roleRemove EVERYONE access rule. Add access rule for the role that should have voice access.