---
sourceDocument: Australia Build workflows
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/build-workflows

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Build workflows

ft:clusterId :

    - crworkflow

bundleId :

    - crworkflow

workflow :

    - Creator


---

# Playbooks roles

# Playbooks roles {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated September 2, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read  
Grant users access to build, view, and act on Playbook.

## Roles {#process-automation-designer-roles__roles}

Roles are hierarchical. A role grants everything it contains, so assigning playbook.admin grants every role beneath it.
{#process-automation-designer-roles__table-playbook-roles__entry__3}

| Role | Description | Contains |
|-|-|-|
| playbook.admin | Create, update, and delete trigger definitions. Launch the design environment to create, activate, edit, and delete playbooks. Create, edit, and delete activity definitions. Add translations for a playbook. View the shared Experience activity types and properties tables. | pd_author, pd_content_author, pd_operator, pd_cancel, pd_restarter, pd_shared.admin |
| pd_author | Launch the design environment to create, activate, edit, and delete playbooks. View all activity definitions. View the shared Experience activity types and properties tables. | playbook.write, playbook.activity_def_read, pd_shared.user |
| pd_content_author | Create, edit, and delete activity definitions and trigger definitions. View the shared Experience activity types and properties tables. | pd_trigger_author, playbook.activity_def_read, pd_shared.user |
| pd_trigger_author | Create, update, and delete trigger definitions. | None |
| pd_operator | View process executions, activity executions, and execution logs only. | None |
| pd_cancel | Cancel a running playbook without holding playbook.admin or write access to the parent record. Use to give a manager an ability that agents do not have. | None |
| pd_restarter | Restart active playbooks. | None |
| pd_shared.user | View the shared Experience activity types and properties tables. | None |
| pd_shared.admin | Edit the shared Experience activity types and properties tables. | pd_shared.user |
| playbook.write | Launch the design environment to create, activate, edit, and delete playbooks. Grants no read access on its own. Assign to users whose content is restricted by content access filtering. | playbook.designer_access, pd_shared.user |
| playbook.read | Read access to all playbooks. | None |
| playbook.designer_access | Launch the design environment to view playbooks. Assign to users whose content is restricted by content access filtering. | pd_shared.user, sn_workflow_studio.workflow_studio_read, sn_diagram_builder.db_read |
| playbook.activity_def_read | View all activity definitions, unless the definition has required roles set. | None |
| delegated_developer | Granted automatically when a user is assigned as a delegated developer. Grants access to all activity definitions through the default content filtering rule. | None |
| playbook.write.public_access | Create and edit public access playbooks. Users without this role have read-only access to them. Required for delegated developers as well. | None |
| playbook.content_author.public_access | Edit the public access field on an activity definition. | None |
| playbook.automation_runner | The restricted runner that automations execute as in a public access playbook. Automations don't run with broad system access. | None |
[Table 1. Playbook roles]

{#process-automation-designer-roles__table-playbook-roles}

## Roles granted outside playbook administration {#process-automation-designer-roles__roles-not-managed-here}

The playbook.designer_access role contains two roles that playbook administrators don't manage. The sn_workflow_studio.workflow_studio_read role allows a user to launch the design environment. The sn_diagram_builder.db_read role
allows a user to view playbooks in diagram view.

All users need the snc_internal role to access internal resources, including playbooks. A user without it can encounter trigger validation errors when a playbook attempts to run. This is a platform requirement rather than a
playbook role.  
Note:  
Granting playbook roles does not grant access to the Workflow Studio design environment. Users who create activity definitions might also need Workflow Studio access.

## Related role sets {#process-automation-designer-roles__other-role-sets}

Agentic playbooks and Otto for Playbooks carry their own roles, documented separately.