AffiliateWP Documentation

Documentation, Reference Materials, and Tutorials for AffiliateWP

User role capabilities

AffiliateWP allows you to control what different user roles can do by assigning specific capabilities. This system helps you manage access to affiliate data, payouts, reports, and more—giving you the flexibility to delegate tasks while maintaining security.

By default, all AffiliateWP capabilities are assigned to the Administrator role, but you can easily customize permissions for other roles using a role management plugin.

This guide explains how AffiliateWP capabilities work, how to configure them, and how to create a custom permissions setup for your affiliate program.

In This Article

Understanding AffiliateWP Capabilities

AffiliateWP capabilities are permissions assigned to WordPress user roles. These capabilities determine what actions a user can perform within AffiliateWP.

Capabilities are organized into two main types:

  1. General Capabilities
    These control broad access to affiliate system management and reporting.
  2. Meta Capabilities
    These are task-specific permissions nested under general capabilities, allowing for granular access control.

Default Administrator Capabilities

When you install AffiliateWP, the following capabilities are automatically assigned to the Administrator role:

  • export_affiliate_data
  • export_payout_data
  • export_referral_data
  • export_visit_data
  • export_customer_data
  • manage_affiliate_options
  • manage_affiliates
  • manage_consumers
  • manage_creatives
  • manage_payouts
  • manage_referrals
  • manage_customers
  • manage_visits
  • view_affiliate_reports

Meta Capabilities in AffiliateWP

AffiliateWP also includes meta capabilities for more specific task management. These are automatically enabled when you assign the corresponding management capability.

Affiliates (manage_affiliates)

  • add_affiliate
  • edit_affiliate
  • delete_affiliate
  • view_affiliate

Creatives (manage_creatives)

  • add_creative
  • edit_creative
  • delete_creative
  • view_creative

Payouts (manage_payouts)

  • add_payout
  • view_payout

Referrals (manage_referrals)

  • add_referral
  • edit_referral
  • delete_referral

Visits (manage_visits)

  • add_visit

REST API Consumers (manage_consumers)

  • add_api_key
  • regenerate_api_key
  • revoke_api_key

Configuring Capabilities

AffiliateWP does not include a native role editor. To customize user roles, we recommend the Members plugin by MemberPress.

That’s it! AffiliateWP provides a robust capabilities system, allowing you to delegate affiliate management tasks securely and efficiently. By customizing user roles, you can create a workflow that fits your team’s structure while protecting sensitive data and settings.