Setting Up User Roles

Roles are the foundation of access control on your website. They allow you to define who can do what: for example, a moderator can ban violators, a VIP user gets access to exclusive sections, and a regular visitor can only see basic content.

Flute CMS uses an RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) system. This is a standard approach where instead of configuring permissions for each user individually, you create roles with the required permissions and then assign these roles to users.

Role System Basics

What is a Role?

A role is a set of permissions (access rights) that can be assigned to a user. Each role defines:

• Section access — which Admin Panel pages the user can see
• Available actions — what the user can do (create, edit, delete)
• Visual display — the role’s color and icon on the website

Examples of typical roles:

Role Hierarchy

Roles in Flute CMS have a strict hierarchy:

1. admin.boss — super administrator (full access to everything)
2. Custom roles — created by the administrator (moderator, VIP, etc.)
3. user — regular user (basic permissions)

Creating and Configuring Roles

Creating a New Role

To create a role:

1. In the Admin Panel sidebar, find the “Users and Roles” section and click “Roles”
2. Click the ”+ Create Role” button in the upper right corner of the page
3. Fill in the basic role information

On the roles page, you will see a list of all existing roles with the ability to drag and drop (to change priority), names, identifiers, and action buttons.

Basic Role Parameters

1. Role name — Any role name (e.g., “Moderator”, “VIP”, “Editor”)
2. Role color — the color that will highlight the role on the website (displayed in the user’s nickname and in lists)
3. Icon — the role icon for visual distinction

Permission System

Permission Categories

Each permission has its own description of what it controls. When creating or editing a role, you will see a full list of available permissions with explanations.

Role Priority and Hierarchy

How Priority Works

Role priority is determined by their order in the list:

1. Highest priority — roles at the top of the list
2. Lowest priority — roles at the bottom of the list

A user with a higher-priority role can manage users with lower-priority roles. For example, a moderator (higher priority) can manage regular users (lower priority), but cannot manage administrators (even higher priority).

Changing Priority

To change a role’s priority:

1. Go to the role list
2. Drag the role to the desired position (use the drag icon to the left of the name)
3. Save the changes

Assigning Roles to Users

Assigning Through User Profile

1. In the Admin Panel sidebar, find the “Users and Roles” section and click “User List”
2. Find the desired user
3. Click “Edit”
4. In the “Roles” section, select the needed roles
5. Save the changes

Multiple Roles

A user can have multiple roles simultaneously:

• Permissions are cumulative — the user receives all permissions from all their roles
• Priority is determined by the highest role — the role with the highest priority is used for display