> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bird.com/api/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bird.com/api/api-access/access-roles.md).

# Access Roles

An access role is a named collection of one or more access policies. Roles can be assigned to workspace users to control what they can do in the Bird application and APIs.

Roles are managed at **Workspace > Team > Roles & Policies > Roles**.

{% hint style="info" %}
Access keys use a simplified permission model and do not require roles. See [API Authorization](/api/api-access/api-authorization.md) for details on creating access keys.
{% endhint %}

## Managed roles

Bird provides a set of **managed roles** for common use cases, organized by application area:

| Application | Example Roles                                                            |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| General     | AI Hub Admin, IAM Admin, IAM Viewer                                      |
| Developer   | Developer Admin, Developer Viewer, Channels Sender                       |
| Marketing   | Campaign Manager, Content Creator                                        |
| Support     | Customer Support Admin, Customer Support Agent, Customer Support Analyst |
| Email       | Email Admin                                                              |
| CRM         | CRM Admin                                                                |

## Understanding role policies

Each role contains one or more access policies that define the specific operations it allows. See [Access Policies](/api/api-access/access-policies.md) for details on how policies work.

| Field       | Description                              | Values                                             |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Name        | Display name for the role                | Any descriptive name                               |
| Application | The application area the role belongs to | General, Developer, Marketing, Support, Email, CRM |
| Policies    | Number of policies attached to the role  | One or more policies                               |