Manage Baserow Permissions

Manage Baserow Permissions

Use this skill when a task involves Baserow permissions: adding or editing an operation, changing backend permission decisions, adding a permission manager, updating frontend $hasPermission behavior, or debugging permission failures.

Start with docs/technical/permissions-guide.md when the task needs conceptual detail. This skill is the implementation checklist; the guide is the source for the full model and terminology.

First Step

Before editing, identify which layer is changing:

1. A new or changed OperationType
2. A backend PermissionManagerType
3. PERMISSION_MANAGERS order or enablement
4. A frontend permission manager or $hasPermission call
5. Tests for backend, frontend, or both

Then inspect the nearest existing implementation in the same product area:

• Core backend managers: backend/src/baserow/core/permission_manager.py
• Core operation registration: backend/src/baserow/core/apps.py
• Default manager order: backend/src/baserow/config/settings/base.py
• Core frontend managers: web-frontend/modules/core/permissionManagerTypes.js
• Core frontend registration: web-frontend/modules/core/plugin.js
• Premium examples: premium/backend/src/baserow_premium/permission_manager.py, premium/web-frontend/modules/baserow_premium/permissionManagerTypes.js, premium/web-frontend/modules/baserow_premium/plugin.js
• Enterprise examples: enterprise/backend/src/baserow_enterprise/role/permission_manager.py, enterprise/backend/src/baserow_enterprise/apps.py, enterprise/web-frontend/modules/baserow_enterprise/permissionManagerTypes.js, enterprise/web-frontend/modules/baserow_enterprise/plugin.js

Useful searches:

Use rg -n "<pattern>" <paths> as a faster equivalent when rg is available.

• grep -RInE "class .*OperationType" backend/src premium/backend enterprise/backend
• grep -RInE "operation_type_registry.register" backend/src premium/backend enterprise/backend
• grep -RInE "class .*PermissionManagerType" backend/src premium/backend enterprise/backend
• grep -RInE "permission_manager_type_registry.register|PERMISSION_MANAGERS" backend/src premium/backend enterprise/backend
• grep -RInE "PermissionManagerType|permissionManager|\\$hasPermission|hasPermission\\(" web-frontend premium/web-frontend enterprise/web-frontend

Permission Model

Permission checks are an ordered chain. Each backend permission manager can:

• return True to allow
• return a PermissionException to deny
• omit the check result to pass through to the next manager

If every manager passes through, the permission is denied by default.

The order in PERMISSION_MANAGERS is part of the behavior. Place narrower or more specific managers before broad fallback managers such as basic when they must be able to allow or deny first.

Backend Workflow

Adding or updating an operation

1. Find the closest operation class for the same object family.
2. Define an OperationType subclass with a stable type string.
3. Set context_scope_name to the scope of the object passed as context.
4. Set object_scope_name when the operation targets different objects than the context, especially list operations.
5. Register it in the relevant app config with operation_type_registry.register(...).
6. Update tests or fixtures that enumerate all operations if needed.

Common operation base classes already encode scope choices. Prefer extending the nearest existing base class instead of filling in scope names manually.

Adding or updating a backend permission manager

1. Create or update a PermissionManagerType subclass near the feature owner.
2. Keep the type string stable once persisted or exposed to the frontend.
3. Implement check_multiple_permissions(self, check, workspace=None, include_trash=False).
4. Implement get_permissions_object(self, actor, workspace=None) if the frontend must make matching permission decisions without another backend request.
5. Implement filter_queryset(self, actor, operation_name, queryset, workspace=None) when list endpoints or selectors need permission-aware querysets.
6. Register the manager with permission_manager_type_registry.register(...).
7. Add the manager to PERMISSION_MANAGERS if it should run in normal settings.

check_multiple_permissions must be batch-friendly. Do not perform one query per check when a set-based lookup can answer the whole batch.

filter_queryset must exclude the same objects that individual permission checks would deny. Keep the operation name, context scope, and returned queryset model aligned.

Checking permissions in backend code

Use CoreHandler().check_permission(actor, operation_name, context=..., workspace=...). It returns True or raises PermissionException.

Use CoreHandler().filter_queryset(actor, operation_name, queryset, workspace=...) when returning a list of objects whose visibility depends on permissions.

Pass workspace explicitly for workspace-scoped operations. Only omit it for core operations that genuinely do not belong to a workspace.

Frontend Workflow

Frontend permission decisions are based on permission objects returned by backend permission managers at login or workspace load time. Add a frontend permission manager when UI code needs to evaluate the same rule locally.

1. Add or update a class extending PermissionManagerType.
2. Make static getType() return the same string as the backend manager type.
3. Implement hasPermission(permissions, operation, context, workspaceId).
4. Return true to allow, false to deny, and null/undefined to pass through, matching the existing frontend convention in nearby managers.
5. Register it in the module plugin.js with app.$registry.register('permissionManager', new MyPermissionManagerType(context)).
6. Update $hasPermission(operation, context, workspaceId) call sites only when the UI actually needs to hide, disable, or branch on the new behavior.

Keep the backend get_permissions_object data sufficient for the frontend decision. Do not make the frontend manager fetch extra permission data.

Testing

For backend changes, prefer focused pytest tests near the manager or feature:

• Core manager behavior: backend/tests/baserow/core/**
• Premium manager behavior: premium/backend/tests/baserow_premium_tests/**
• Enterprise manager behavior: enterprise/backend/tests/baserow_enterprise_tests/**

Use @override_settings(PERMISSION_MANAGERS=[...]) when the tested decision depends on manager order or enablement. Use the registry fixtures from backend/src/baserow/test_utils/pytest_conftest.py when tests need temporary operation or permission manager registrations.

For frontend changes, use the frontend unit test skill and inspect existing tests around registry setup, permission manager classes, or UI components calling $hasPermission.

Validation commands:

• Backend: just b test path/to/test_file.py
• Frontend core: just f yarn test:core path/to/test_file
• Frontend enterprise: just f yarn test:enterprise path/to/test_file

Guardrails

• Do not rely only on frontend permission checks for enforcement; backend checks are authoritative.
• Do not add a frontend permission manager with a different type string from its backend manager.
• Do not place a specific manager after basic if it needs to override the broad basic decision.
• Do not omit filter_queryset when list visibility differs by object.
• Do not add per-object database queries inside check_multiple_permissions.
• Do not rename operation or manager type strings casually; other code and saved data may depend on them.
• Do not duplicate the full permission guide here; read docs/technical/permissions-guide.md for deeper conceptual background.