Roles & Permissions
Introduction

Roles & Permissions

Authorization in ROQ employs a robust roles and permissions system designed to provide secure control over access to data entities within a backend. This system enables you to precisely manage what users (assigned roles) can access and who is authorized (given permission) to perform specific actions.

Managing Roles

In ROQ, roles serve as unique identifiers for collections of permissions. Each user can be associated with one or more roles, each of which may grant them access to a set of actions. Upon user creation in ROQ, a role is automatically assigned. Roles can be associated with either a tenant or an end user. For example, a user might be assigned the role of "Manager" and have managerial responsibilities within a tenant, such as a restaurant. An end user refers to a typical consumer, like someone making purchases on a platform like Amazon.

Setting up and configuring user roles

Within the Console, the User Roles page provides a platform for managing roles. Generally, this page displays two categories of roles:

  • Roles linked to tenants
  • End User roles.

On this page, users can delete existing user roles or create new ones. Some special cases may prevent the deletion of user roles, such as when only one user role exists.

Users also have the option to edit the name of an existing role. On this page, various actions are available, including:

  • Assigning a sign-up form to a user role
  • Configuring which user roles are permitted to invite other user roles (e.g., a recruiter user role inviting a freelancer user role to the application)
  • Linking to the configuration of permissions (access management rules).

All changes made on this page take effect in real time. For more information on the User Roles page, see the User Roles page.

Setting up and configuring Access Management

In ROQ, the interaction of user roles and permissions is essential to control access to data entities. This comprises three core aspects: users, data, and access to data. Data access is managed through the Access Management system, which encompasses roles and permissions. After defining user roles, configuring multi-tenancy, and establishing the backend data schema, users can specify the access permissions for particular user roles within the data schema. Each role can have Create, Read, Update, and Delete permissions for data schema entities. Furthermore, each level of access can be defined with a specific scope: none, tenant, own, or all.

To simplify this, consider the example of building a restaurant management software. The tenants are restaurants, and user roles include chefs, waiters, and customers (end consumers not associated with a tenant). Meanwhile, the data schema includes entities such as "Menu." With the Access Management page in the Console, you can easily set rules like "Chefs can edit their restaurant's menu" or "End consumers can view menus from all restaurants." All these configurations occur in real time without the need for app publishing or deployment.

For more information on Access Management, see the Access Management page.

What is Entity?

An entity generally refers to a unique, identifiable, and separate item within a system. They are often used to model real-world objects, acting as a blueprint for creating instances or objects. For example, entities can be used to model a person, place, or thing. In ROQ, entities are used to model data objects, such as a company, user, product, or order.

What is Scopes?

The Scope can be described in a club, like the boundaries set for different members based on their membership cards. It decides the extent of the club they can explore and the events they can join.

Visualize the scopes as follows:

ScopeClub Analogy
AllA member can visit all areas and events within the club.
OwnA member is restricted to their reserved lounge or private event.
TenantAccess is confined to areas or events designated for their group or party.

In essence, just like different passes give varying access at a festival or event, these scopes determine how much of the club's experience a member can enjoy.

What is Operation?

Imagine you're planning a special night at a club and want to determine who gets access to various parts of the club, like the Platinum Lounge. Think of these parts as object types or entities. If a particular area of the club isn't listed, it's because it wasn't considered during the initial planning of the event.

For each club area (entity), you can decide the following access levels, which can be thought of as different privileges or activities members can engage in:

LevelClub Analogy
ReadLets the member peek into the area, like viewing the inside of the Platinum Lounge
CreateAllows the member to set up a personal spot or reserve a table in that area
UpdateLets the member make changes to their spot or order in that area, like changing their drink or adding decorations
DeleteGives the member the authority to clear their space or remove their reservation in the area