# Change a collaborator's role

> Change the role someone was given on a repository directly, or the role of their pending invitation.

<div class="g1t-endpoint"><span class="g1t-method" data-method="patch">PATCH</span><code>/repos/{owner}/{name}/collaborators/{username}</code></div>

A role from ownership or the workspace's base permission is not changed here: an owner always has Admin, and a member never has less than the base permission. Needs the Admin role. People only.

Changes a direct role, or the role of the person's pending invitation. `404` when they have neither: an owner's Admin and a member's base permission are not changed here. Changing a direct role sends the `repo.collaborator_role_changed` webhook event. See [Access and roles](/guides/access-and-roles/).

- **Authentication:** Required. Send an [access token](/reference/api/#authentication) as `Authorization: Bearer`.
- **MCP tool:** [`access`](/reference/mcp/#access) with `action` `update_collaborator`, and the same inputs
- **Scope:** An access token needs [`access:admin`](/guides/authentication/#scopes).

## Path parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `owner` | string | Yes | The workspace that owns the repository. |
| `name` | string | Yes | The repository's name. |
| `username` | string | Yes | The person's username. |

## Body parameters

Send a JSON object. Names are `snake_case`, as in responses; the `camelCase` spelling is accepted too.

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `role` | string | Yes | read: read and comment. triage: also label, assign and close. write: also push, merge and put agents to work. maintain: also settings and branch protection. admin: everything, including who has access. One of `read`, `triage`, `write`, `maintain`, `admin`. |

## Example request

```sh
curl -X PATCH https://api.g1t.sh/repos/flagon-io/hello/collaborators/ada \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $G1T_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "role": "write"
  }'
```

## Example response

A successful request answers `200` with:

```json
{
  "username": "ada",
  "name": "Ada Lovelace",
  "avatar": null,
  "role": "write",
  "source": "direct",
  "direct": "write",
  "workspace_role": null
}
```

## Errors

A failed request answers with one of these statuses and a body like `{"error": {"code": "not_found", "message": "Repository not found."}}`. See [errors](/reference/api/#errors).

| Status | Code | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 401 | `unauthenticated` | A token is required, or the one sent is not valid. |
| 403 | `forbidden` | The token is valid but not allowed to do this, such as a member-only change or an agent token outside its repository. |
| 404 | `not_found` | It does not exist, or you cannot see it. |
| 409 | `conflict` | The request conflicts with the current state. |
| 422 | `invalid` | The input is not valid. `message` says which field and why. |