Understanding Permissions

How Nevi's permission hierarchy works, how it auto-detects your access level, and how to set custom mod and admin roles.

Permission hierarchy

Nevi uses a four-tier permission system. Every command is assigned to one of these levels, and you need to be at or above that level to use it.

Owner

The server owner has full access to every command, including destructive actions and all configuration. This level cannot be assigned to other users.

Administrator

Administrators can use configuration commands, manage logging, set up reaction roles, ban members, and access most management features. This covers commands like /config, /ban, /logging, and /reactionrole.

Moderator

Moderators can use day-to-day moderation tools: muting, warning, kicking, purging messages, and similar commands. They cannot change server configuration or use admin-level features.

Member

All users start at this level. Members can access general commands, fun commands, economy, social features, music playback, and other non-destructive commands.

Automatic detection

By default, Nevi automatically determines your permission level by checking your Discord role permissions. You don't need to configure anything for this to work.

How auto-detection works

If you're the server owner, you're always Owner.
If any of your roles have the Administrator permission, you're detected as Admin.
If any of your roles have Ban Members, Kick Members, or Manage Messages, you're detected as Mod.
Everyone else is treated as User.

This means if you give someone a role with "Ban Members" enabled, Nevi will automatically let them use mod-level commands. No extra configuration needed.

Custom mod & admin roles

If auto-detection doesn't fit your server structure, you can explicitly tell Nevi which roles should be treated as Mod or Admin. This overrides the automatic detection for those roles.

Set a Mod Role

/config set moderatorRole @Role

Anyone with this role will be treated as a Moderator, even if their Discord permissions wouldn't normally qualify them. This is useful when you have a "Helper" or "Trial Mod" role that doesn't have Discord-level kick/ban permissions.

Set an Admin Role

/config set adminRole @Role

Anyone with this role will be treated as an Admin for Nevi commands, regardless of their Discord permissions. Use this carefully, since admins can change server-wide bot settings.

To remove a custom role assignment, run the same command with no role argument. For more configuration options, see the Server Configuration guide.

Channel permission overrides

Even if Nevi's role has the right permissions at the server level, channel-specific overrides can block it from working in certain channels.

Common issues

A channel override that denies "Send Messages" for Nevi's role (or @everyone) will prevent Nevi from responding in that channel.
A channel override that denies "View Channel" will make the channel invisible to Nevi entirely. It won't see messages, react, or log events there.
"Manage Roles" cannot be overridden per-channel. If Nevi needs to assign roles (reaction roles, autoroles, muting), its server-level role must have this permission.

Tip: When troubleshooting, check the channel's permission overrides first. Go to Channel Settings → Permissions and look for explicit denies on Nevi's role or @everyone. A deny always wins over an allow at the same level.

For step-by-step troubleshooting, see Permission Issues.

Related Commands

/configmanagementRequires admin