Permissions Troubleshooting
The most common NexaBot support question isn't a bug — it's permissions behaving exactly the way Discord designed them to, just not the way you expected. This page walks through why NexaBot might work perfectly in one channel and do nothing in another.
Channel overrides beat server-wide permissions
Granting NexaBot a permission at the server level doesn't guarantee it applies everywhere. Individual channels (and categories) can have their own permission overrides that block a specific permission just for that channel — even if NexaBot has it server-wide.
Tip
If NexaBot isn't responding in one specific channel but works everywhere else, check that channel's permission settings first, under Discord's own channel settings — not NexaBot's configuration. This is almost always a Discord-level override, not a NexaBot setting.
Role position determines what NexaBot can act on
NexaBot can only take action on members whose highest role sits below its own role in your server's role list — this is a Discord-wide rule for every bot, not something specific to NexaBot. If a member has a role positioned above NexaBot's, moderation actions like timeouts, kicks, or role changes on that member will silently fail.
Fix: move NexaBot's role higher in your server's role list — above every role you want it to be able to moderate, but below any role you consider more trusted than it (like a co-owner role).
Categories can silently override channels
Channels inside a category often inherit that category's permissions unless "Sync Permissions" has been turned off for that specific channel. If you've set channel-specific permissions for NexaBot but they don't seem to be taking effect, check whether that channel is still synced to its category's settings instead.
A missing permission looks like nothing happening
When NexaBot lacks a permission it needs for a specific action, the most common symptom is simply that nothing visibly happens — no error message a regular member would see, since Discord blocks the action before it can respond. If a command seems to silently fail, permissions are the first thing to check, not a bug.
Quick checklist
- Does NexaBot have the permission server-wide? See Adding NexaBot to a Server for the full list it needs.
- Does the specific channel override that permission?
- Is NexaBot's role positioned above the member or role you're trying to act on?
- Is the channel synced to a category that might be overriding your changes?