# Roles and what they allow

Everyone in an organisation has two roles. Their **org role** decides what they can do in running the organisation. Their **brain role** decides what they can do inside brains.

## Org roles

| Role | Can |
|---|---|
| **Member** | Use every brain they can reach, with their brain role. |
| **Admin** | Everything a member can, plus manage members, settings, connections and billing. Admins can always approve changes. |
| **Owner** | Everything an admin can, and reach every brain, including restricted ones. Only the owner can hand ownership to someone else. |

There is one owner. Ownership isn't a role you pick; it moves only when the owner [hands it over](/team/manage-members#hand-over-ownership).

## Brain roles

Each role includes the ones before it.

| Role | Can |
|---|---|
| **Read** | Read, search and ask. Can't change anything. |
| **Draft** | Make changes, which are all sent for approval. |
| **Write** | Save directly, except in protected folders, and add brains and routines. |
| **Approve** | Approve changes, and save in protected folders. |

A member's brain role applies in every brain they can reach. Admins and the owner always act as Approve.

Some files need an admin, whatever the brain role: a brain's settings in `.brain/`, and the org-wide brain's `skills/` and `instructions/`.

## Organisation-wide switches

Under **Settings**, then **Manage members**, then **For all members**, admins can set:

- **Brain role for new members**: the role an invite starts with.
- **Members can add brains**: off means only admins and the owner can.
- **Members can add routines**: off means only admins and the owner can.

## Agents and roles

The assistant, Claude when you [connect it to ako](/connections/connect-claude), and ako in Slack act with the role of the person using them. They never approve anything, even for an admin: their changes to protected folders always wait for a person.

A routine acts as its owner, and also never approves.

## Personal brains

Members on the Read role don't have a [personal brain](/brains/your-personal-brain).