Access and Permission Issues

Kowiki uses role-based access control and section-level permissions to manage who can view, edit, and administer content. If you or a team member cannot access expected content or features, this guide walks through the most common causes and fixes.

Can't see a section

If a section of the wiki is not visible to you:

• Section permissions may restrict access — Admins can limit sections to specific roles or team members. You may not have the required permission level for that section.
• Ask your workspace admin — Contact the person who manages your Kowiki workspace and ask them to verify your access to the section in question.

Admins can review and adjust section visibility in Settings → Permissions → Sections. For details on how section-level permissions work, see Section-Level Permissions.

Can't edit content

Editing pages requires the Editor role or higher. If you see content in read-only mode:

1. Check your role — Go to your profile or ask an admin to confirm your assigned role. Viewers can read content but cannot make changes.
2. Request an upgrade — Ask a workspace Admin or Owner to change your role to Editor in Settings → Members.

See Roles Explained for a full breakdown of what each role can do.

Can't manage settings

Workspace settings — including sources, apps, billing, and member management — are restricted to users with the Admin role or higher.

If you need to make changes to workspace settings:

1. Confirm your current role with an existing admin.
2. Request the Admin role if your responsibilities require it.
3. If no one in your workspace has admin access (for example, the original admin left the company), contact Kowiki support for assistance with account recovery.

Invited member can't log in

If someone received a workspace invitation but cannot sign in:

1. Check the invitation email — The invitation is sent to the email address entered by the admin. Confirm the recipient is checking the correct inbox (including spam/junk folders).
2. Resend the invitation — Go to Settings → Members, find the pending member, and click Resend Invite. Invitation links expire after 7 days.
3. Verify the email address — Ensure there are no typos in the invited email. If the address is wrong, revoke the invitation and send a new one to the correct address.
4. Check authentication method — If your workspace uses SSO (available on Business plans), the invited member must sign in through the configured identity provider, not with email/password.

Viewer sees fewer pages than expected

If a team member with the Viewer role can see some content but not everything:

• Section-level permissions control visibility — Even within the same role, different sections can have different access rules. A Viewer may have access to the "General" section but not the "Engineering" section.
• Review section assignments — Admins can check which sections a user has access to in Settings → Permissions → Sections. See Section-Level Permissions for configuration guidance.

Synced user can't access some content

When members are provisioned through a directory sync (SCIM) or SSO, their access level in Kowiki is determined by the role mapped to their group or identity:

• Check the role mapping — Go to Settings → Authentication and review how external groups map to Kowiki roles.
• Verify group membership — The member's access depends on which group they belong to in your identity provider. If they were recently moved to a new group, the change may take up to an hour to propagate.
• Section permissions still apply — Even with the correct role, section-level restrictions can further limit what a user sees.

Understanding roles

Kowiki has four primary roles:

• Viewer — Read-only access to permitted sections
• Editor — Can create and edit pages in permitted sections
• Admin — Full workspace management, including settings, sources, and members
• Owner — All Admin permissions plus billing and workspace deletion

For a complete reference, see Roles Explained.