User Management

This guide covers managing users, roles, and permissions in Agility CMS.

User Access Overview

Agility CMS uses User Access to manage users and grant specific permission-based access to your instance. When adding users, it's important to consider what role they will have in relation to managing your instance and content.

Reference: Agility CMS User Permissions Documentation

Available Permissions

These are the base-level permissions available in Agility CMS. They can be used to create Custom Roles (Enterprise feature) and are also used in built-in roles:

  • Read - Grants a user access to "Read" something but not edit it
  • Contribute - Grants a user access to create something, and edit what they've created, but not something created by someone else
  • Edit - Grants a user access to change something
  • Approve - Grants a user access to Approve or Decline something that has been requested for approval
  • Publish - Grants a user access to Publish or Unpublish something
  • Manage - Grants a user permission to all settings, models and reports
  • Delete - Grants a user access to Delete something
  • Design / Develop - Grants a user access to Models and fields that are marked as "Designer Only"
  • View Reports - Grants a user access to the reporting section
  • Full Control - Grants a user full control over an instance, including all user management controls

Built-in Roles

Agility CMS provides built-in roles that grant specific sets of permissions:

  • None - User has no access to the instance
  • Reader - Can see Content, Pages and Assets, but cannot make any changes
  • Contributor - Can create new items (Pages or Content Items) and Edit the items that they created
  • Editor - Can create and modify items as well as add and manage components on a page
  • Publisher - Editor permissions and can publish items
  • Approver - Editor permissions and can approve items
  • Delete - Editor permissions and can delete items
  • Designer - Editor permissions and can create and manage models. Can define what Components appear in the Zones of each Page. Designer also has access to some settings
  • Managers - Approver, Publisher, Designer and Delete permissions. Can also access all of settings as well as delete Groups and Content Lists
  • Admins - Full and complete access to the Instance
  • Custom Roles - Enterprise feature that allows you to create custom roles with specific permission combinations

Managing Users

Adding Users

  1. Navigate to Settings → User Access (or Users)
  2. Click "Add User"
  3. Fill in user details:
    • Email address
    • Name
    • Role assignment (select from built-in roles or custom roles)
  4. Set item-level permissions for specific content models or sections if needed
  5. Save the user

Editing Users

  1. Navigate to Settings → User Access
  2. Click on the user to edit
  3. Modify role assignment or permissions
  4. Save changes

Removing Users

  1. Navigate to Settings → User Access
  2. Click on the user
  3. Remove or deactivate the user

Item-Level Permissions

In addition to role-based permissions, Agility CMS supports Item-Level Permissions that allow you to:

  • Set permissions for specific content models
  • Set permissions for specific components
  • Set permissions for specific page models
  • Set permissions for asset folders
  • Grant granular access control beyond role-based permissions

Configuring Item-Level Permissions

  1. Navigate to the content list, component, or page model
  2. Click "Properties" or "Security"
  3. Configure permissions for specific roles or users
  4. Save changes

Best Practices for Role Assignment

  1. Start with Minimum Permissions - Begin with the minimum permissions required and add additional roles or permissions as necessary
  2. Consider User Responsibilities - Choose roles based on what the user needs to do, not what they might do
  3. Use Built-in Roles First - Built-in roles are designed to cover most common use cases
  4. Custom Roles for Enterprise - Use Custom Roles (Enterprise feature) only when built-in roles don't meet your needs
  5. Regular Review - Periodically review user permissions to ensure they're still appropriate
  6. Document Permissions - Document why users have specific permissions

Common Role Scenarios

Content Editor

  • Role: Editor
  • Permissions: Create and edit content, manage components on pages
  • Use Case: Day-to-day content management

Content Publisher

  • Role: Publisher
  • Permissions: Editor permissions + publish content
  • Use Case: Content management with publishing authority

Blog Author

  • Role: Contributor
  • Permissions: Create and edit own posts only
  • Use Case: Authors who create their own content

Designer/Developer

  • Role: Designer
  • Permissions: Editor permissions + manage models and components
  • Use Case: Technical users who configure models

Administrator

  • Role: Admins
  • Permissions: Full instance access
  • Use Case: Complete instance management

Next: Content Models - Managing content models