Delegated granular administration

Available on Enterprise plans

Cloud and self-hosted deployments

Also available in legacy Mattermost Enterprise Edition E20

Mattermost supports the creation and customization of system administration roles with specific granular permissions and System Console access. This allows senior administrators in large organizations to delegate and de-centralize specialized administration and administrative tasks with specific admin roles.

These admin roles permit granular access to specific areas of the System Console and related API endpoints. These roles enable users to perform certain administrative tasks without requiring access to all system administration areas. These system roles never supersede the user’s original role or the user’s permissions configured by the Permissions scheme.

Available roles

A system admin can set up the following delegated granular administration in the System Console:

• System Manager: This role has read/write permissions for management areas, such as user management and integrations, but not user permissions. This role has read only access to authentication, reporting, and licensing.

• User Manager: This role is able to read/write to all the user management areas, but not user permissions, and read-only access to authentication.

• Custom Group Manager This role has permissions to create, edit, restore, and delete custom user groups. This role can be used to assign individual users the ability to manage custom groups when Custom Groups permissions are removed for All Members via System Console > Permissions > Edit Scheme > Custom Groups.

• Viewer: The Viewer role can view all areas of the System Console, but has no write access.

When a user is assigned a system role, they have role-based access to the System Console and the API endpoints. Each role has a different set of default permissions, and what users can access or view depends on the role they’ve been assigned.

System role	Read/Write access	Read Only access
System Manager	User Management Environment Site Configuration Integrations	(User Management) Permissions Edition/License Reporting Authentication Plugins
User Manager	User Management Groups Teams Channels	(User Management) Permissions Authentication
Custom Group Manager	Custom User Groups	N/A
Viewer	N/A	All pages within the System Console

Assign admin roles

There are two ways to assign roles:

1. In the System Console under User Management > System Roles.

2. Using the mmctl tool. This can be done either locally or remotely.

You want to	Using the System Console	Using mmctl
Assign roles	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles > Assigned People	mmctl permissions role assign [role_name] [username...]
Grant the System Manager role to a user	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the System Manager role. Under Assigned People, select Add People. Search for and select the user name, then select Add to grant the System Manager role to that user.	mmctl permissions role assign system_manager user-name
Grant the User Manager role to two users	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the User Manager role. Under Assigned People, select Add People. Search for and select the two users, then select Add to grant the User Manager role to those users.	mmctl permissions role assign system_user_manager user-name1 user-name2
Grant the Viewer role to a user	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the Viewer role. Under Assigned People, select Add People. Search for and select the user name, then select Add to grant the Viewer role to that user.	mmctl permissions role assign system_read_only_admin user-name
Grant the Custom Group Manager role to two users	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the Custom Group Manager role. Under Assigned People, select Add People. Search for and select the two users, then select Add to grant the Custom Group Manager role to those users. All users have the ability to create custom user groups by default. When you assign users to the Custom Group Manager role, you must manually remove these permissions from all users by going to System Console > User Management > Permissions > Edit Scheme. Under All Members, clear all of the Custom Groups permissions, including Create, Manage members, Edit, and Delete.	mmctl permissions role assign system_custom_group_admin user-name1 user-name2
Remove the System Manager role from a single user	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the System Manager role. Under Assigned People, search for the user, then select Remove.	mmctl permissions role unassign system_manager bob-smith

Edit privileges of admin roles (advanced)

System admins can grant read/write access to other areas of the System Console, as well as remove read/write access (including default access), for all system roles except the Custom Group Manager role.

There are two ways to assign roles:

1. In the System Console under User Management > System Roles.

2. Using the mmctl tool. This can be done either locally or remotely.

You want to	Using the System Console	Using mmctl
Edit role privileges	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the System Manager, User Manager, or Viewer role. For each set of privileges, select the access level as Can edit, Read only, or No access. Note: If you set privilege subsections to different access levels, then the privilege access level displays as Mixed Access.	mmctl permissions add [role_name] [permission...]
Grant write access to the Authentication section of the System Console for all users with the User Manager role	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the User Manager role. Under Privileges > Authentication select Can edit, then select Save.	mmctl permissions add system_user_manager sysconsole_write_authentication
Grant read-only access to the Authentication section of the System Console for all users with the User Manager role	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles. then select the User Manager role. Under Privileges > Authentication select Read only, then select Save.	mmctl permissions remove system_user_manager sysconsole_read_authentication
Remove write access to the Authentication section of the System Console for all users with the User Manager role	Go to System Console > User Management > System Roles, then select the User Manager role. Under Privileges > Authentication select No access, then choose Save.	mmctl permissions remove system_user_manager sysconsole_write_authentication
Reset a role to its default set of permissions	This is completed using the mmctl tool only.	mmctl permissions reset [role_name] For example, to reset the permissions of the system_read_only_admin role: mmctl permissions reset system_read_only_admin

Admin roles and privileges

Roles

• system_manager

• system_user_manager

• system_custom_group_admin

• system_read_only_admin

Privileges

System Console section	Permissions
About	PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ABOUT_EDITION_AND_LICENSE PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ABOUT_EDITION_AND_LICENSE
Reporting	Site Statistics PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_REPORTING_SITE_STATISTICS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_REPORTING_SITE_STATISTICS Team Statistics PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_REPORTING_TEAM_STATISTICS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_REPORTING_TEAM_STATISTICS Server Logs PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_REPORTING_SERVER_LOGS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_REPORTING_SERVER_LOGS
User Management	Users PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_USERMANAGEMENT_USERS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_USERMANAGEMENT_USERS Groups PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_USERMANAGEMENT_GROUPS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_USERMANAGEMENT_GROUPS Teams PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_USERMANAGEMENT_TEAMS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_USERMANAGEMENT_TEAMS Channels PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_USERMANAGEMENT_CHANNELS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_USERMANAGEMENT_CHANNELS Permissions PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_USERMANAGEMENT_PERMISSIONS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_USERMANAGEMENT_PERMISSIONS
Environment	Web Server PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_WEB_SERVER PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_WEB_SERVER Database PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_DATABASE PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_DATABASE Elasticsearch PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_ELASTICSEARCH PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_ELASTICSEARCH File Storage PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_FILE_STORAGE PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_FILE_STORAGE Image Proxy PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_IMAGE_PROXY PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_IMAGE_PROXY SMTP PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_SMTP PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_SMTP Push Notification Server PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_PUSH_NOTIFICATION_SERVER PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_PUSH_NOTIFICATION_SERVER High Availability PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_HIGH_AVAILABILITY PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_HIGH_AVAILABILITY Rate Limiting PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_RATE_LIMITING PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_RATE_LIMITING Logging PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_LOGGING PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_LOGGING Session Lengths PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_SESSION_LENGTHS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_SESSION_LENGTHS Performance Monitoring PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_PERFORMANCE_MONITORING PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_PERFORMANCE_MONITORING Developer PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_ENVIRONMENT_DEVELOPER PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_ENVIRONMENT_DEVELOPER
Site Configuration	Customization PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_CUSTOMIZATION PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_CUSTOMIZATION Localization PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_LOCALIZATION PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_LOCALIZATION Users and Teams PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_USERS_AND_TEAMS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_USERS_AND_TEAMS Notifications PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_NOTIFICATIONS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_NOTIFICATIONS Announcement Banner PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_ANNOUNCEMENT_BANNER PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_ANNOUNCEMENT_BANNER Emoji PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_EMOJI PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_EMOJI Posts PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_POSTS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_POSTS File Sharing and Downloads PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_FILE_SHARING_AND_DOWNLOADS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_FILE_SHARING_AND_DOWNLOADS Public Links PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_PUBLIC_LINKS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_PUBLIC_LINKS Notices PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_SITE_NOTICES PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_SITE_NOTICES
Authentication	Signup PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_SIGNUP PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_SIGNUP Email PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_EMAIL PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_EMAIL Password PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_PASSWORD PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_PASSWORD MFA PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_MFA PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_MFA AD/LDAP PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_MFA PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_MFA SAML 2.0 PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_SAML PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_SAML OpenID Connect PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_OPENID PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_OPENID Guest Access PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_AUTHENTICATION_GUEST_ACCESS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_AUTHENTICATION_GUEST_ACCESS
Plugin	PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_PLUGINS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_PLUGINS
Integrations	Integration Management PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_INTEGRATIONS_INTEGRATION_MANAGEMENT PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_INTEGRATIONS_INTEGRATION_MANAGEMENT Bot Accounts PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_INTEGRATIONS_BOT_ACCOUNTS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_INTEGRATIONS_BOT_ACCOUNTS GIF (Beta) PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_INTEGRATIONS_GIF PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_INTEGRATIONS_GIF CORS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_INTEGRATIONS_CORS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_INTEGRATIONS_CORS
Compliance	Data Retention Policy PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_COMPLIANCE_DATA_RETENTION_POLICY PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_COMPLIANCE_DATA_RETENTION_POLICY Compliance Export PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_COMPLIANCE_COMPLIANCE_EXPORT PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_COMPLIANCE_COMPLIANCE_EXPORT Compliance Monitoring PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_COMPLIANCE_COMPLIANCE_MONITORING PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_COMPLIANCE_COMPLIANCE_MONITORING Custom Terms of Service PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_COMPLIANCE_CUSTOM_TERMS_OF_SERVICE PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_COMPLIANCE_CUSTOM_TERMS_OF_SERVICE
Experimental	Features PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURES PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURES Feature Flags PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURE_FLAGS PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURE_FLAGS Bleve PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_READ_EXPERIMENTAL_BLEVE PERMISSION_SYSCONSOLE_WRITE_EXPERIMENTAL_BLEVE

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a User Manager or System Manager reset an administrator’s email or password without their knowledge?

This is not possible with the default privileges of these roles. The ability to reset passwords or email addresses of administrators is limited to system admins.

Can a User Manager or System Manager access the configuration file?

Yes. However, they will only have access to read actual values and modify values in accordance with their permissions. If appropriate read permissions do not exist, the default key values will be displayed.

Are all actions of admin roles logged?

Every change made by any admin is included in the audit log.

Can a System Manager change their own permissions or elevate their role?

No. System Managers can’t elevate their role, and aren’t able to elevate other members’ roles.

Can any of the new roles view API keys/passwords or other sensitive information within the System Console (such as SMTP, AWS, Elastic Search)?

No, password information is only visible to system admins and is obfuscated for other roles.

If download links for compliance exports are enabled in the System Console, can a Read Only Admin download the reports?

Only roles that are explicitly granted access to System Console > Compliance have access to download compliance reports.

Can any of the new roles force-join Private channels?

Yes at this time they can, however, we will be improving on this behavior in the future with a prompt that lets them know they are entering a private channel. We are also planning on adding a permission which would remove the ability to access Private channels.

Can I create a new role or clone an existing role?

No, but we are actively seeking feedback on this capability.

Can I use an LDAP filter to assign these roles?

No, but we are considering this functionality for a future enhancement.

Can I rename the roles?

This is being considered for future development.

Can a System Manager or User Manager demote or deactivate another Admin or Manager?

A System or User Manager can demote or deactivate another System or User Manager, but can’t demote or deactivate a system admin.

Can a System Manager or User Manager assign or unassign admin roles?

Only the system admin has access to edit system roles.