Discord error 50013: Missing permissions

The bot can see the target resource but does not hold the specific permission bit the action requires, after role permissions and channel overwrites are combined. The JSON message is "Missing Permissions" on most routes; the canonical docs string is "You lack permissions to perform that action". Either way, it is the single most common error bots produce.

Three things decide the answer. First, the bot's roles: permissions are the union of all roles the bot has, plus @everyone. Second, channel overwrites: a deny on @everyone or on one of the bot's roles removes a permission in that channel even if the role grants it server-wide; an allow on a bot-specific overwrite restores it. Third, role hierarchy: actions that touch members and roles (assigning roles, kicking, banning, changing nicknames, moving in voice) additionally require the bot's highest role to be above the target's highest role, and you can never act on the server owner.

Administrator bypasses overwrites but not hierarchy. Many "I gave it Administrator and it still fails" reports are hierarchy: the role the bot is trying to assign sits above the bot's own role in the role list.

When you need to work out why the bit is missing, resolve it the way Discord does. Start with the base permissions: take the @everyone role's permission integer, then OR in every role the bot holds. If Administrator is in that result, every permission is granted and channel overwrites are skipped entirely. Otherwise apply the channel's overwrites in order: the @everyone overwrite's denies, then its allows; then the denies aggregated across all of the bot's role overwrites, then those allows; then the member-specific deny and allow. A deny applied at a later layer beats an allow from an earlier one, which is why a single red X on the bot's role in one channel defeats a server-wide grant. Two implicit rules finish the picture: denying View Channel implicitly denies everything else in that channel, and denying Send Messages also disables Send TTS Messages, Mention Everyone, Attach Files and Embed Links there. A related trap is replies: those need Read Message History and fail with 160002 rather than 50013.

{
  "message": "Missing Permissions",
  "code": 50013
}

Publish the exact permission bitfield the bot requires and generate the invite link from it. Add a startup or /diagnose check that walks each channel the bot is configured to use and reports missing bits, including hierarchy, so admins fix it proactively. See Discord bot not responding for a full walkthrough.

The full permission-resolution walkthrough, including the channel-overwrite check order in the client UI, is in Discord bot not responding; the role, channel and hierarchy caps that shape it are on the Discord limits page.