---
title: Canvas permissions for the Atomic Discussions and Atomic Polls Service Account
description: During installation, an admin can authorize a Canvas service account for the whole installation. The tool uses that account’s token for background processes and whenever a user hasn’t connected their own Canvas account. The token can only do what the account’s role allows, so the role needs the permissions below.
---

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# Canvas permissions for the Atomic Discussions and Atomic Polls Service Account

## During installation, an admin can authorize a Canvas service account for the whole installation. The tool uses that account’s token for background processes and whenever a user hasn’t connected their own Canvas account. The token can only do what the account’s role allows, so the role needs the permissions below.

### Atomic Discussions

| **Permission** | **Why?** |
| --- | --- |
| Assignments and Quizzes- add | Discussions finds which Canvas page a discussion is embedded in, so links in notifications and reports go to the right page. Canvas requires this permission even to read the link records (“LTI resource links”) that tie a page to the tool. The tool doesn’t create or change assignments or quizzes. |
| Conversations - send messages to individual course members | Discussions sends Canvas Inbox messages when someone replies to a student’s post (if reply notifications are turned on) and when a reply is flagged for profanity. |
| Course Content - view | Discussions reads course pages and modules to place discussions and build reports. |
| Users - act as | Notification messages are sent as the person they come from, such as the student who replied. If a dedicated notification sender is configured, they’re sent as that user instead. Sending as another user requires this permission. It’s used only for sending these messages. |
| Users - view list | Discussions reads course rosters, enrollments and sections. It uses them to show names, filter by section, find who should receive moderation alerts, and include students who haven’t participated in reports. |

### Atomic Polls

| **Permission** | **Why?** |
| --- | --- |
| Course Content - view | Polls reads the course’s details while instructors create and manage polls. |
| Users - view list | Polls reads course rosters and enrollments to show names in results and to include students who haven’t responded in reports. |

 Polls doesn’t send Canvas messages or act as other users, so it doesn’t need the conversations or “act as” permissions.

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