How Channel Permissions Work
By default, channel visibility and access are determined by organisation-level permissions (communication:channels:read). Channel-specific permissions add a second layer on top of this, letting you fine-tune which job roles and users can access a particular channel and what they can do in it.
There are two permission types at the channel level:
Permission Type | What It Allows |
Read | View the channel and its messages |
Write | View the channel and send messages in it |
Note: Write permission includes read access. A user with Write permission can both read and send messages.
Job Role Permissions
Job role permissions grant access to a channel for everyone who holds a specific job role. This is the recommended way to manage channel access, as it scales automatically when employees join or leave roles.
Adding a Job Role Permission
Open the channel and go to Channel Settings.
Navigate to the Permissions tab.
Under Job Role Permissions, click Add permission.
Select a job role from the dropdown.
Choose the permission type (Read or Write).
Save your changes.
Everyone with that job role now has the selected level of access to the channel.
Removing a Job Role Permission
In the Permissions tab, find the job role in the list.
Click Remove next to it.
Save your changes.
Members who had access only through that job role will lose access to the channel.
User Overrides
User overrides let you grant or restrict access for individual users, regardless of their job role permissions. This is useful for:
Giving a specific person access to a channel even if their role does not have it
Granting Write access to someone whose role only has Read access
Adding a User Override
Open Channel Settings → Permissions tab.
Under User Overrides, click Add user override.
Select a user from the dropdown.
Choose the permission type (Read or Write).
Save your changes.
Removing a User Override
Find the user in the User Overrides list.
Click Remove next to their name.
Save your changes.
Tip: Use user overrides sparingly. Job role permissions are easier to maintain as your team grows. Only use overrides when a specific person needs different access than their role provides.
How Permissions Are Evaluated
When determining whether a user can access a channel, the system checks:
Organisation permission — Does the user have
communication:channels:readat the organisation level?User override — Is there a specific override for this user on this channel? If yes, that takes priority.
Job role permission — Does any of the user’s job roles have a permission entry for this channel?
User overrides always take priority over job role permissions.
Channel Members
The Channel Info panel shows a list of members who currently have access to the channel. Each member entry shows:
Name and avatar
Access type — whether they have access via a job role (“via role”) or a direct user override
Creator badge — if they created the channel
You can search members using the search bar in the members section.
Note: Managing channel permissions requires the communication:permissions:manage permission. If you cannot see the Permissions tab, contact your administrator.
Permission Quick Reference
Task | Where | Required Permission |
View Permissions tab | Channel Settings → Permissions |
|
Add job role permission | Permissions → Job Role Permissions → Add |
|
Add user override | Permissions → User Overrides → Add |
|
Remove a permission | Permissions → Remove next to entry |
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