---
id: troubleshooting.permissions
title: Permissions troubleshooting
summary: Separate Project membership from Expert Contribution assignment and readiness when an expert has no tasks available.
kind: error
product_area: troubleshooting
status: stable
updated: 2026-09-07
canonical: /docs/troubleshooting/permissions
---

# Permissions troubleshooting

Use this when project role, reviewer assignment, or approval ownership prevents someone from completing the intended work.

## Symptom

A user can access Teammately but cannot open the expected Project, or an expert reports **no tasks available** after opening their Contribution link. These symptoms belong to different owning surfaces.

## Likely causes

- The user or group is not listed under **Project Settings → Project Members**.
- The Contribution was requested for a different recipient.
- The Contribution exists but its next Task or Checkpoint is not ready.
- The current IP is blocked before Project membership is evaluated.

## Diagnostic checks

- Confirm that the user or group appears in **Project Members** for the intended Project.
- Open the Contribution from the sender-side Expert Contributions workspace and verify its recipient and status.
- Check whether the expert has an executable Task or Checkpoint, not merely whether the Contribution exists.
- If **Access Restricted** is visible, resolve the IP allowlist first.

## Fix

- Add the correct user or group under **Project Settings → Project Members** when Project access is missing.
- Correct the Contribution recipient through the owning Contribution workflow when the request went to the wrong person.
- Resolve lifecycle or readiness problems in Expert Contributions when access succeeds but no Task can be entered.
- Do not infer a permission from a role label or edit governed artifacts merely to make a control appear.

## Prevention

- Separate reviewer access from approval authority in review setup.
- Check assignments before launching a review session.
- Use a small pilot Contribution before assigning a larger specialist cohort.
- Keep project membership changes visible to review owners.

## Related task pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related task pages" %}
- [Request an Expert Contribution](/docs/expert-contributions/request-contribution)
- [Reviewer assignments and statuses](/docs/expert-contributions)
- [Using checkpoints](/docs/expert-contributions/complete-contribution)
{% /related-card-grid %}

## Related reference pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related reference pages" %}
- [Permissions](/docs/reference/permissions)
- [Roles and permissions](/docs/governance/roles-and-permissions)
- [Expert Contributions](/docs/expert-contributions)
{% /related-card-grid %}

## Source confidence

Code-backed: Project Members and the redirected Project Permissions route define current Project access management; Contribution status and runtime navigation distinguish access from executable-task readiness. The Access Restricted route defines the separate IP boundary.