---
title: User permissions
description: >-
  Learn about the roles and permissions that control access to the Dev
  Dashboard.
source_url:
  html: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/dev-dashboard/user-permissions'
  md: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/dev-dashboard/user-permissions.md'
---

# User permissions

Access to the Dev Dashboard is controlled by your organization's role-based access control (RBAC) model. What you can see and do in the Dev Dashboard depends on the roles assigned to you by your organization's owner or administrator.

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## Partner organizations

Partner organizations use a role-based model where permissions are grouped into roles and assigned to users. The following roles and permissions are relevant to the Dev Dashboard.

### Roles managed by Shopify

Shopify provides a set of system roles for partner organizations. The following roles grant access to Dev Dashboard features:

| Role | Access |
| - | - |
| **Organization administrator** | Full access to all features and resources across the organization and all stores. |
| **App developer** | Develop and manage apps; create and manage dev stores. No access to production store data, financials, or user management. |
| **Store administrator** | Full access to store resources within the partner organization, including dev stores and client transfer stores. |
| **Collaborator access** | Log in to assigned collaborator stores. Store-level permissions for collaborator stores are controlled by the merchant. |

### Store management permissions

The Stores management permission category controls access to stores in the Dev Dashboard. These permissions can be assigned to custom roles in your organization:

| Permission | Access |
| - | - |
| **Development stores** | Create, view, manage, and delete dev stores. |
| **Client transfer stores** | Create, view, manage, and delete client transfer stores. |
| **Transfer client transfer stores** | Transfer client transfer stores to merchants. |
| **Collaborator relationships** | Create and manage collaborator relationships with merchant stores. |

### App development permission

The App development permission allows users to develop and manage apps in the partner organization.

For a full list of partner organization permissions, refer to [Partner organization permissions](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/manage-account/manage-users/roles/permissions) in the Shopify Help Center.

***

## Merchant organizations

To give a user in a merchant store access to the Dev Dashboard, assign them the App developer role. This role is available to both merchant and partner organizations.

### Custom roles (Shopify Plus)

If your store is on the Plus plan, you can create [custom roles](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/users/roles/manage-roles#create-a-role) with the following permissions:

| Permission | Access |
| - | - |
| **Create and manage dev stores** | Create dev stores and use them to build and test apps. |
| **Build and manage apps** | Create, edit, and delete apps owned by the organization. |

A custom role with both permissions grants access to all app development features in the Dev Dashboard.

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## If you can't open the Dev Dashboard

If you land on a page reading **Your account doesn't have developer access yet**, your account is in the organization you're viewing, but it hasn't been assigned a role that includes app development or store management.

The access you're granted also changes where the Dev Dashboard opens:

| Your access | Where the Dev Dashboard opens |
| - | - |
| App development | **Home**, with the full dashboard. |
| Stores, but not app development | **Stores**. There's no **Home**. |
| Neither | A page reading **Your account doesn't have developer access yet**. |

To get the dashboard itself, ask your organization owner or administrator to assign you one of the roles above. In the meantime, that page links to **Organization settings** for team, billing, and payouts, and to the **Partner Dashboard** for referrals and financials.

***