Guide · 4 min read

Fix "missing permissions" and role hierarchy errors

Why Hana says she cannot manage a member or give a role, and how to fix it with role order, channel overrides and the Use Application Commands permission.

Updated

Almost every "it doesn't work" report comes down to one of three Discord rules. None of them are specific to Hana; every bot follows them.

Rule 1: role order

A bot can only act on members and roles below its highest role. If Hana's role is under @Moderator, she cannot time out a moderator or hand out the @Moderator role.

Fix: Server Settings → Roles → drag Hana above the roles she manages. Your admin roles can stay above her.

This affects:

  • giving roles: level rewards, reaction roles, AutoRole, color roles, booster roles
  • moderating: timeouts, kicks, bans, nickname cleanup with /security sanitize
  • panic mode: /security lockdown-roles only changes roles below Hana

Rule 2: channel overrides beat server permissions

A channel can deny a permission that the role has server-wide. If Hana works in one channel but not another, open the channel's Edit Channel → Permissions and check for a red ✕ on Hana's role or @everyone for View Channel, Send Messages, Embed Links or Attach Files.

Rule 3: slash commands need "Use Application Commands"

If commands don't show up at all for members, the role or channel is probably denying Use Application Commands. Check Server Settings → Roles → @everyone, then the channel overrides.

Still stuck

  1. Run /util status to confirm Hana is online and responding.
  2. If you invited Hana a long time ago, re-inviting her with the button on this site refreshes her permissions (you don't need to remove her first).
  3. Post in the help forum with the exact error text.