---
title: "User Roles"
slug: "switching-user-roles"
description: "User roles set permissions to control access to resources. As a Root User, your permissions allow you to switch to a different role."
tags: ["Roles", "Switch Roles", "Update Account Email", "User Roles"]
updated: 2025-12-30T17:18:13Z
published: 2025-12-30T17:18:13Z
---

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

# User Roles: Switching

## User Roles

A role is an identity with permissions that determine what the role can and cannot do in Wasabi. The permissions are [based on the policy or policies assigned to the role](https://docs.wasabi.com/docs/roles-1).

A role can be associated with any user who needs that identity. For example, “contract engineer” may be a role. If Mary, Bob, Jennifer, and John are associated with that role, they would share in the permissions defined for a “contract engineer.”

As a user, you might have permission to switch roles created within the current or another Wasabi account. In this way, you can switch to a role, use the Wasabi Management Console with permissions that you do not normally have, and then exit from the role to surrender the permissions. For example, switching to a role might grant you access to resources that are typically not available to you. If you normally function as a contract engineer, you might need to access schematic drawings and can switch to the “engineer-schematics” role to do so.

> Only a sub-user can switch to a role. A Root user cannot do so.

## Switching User Roles

1. Open the account sign-in ![](https://cdn.document360.io/bef0a1ea-7768-4d5a-b520-c4fe2f7fafad/Images/Documentation/image-1697644604764.png) drop-down and click **Switch Role**. The Switch User Role panel is displayed. If you are the Root User, you will see a panel such as the following:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/bef0a1ea-7768-4d5a-b520-c4fe2f7fafad/Images/Documentation/image-1718200243487.png)
2. Enter the account identification of the role you want to assume.
3. Select the name of the role you want to assume. When you click in the **Role Name** area, a list of available roles is displayed.
4. Enter a name to use for the role in this session. The session name can contain alphanumeric characters only without spaces.
5. Click **Assume Role**.

You are switched to the new role for the current session up to one hour. After one hour, you are logged out. But you can log in again and re-assume the role.

.

## Related

- [Roles in Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage](/roles-1.md)
- [Groups, Roles, and Users in Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage](/groups-roles-and-users.md)
- [User Roles: Switching](/switching-user-roles.md)