Permissions Model

Permission Hierarchy

ElixIRCd has three levels of permission, from least to most privileged:

Regular User
    │
    ▼
Channel Operator (+o in channel)
    │
    ▼
IRC Operator (+o globally)

Regular Users

Regular connected users can:

• Join channels (subject to channel mode restrictions)
• Send messages to channels and other users
• Set some user modes on themselves (+B, +g, +i, +R, +w, +x)
• Set or remove away messages
• Use standard IRC commands (NICK, JOIN, PART, PRIVMSG, NOTICE, etc.)
• Register nicknames with NickServ
• Register channels with ChanServ

Regular users cannot:

• Set modes restricted to operators (+H, +s, +o)
• Remove server-managed modes (+r, +Z)
• Join +O (Oper Only) channels
• Use operator commands (KILL, REHASH, etc.)

Channel Operators

Users with +o in a specific channel can, within that channel:

• Kick other users (/kick)
• Set/unset channel modes (all modes except +O which requires IRC op)
• Ban users (+b)
• Change the channel topic (unless +t is set — but ops can always change it)
• Grant/revoke voice (+v) and op (+o) to other users

Channel operators cannot:

• Set +O (requires IRC operator)
• Access other channels they’re not op in
• Use server-level commands

IRC Operators

IRC operators (set via /oper) have server-wide privileges:

Capability	Description
+O channel mode	Only they can set; grants IRC ops-only access to channels
Join +O channels	Can join channels with Oper Only mode
Bypass +j	Not subject to channel join throttle
KILL	Disconnect users from the network
OPERWALL	Send messages to all operators
GLOBOPS	Send global operator messages
WALLOPS	Broadcast to all +w users
REHASH	Reload server configuration
RESTART	Restart the server
DIE	Shut down the server
STATS	View detailed server statistics
TRACE	Trace connection routes
CHGHOST	Change a user’s hostname
Operator modes	Can set +H and +s
WHOIS visibility	Can see hidden info in WHOIS

Registered User Privileges

Users identified with NickServ get the +r mode, which grants:

• Access to +R channels (registered-only join)
• Ability to speak in +M channels (registered-only speak)
• Protection from +R user mode (only registered users can PRIVMSG them)
• ChanServ founder access for their registered channels

Mode Permission Summary

Mode	Set by user	Removed by user	Set by server	Notes
+B	✅	✅	❌
+g	✅	✅	❌
+H	✅ (ops only)	✅ (ops only)	❌	Removed when -o
+i	✅	✅	❌
+o	❌	✅	✅ (via OPER)	Removing also removes +H, +s
+r	❌	❌	✅ (NickServ/SASL)
+R	✅	✅	❌
+s	✅ (ops only)	✅ (ops only)	❌	Removed when -o
+w	✅	✅	❌
+x	✅	✅*	❌	*Unless cloak_allow_disable=false
+Z	❌	❌	✅ (TLS connection)

Channel Operator Permission Summary

The channel MODE command checks:

1. Is the user a channel operator (+o in that channel)? → Can set most channel modes
2. Is the user an IRC operator? → Can set +O channel mode
3. Otherwise → MODE changes are rejected

Exception: IRC operators can set +O channel mode even without being a channel operator.