# Using the permissions Argument

The permissions argument is useful for restricting access to certain fields or sections that require a specified user role. For example, if the options panel is set via page_permissions to allow users with an editor role or higher to view and set options, but you'd prefer some options or sections be available only to administrators, the 'permissions' argument makes this possible.

In the above scenario, the line 'permissions' => 'manage_options' would be added to either the sections array to control an entire section, or the fields array to control a specific field. The 'permissions' argument accepts any capability name (opens new window).

WARNING

The WordPress documentation (opens new window) strongly recommends not using role names (administrator, editor, etc.) in place of capability names as they are not guaranteed to work correctly

DANGER

The permissions argument cannot be used with the following core fields, as they do not accept or save data: section, info, divide, and raw.