File and folder permissions

In Figma, you work in files. Files can be organized into folders.

You can set permissions for individuals on each file and folder, which determine what kind of actions users can take with each resource.

Learn more about sharing and permissions in Figma.

View and manage folder permissions

Folder permissions are managed through a folder's share modal. To open the share modal:

1. Open the file browser by logging in to your account at figma.com. If you’re in a specific Figma file, click the Figma menu > Back to files.
2. Open the folder.
   • On the Starter or Professional plan, select All folders from the left sidebar. Then, select a folder.
   • On the Organization or Enterprise plan, select All teams from the left sidebar. Select a team, then select a folder.
   • On the Enterprise plan with workspaces enabled, select All workspaces from the left sidebar. Then, select a team from the Your teams tab. Select a folder in that team.
3. Click Share to open the share modal, which lists all users and their folder permissions.

The share modal shows everyone who can access the folder, organized from broadest to most specific:

1. [Plan or workspace access]: who can access the folder across your plan or workspace
2. [Inherited permissions]: permissions passed down from the parent team or folder, if applicable
3. [Individual users]: people who have been directly invited to this folder
4. [User groups]: groups that have been directly invited to this folder (Organization and Enterprise only)

Click on any row to adjust permissions for that group.

Users in the share modal can have the following permissions:

• Can edit: Users can create and edit files and folders in this folder.
• Can view: Users can view, but not create files and folders in the folder. They may be able to edit files depending on file-level permissions.
• Owner: The person who created the folder. They can create and edit files and folders within it.

Set plan or workspace access to a folder

You can control whether your broader organization or team can access a folder—and what they can do when they get there.

The options available depend on your plan:

• Starter plan: always set to everyone in the plan can edit
• Professional and Organization plans: can set access for everyone on the plan
• Enterprise plan: can set access for everyone in their plan or a specific workspace

To set broader access on a folder:

1. Open the folder share modal.
2. From the Who has access dropdown, select the top row to determine who can access the folder:
   • People invited to folder: Only directly invited people can access the folder.
   • [Workspace name] (Enterprise plans): All users in the workspace can access the folder via link or through the file browser.
   • [Plan name] (All paid plans): Plan members can access the folder via link or through the file browser.
3. If you selected a team, plan, or organization, choose what they can do under What they can do:
   • View and comment only — they can view and comment on files in this folder.
   • Edit files, add people, and change their permissions — they can create and edit files, invite people, and change permissions.
4. Click Save.

Change folder inherited permissions

A folder’s permissions depend on where it sits in your folder structure:

• Top-level folders inherit team permissions. Anyone on the team can access it based on their team permissions (Organization and Enterprise plans) or by being invited to the plan (Starter and Professional plans).
• Nested folders inherit permissions from their parent folder—whoever has access to the parent also has access to it.

On Organization and Enterprise plans, you can change inherited permissions to limit any folder (top-level or nested) to specific people.

On Professional plans, you can limit a top-level folder to specific people by changing the plan access, but nested folders always inherit from their parent.

Starter plans only support one folder, so there's no inherited permissions.

To change inherited folder permissions on the Organization or Enterprise plans:

1. Open the folder share modal.
2. Under Who has access, click the row showing the parent access (e.g. "People from…"). For nested folders, this will be the name of the parent folder. For top-level folders, this will be the name of the team or plan.
3. Click Change permissions.
4. Select an option:
   • Anyone in [NAME] inherits access: Users on this folder inherit their permissions from the parent folder, team, or plan.
   • Only people added to [Folder name] can access: Limits access to directly invited people only
5. Click Save.

User groups

On Organization and Enterprise plans, you can invite user groups to a folder directly from the share modal. Everyone in the group gets the same can edit or can view permission, and access updates automatically when someone joins or leaves the group.

Learn more about creating and managing user groups.

Individual users

You can invite individuals to a folder and assign them can edit or can view permissions directly from the share modal.

File permissions

The following file permissions determine what actions someone can take within a file:

• Can edit: Full editing capabilities.
• Can view: View-only access.
• Owner: Has can edit access.

To view permissions on a specific file, open a file and click the Share button.

Use the table below to understand the difference between can edit and can view file permissions.

Files inherit permissions from their parent folder. You can grant someone additional access at the file level — for example, giving a user can edit access on a specific file even if they only have can view on the folder. Keep in mind that you can't restrict someone's access below what they already have through their folder or team permissions:

Access to files

File access determines who can open a file. Access is set when you share a file and can apply to individuals, or to broader audiences like a team, workspace, or organization.

Learn more about file access and sharing files.