> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.braintrust.ti.trilogy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Controlling Who Can Use Your Expert

> Manage expert visibility, access lists, and permission roles.

Braintrust uses a role-based permission system to control who can see, hire, edit, and manage experts. This guide explains how to configure access.

<Info>
  **Prerequisites**

  * You are an **Owner** or **Editor** of the expert.
  * You can access the expert's detail page in the Braintrust Marketplace.
</Info>

## The Three Roles

Every user who interacts with an expert has one of three roles:

| Role       | Can Hire | Can Edit | Can Delete | Can Manage Access | Can Deprovision |
| ---------- | -------- | -------- | ---------- | ----------------- | --------------- |
| **Viewer** | Yes      | No       | No         | No                | No              |
| **Editor** | Yes      | Yes      | No         | Yes               | No              |
| **Owner**  | Yes      | Yes      | Yes        | Yes               | Yes             |

<Note>
  * **Viewer** is the default role for anyone who can see the expert.
  * **Editor** can modify the expert's settings and invite others.
  * **Owner** has full control, including the ability to delete and deprovision the expert.
</Note>

## Public vs Private Experts

Experts have two visibility modes:

### Public Experts

* Visible to **everyone** in the marketplace.
* Anyone can hire them.
* Default for newly created experts.

### Private Experts

* Only visible to users on the **access list**.
* If you are not on the access list, the expert does not appear in your marketplace — it returns a "Not found" error if you try to access it directly.

<Tip>
  Use Private mode for experts that contain sensitive integrations or are only relevant to a specific team.
</Tip>

## Managing the Access List

Open the access management panel:

1. Go to the expert's detail page.
2. Click **Manage Access** in the More menu.
3. The access modal opens.

<Frame caption="The Manage Access modal showing an Owner, a domain-level Editor (*.trilogy.com), and an individual Viewer, with the invite form at the bottom.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/devfactory/TEteLc1zUJOxCu2V/images/manage-access-modal.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=TEteLc1zUJOxCu2V&q=85&s=414dad63b28b8473082032a842391544" alt="Manage Access modal" width="2048" height="1019" data-path="images/manage-access-modal.png" />
</Frame>

### Viewing Current Access

The modal shows a list of all users and domains with access:

* **Owner** — Shown with an amber badge. Cannot be removed or changed.
* **Editor** — Shown with a blue badge. Can be changed to Viewer or removed.
* **Viewer** — Shown with a green badge. Can be changed to Editor or removed.

Your own entry is marked with "(You)."

### Inviting Users

1. In the invite form at the bottom of the modal, enter an **email address** or a **domain pattern**.
2. Select a role: **Viewer** or **Editor**.
3. Click **Invite**.

**Email invites** grant access to a specific person:

```
alice@yourcompany.com
```

**Domain invites** grant access to everyone with a matching email domain:

```
*.yourcompany.com
```

<Note>
  Domain patterns use the format `*.domain.com`. This gives access to every user with an email ending in `@domain.com` (e.g., `alice@domain.com`, `bob@domain.com`).
</Note>

### Changing Roles

1. Find the user in the access list.
2. Click the role dropdown next to their name.
3. Select the new role (Viewer or Editor).

<Warning>
  You cannot change the Owner's role. There is always exactly one Owner per expert.
</Warning>

### Removing Access

1. Find the user or domain in the access list.
2. Click the **X** button next to their entry.

<Warning>
  You cannot remove yourself from the access list. You also cannot remove the Owner.
</Warning>

## How Access Affects Behavior

| Scenario                                       | What Happens                                                  |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Public expert + you have no role               | You can see and hire it. You are a Viewer.                    |
| Private expert + you are not on the list       | Expert is invisible to you. Direct URL returns "Not found."   |
| Private expert + you are on the list as Viewer | You can see and hire it, but not edit.                        |
| You are Editor                                 | You can edit settings, manage access, and configure webhooks. |
| You are Owner                                  | Full control, including delete and deprovision.               |

## Common Scenarios

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Make an expert available to everyone">
    Set the expert to **Public**. Everyone in the marketplace will be able to see and hire it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Restrict an expert to my domain users only">
    1. Set the expert to **Private**.
    2. Add your team's domain pattern: `*.yourteam.com` (or add each team member individually).
    3. Set the role to **Viewer** for most people.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Let a colleague help manage the expert">
    Add their email to the access list with the **Editor** role. They will be able to edit settings and manage access.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Transfer ownership">
    Ownership transfer is not available through the UI. Contact your Braintrust administrator to change an expert's Owner.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

| Problem                              | Solution                                                                            |
| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Not found" when accessing an expert | The expert is Private and you are not on the access list. Ask the Owner to add you. |
| "Forbidden" when trying to edit      | You have Viewer access, not Editor. Ask the Owner to upgrade your role.             |
| Cannot remove a user from the list   | You may be trying to remove the Owner (not allowed) or yourself (not allowed).      |
| Domain pattern not working           | Make sure the format is `*.domain.com` — the asterisk and dot are required.         |

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Edit Expert Settings" icon="pen" href="/management/editing-an-agent">
    Modify the expert's behavior, tools, and identity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create a New Expert" icon="hammer" href="/experts/creating-a-new-agent">
    Build your own expert from scratch.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>