TeamSpeak 3 permissions: server groups, admins and new privilege keys
Manage TeamSpeak 3 server groups and channel groups, add admins, and create a new privilege key if you lost the original one.
Updated · 2 min read
TeamSpeak 3 permissions are built around server groups (server-wide roles like Server Admin) and channel groups (per-channel roles like Channel Admin). Put people in the right group rather than changing permissions one by one, and use privilege keys to hand out admin safely.
Default groups
A new TeamSpeak 3 server comes with these groups:
| Type | Group | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Server group | Server Admin | Full control |
| Server group | Normal | Regular users (default for registered members) |
| Server group | Guest | Default for everyone who joins |
| Channel group | Channel Admin | Manages a channel |
| Channel group | Operator | Can moderate within a channel |
| Channel group | Guest | Default in every channel |
Adding someone to a group
As a Server Admin:
- Right-click the user in the channel tree.
- Open the server groups option and tick the group you want.
They join that group immediately, and it's remembered by their TeamSpeak identity next time they connect. If they reset or change their identity, they'll need adding again.
Creating a privilege key for another admin
- Open the Permissions menu and choose the privilege keys option.
- Create a new key, choose a server group (such as Server Admin) or a channel group with a channel.
- Copy the key and send it to the person privately.
- They use it from their client's Permissions menu. Each key works once.
Editing permissions
The Permissions menu also has Server Groups and Channel Groups editors.
- Tick "Show granted only" to see what a group actually has.
- Common changes: let Guests create temporary channels, restrict who can move users, set talk power for moderated channels.
- Higher-numbered "power" values beat lower "needed" values, which is how TeamSpeak decides who can do what to whom.
Change one thing at a time, and avoid removing permissions from Server Admin, or you can lock yourself out.
Lost the original privilege key?
If you never used the first key and it's gone from the console and logs, you can generate a new one through ServerQuery. This needs the ServerQuery admin password printed on first start, plus a port allocation for the ServerQuery port set in your Startup settings. See adding port allocations.
Connect to the ServerQuery port with a raw telnet client, then run:
login serveradmin YourQueryPassword
use sid=1
privilegekeyadd tokentype=0 tokenid1=6 tokenid2=0
tokenid1=6 is the default Server Admin group ID on a fresh server. If yours differs, run servergrouplist first and use the ID of the Server Admin group. The command returns a new token you can use from the client.
ServerQuery has flood protection and may ban your IP briefly if you send commands too fast. If you've also lost the ServerQuery password, ask in the Schokr Discord for options before resetting anything, because resetting the database wipes all channels and permissions.
Good habits
- Give most moderators channel-level power instead of Server Admin.
- Keep at least two trusted Server Admins so one lost identity doesn't lock you out.
- Back up your TeamSpeak identity from the client's identity manager.
Still stuck?
Ask in the Schokr Discord if you're locked out of your own server.