Authorization Controls

Role and capability boundaries for DevDocs publishing operations.

Authorization controls define who can change a docs site and which actions require stronger trust.

Role defaults

RoleDefault capability
ReaderView public docs and public API references
ContributorOpen previews and inspect build output
ReviewerApprove content and release-readiness checks
AdminManage sources, domains, auth policy, and production promotion
ServiceExecute scoped automation with least-privilege tokens

High-risk actions

The following actions should require admin or service-level authority:

  • promoting a release to production
  • changing a production domain target
  • adding or removing an origin allowlist entry
  • storing or rotating service credentials
  • enabling playground execution for external APIs
  • changing organization-level auth policy

API playground controls

The playground needs its own authorization layer because it can send requests outside the docs app:

  • public readers can inspect endpoint docs and examples
  • signed-in users can run safe demo requests
  • organization members can use approved environments
  • admins approve external origins, proxy behavior, and persisted environment metadata

Implementation expectation

Every protected action should record an audit event with actor, organization, target resource, action, and result. The audit trail is part of the product, not an internal afterthought.

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