Discord API is a great platform for developers who want to create bots, mods, and other significant features. The Application Programming Interface or API is software for connecting a user to an application or website. Developers find the Discord API convenient when they need to interact with Discord services, servers, or anything else.
However, the ‘Discord API Error Missing Permissions’ is one of the most common issues reported by developers. It generally takes place when any developer is in the middle of the bot development process. This is an unwanted scenario, and it affects your overall experience with the bot development procedure.
Discord acquires a definite permission system, and apparently, your API is missing the required permission. Generally, Discord permissions get stored in an integer that is 53-bit long. Additionally, some limitations and oddities should be specified to eliminate the ‘Discord API Error Missing Permissions’ issue.
Why does the ‘Discord API Error Missing Permissions’ Message Appear on the Screen?
According to the developers worldwide, the ‘DiscordAPIError: Missing Permissions’ issue can arise due to multiple reasons. Check out the reasons below and try to find out which one is your instance:
- Perhaps, the bot misses out on the required permission to perform the desired action within its final permissions or calculated base. There are chances that the requirements simply change according to the type of action.
- You might have provided an incapacitated permission number when attempting to create overwrites. The in-app calculator provides the value in decimal format, whereas the developer documentation contains the value in hex format. Ensure that you don’t confuse these values. Don’t apply the hex prefix where it doesn’t fit.
- Another reason can be that the code attempts to act as a guild member assigned a higher role. Or, the guild member has a role that’s equivalent to the highest role of your bot.
- Additionally, it might be trying to assign or change a role equal to or higher than its highest role.
- On the other hand, the attempt to add a managed role to a member can bring the same consequence.
- The same Discord API Error Missing Permissions issue can come up as it might be attempting to remove a managed role from a member.
Furthermore…
Developers have reported that the bot might be trying to timeout a particular member with ADMINISTRATION permission. Here are a few situations where you can encounter the ‘DiscordAPIError: Missing Permissions’ error:
- It is attempting to perform a forbidden action on the server owner.
- Any unfulfilling factor in the action can lead to the same result. For instance, the action might be reserved for guilds only who are partnered.
- The absence of the VIEW_CHANNEL permission for executing an action on a voice channel can trigger the error.
- If it tries creating or overwriting a channel with the flag MANAGE_ROLES, but it lacks the ADMINISTRATOR permission, you are more likely to experience this API error. Additionally, it should not lack the explicit overwrite, MANAGE_ROLES, on the same channel. The global permission doesn’t count here.
Check if you are not repeating these mistakes that can result in the Discord API Error Missing Permissions issue. Remember that it doesn’t skip hierarchical checks when it grants the ADMINISTRATOR permission.
Discord Permissions
Permissions inside the Discord interface are the key for users to grant a few abilities and limit some of them. Users need to configure permissions according to their guild level for diverse roles. They are designed to grant or deny permissions within the guild whenever roles are assigned.
When it comes to the discord.js environment, permission bit fields are represented as referenced flags or the decimal value of the corresponding bit field.
Here’s how Discord defines the final permissions of a guild member:
- Just take permissions altogether for every role inside the guild member and simply add them up.
- Put in all denies for the role set by default (@everyone).
- Apply all allows for the role set by default (@everyone).
- Go for all denies for every additional role that the guild member acquires at the same time.
- Apply all allows for extra roles that the guild member possess at once.
- Put in all denies for the particular guild member if they exist.
- Put in all allows for a definite guild member if they exist.
When this system is in action, you cannot deny base permissions. If you apply the SEND_MESSAGES permission to @everyone, but forget to grant it for a muted member role, muted members can still send messages. Make sure that you specify channel-based overwrites in these cases.
Elevated Permissions
The guild owner might have enabled two-factor authentication on the server. Then, everyone has to enable two-factor authentication while executing a particular subset of actions. Bots can’t enable two-factor authentication, and you have to activate them as the application owner.
Such permissions for these tasks are called elevated permissions. Here are a few examples of elevated permissions:
- KICK_MEMBERS
- MANAGE_CHANNELS
- MANAGE_MESSAGES
- BAN_MEMBERS
- MANAGE_THREADS
- MANAGE_ROLES
What are the Reasons behind Missing Access?
Similar to the Discord API Error Missing Permissions, you might be experiencing missing access due to permission constraints. Make sure that you have included VIEW_CHANNEL in text channels.
Additionally, voice channels should have CONNECT. When you are timing out a member, use MODERATE_MEMBERS. If the DiscordAPIError: Missing Permissions persists, contact Discord support or a professional.
